Thomas Creek Dockside Pilsner - Thomas Creek Brewery

DrJay

Massachusetts

2.9/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to mikesgroove for sending this along in a recent trade.
Slightly hazed golden yellow colour with a short cap of fine, white foam. The head settled to a thin layers of fine bubbles and a thick collar after a couple minutes, leaving behind some streaky lacing. The initial whiff had notes of lemony hops and leaned to the floral side. This diminished after a few minutes, leaving a malty character behind, sort of crackery and bready with an undercurrent of caramel. As it warmed, fruity esters started to appear. Fruity, almost tart flavour up front with yellow grapes towards the end. Light lemon and cracker flavours in the mid. Fruity finish too, with some sharp tartness. Light bodied with ample carbonation, decent texture. This really missed the mark for a pilsner, but was still a drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2008 00:24:34 | More by DrJay

joepais

Maine

2.78/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to Mikesgrove for this one
Bottle poured into a pint glass had a good finger worth of white head that went to a good lace .The body was gold in color and clear

The aroma of this brew is mostly fresh bread some grain

Flavors are a bit sour, kind of confused me but it wasn't bad. Not to much hop as well
Mouthfeel was light and crisp

Not very true to style had I drank it but I would not seek it out if I was looking for a Pills

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2008 01:29:36 | More by joepais

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

My bottle says 'Dockside Pilsner'...

Appearance - pours a slightly hazed straw color, an inch of snowy white foam on top. It is very sticky, taking the chance to stick everywhere inside the glass.

Aroma - grain, a zest of spice that is gone too quickly to identify. A slight whiff of fruitiness after setup.

Taste - basic grain out of the gate. A light citric bite mid-palate and on the swallow, turning a little drier and astringent towards the finish. Some brief florals, but the tasting started very cold so it needs a little warm-up time, but not too much - it's a pils for Pete's sake! Interesting spicing as I get accustomed to it. Clove gumdrops?

Mouthfeel - very well-carbonated, lighter per the style.

Drinkability - a fine session pils, but doesn't really stand up to my faves for the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2008 03:40:17 | More by brewdlyhooked13

saintwarrick

South Carolina

3.28/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Need to make more of an effort to try local brews like this as I have seen a few different varieties from TC hit the shelves recently. This brew pours very pale gold, looks a bit like a macro lager, but has a good bit of carbonation in the bubbles rising. That leads to a nice nice lacy white head that doesn't leave. Aroma has a good showing from the hops, some light grassy notes and a good bit of citrus. Unfortunately, not much more than the hops come through in the taste as a big sweet lemon zest flavor overwhelms leaving no room for the malt to balance. Hops offer a little bitterness but the citrus is too strong here. At least its not watery and flat.

Not a bad offering, I think this just needs a tweak or two and could really be good.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2008 07:50:59 | More by saintwarrick

drperm

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Stone Soup, Landrum, SC

I tend to favor local beers whenever I get the chance; TC definitely qualifies as a local brewery for me. This one is solid, for sure. It does sit there looking a bit ho-hum in the glass (nervous glance around at neighboring tables -- might they think I'm drinking macro US watery stuff???), but once it hits the nose there's no doubt that we're talking a real pilsner here. Great balance of malt and bitterness. Not at all over the top, but solidly holds its own. Try with creamy pasta dishes or shellfish. Nice one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2008 13:43:46 | More by drperm

3.15/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. bottle, courtesy of bobbyc881

Slightly hazy (maybe due to chill) pale yellow. Large, rocky white head. Haze cleared up a bit as it warmed, but never went away entirely.

Scent was pretty mild, bread dough and lemon.

Nice hop flavor, citrus - lemons. Crackery flavor, picks up some with temperature increase. Grassy at finish.

Light bodied, with medium carbonation. Fairly dry.

Easy to drink, a good summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2007 14:41:20 | More by

gpcollen1

Connecticut

2.42/5  rDev -24.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a golden yellow into my impy pint glass. Head rises a half inch or so and falls gently. Aroma is doughy/bready with nary a hint of hops to be found.

Hits the mouth a bit light but not quite watery. Has a light tingly carbonation that quickly transitions to a simple bready malt - that quickly fades to something a bit sour and ends with a hint of dry hops and I still have some sour on my tongue.

Not sure what the intention here was but it just did not do it for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2007 21:02:18 | More by gpcollen1

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured a pale golden yellow, with no head and no lace. Lots of visible carbonation streaming up from the bottom.

S - Smell was lively, tingling the nose. Biggest aromas were of bread malts, very light smell. Hints of some fruitness as it warmed, maybe apples or pears.

M & T - The taste was suprisingly sour, lots of grape flavors, and other fruity tones intermixed with a grainy feel. A slight hoppy finish. Went down easy enough as it was quite smooth, but a bit too sourr, expecially for a pilsner.

D - Overall this was a bit too sour tasting for my liking. I will give it credit for being alot more complex then I thought it would be, however it just came off as too strong. A knoble effort none the less.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2007 21:39:16 | More by mikesgroove

crwills

Ontario (Canada)

2.55/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Pours a cloudy light gold, very fizzy but no head. My fault for pouring it too cold, but I wasn't really caring too much with this one.

Aroma and flavour are very weak. Aroma is fruity hops, maybe peach, with some malt showing up. Corn or other grains, I think.

Taste is a little skunky, with some of the fruity hops and some floral notes. Carbonation is way too high. Mouthfeel is very watery.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2006 21:37:57 | More by crwills

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

2.28/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A hazed and semi-clouded appearence. No head at all. Milkbone biscuit in the smell. Quite awful, stale hops and malt. An indifferent beer with its only presence lying in its weakness. Light drinking. Closer to Euro Swill than pilsner. Carbonation at a good level. Mouthfeel leaves a cardboardy texture. Drinkable, but so is water.
Thanks CrWills.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2006 14:56:27 | More by biegaman

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.33/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Off-the-mark pilsner. Good head, yellow with lace. barleywine aroma. Metallic and off tastes. fizzy, not well carbonated. Thin to medium mouthfeel. I will have to be convinced to try this brewery again. Not drinkable still thanks for picking up crwills.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2006 01:06:43 | More by northyorksammy

grub

Ontario (Canada)

2.13/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

tasting party sept 11/06 with northyorksammy, crwills, biegaman and me (grub). everyone threw in a few bottles and we had an interesting mix of beer and mead. not sure of exactly who contributed what, so i'll just thank everyone.

pours light yellow with a big white head.

aroma is malty. rye bread and biscuit. smells a bit like a milkbone.

taste is odd. slightly funky and definitely not like any pilsner i've ever had.

mouthfeel is ok. the carbonation is low and i don't think it's really working here.

drinkability on this one is ok, but not great. if i didn't know it was supposed to be a pilsner it's not half bad, but it misses the mark for a pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2006 15:04:28 | More by grub

bditty187

Nebraska

3.05/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sickly pale gold in hue, for a microbrewery Pils the color is especially off-putting. Yet another volcanic head from Thomas Creek, in a Pilsner glass I got a fist of foam. Yikes! Not too surprisingly the head retention was great. Subsequent lacing was splotchy, thick, and unorganized. While it’s a sad looking beer in the color department, the head saves it from sucking.

The nose is lemony and husky, while the nose is bright and lively it doesn’t smell hoppy like a Pils should. I don’t want to be the style police but at least give me some hope the palate won’t be insipid. There are few malty influences. Moderate potency, not too chatty… pleasing smells but there isn’t much here to call it inviting.

The palate was shockingly bad. A Pils, this is not. There is no malt foundation. The hops are overly lemony and the bitterness is fleeting. No further complexity beyond that. I can think of more attributes missing than are present. I get a bitter lemon candy finish, clean aftertaste with only a slight residual sweetness. The palate is not flawed and it has flavor but when I open a bottle that says, “Pilsner” I better be getting one. No so much here.

Medium in body, low carbonation, the mouthfeel is decent but nothing noteworthy.

Sure, it is plenty easy to drink but pointless to do so. It is not crisp enough or hoppy enough or malty enough to be a Pils. As just a “beer” this is a fine drink. I like it “as is.” Nothing more, nothing less… Thanks timtheenchanta for the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2006 16:42:03 | More by bditty187

RedwoodGeorge

California

2.88/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

If it weren't for the ten million barrels of Bud served up to the American public every year I'd describe this as a "pretty standard" Pilsner. Compared to most craft beers this is "pretty standard" but compared to the country's most popular brew this is a "pretty good" beer - it's more than just fizzy yellow beer.

The pour is good but uninspiring - the beers is a medium straw yellow with a thinnish white head. It's filtered to crystal clear but the minimal carbonation doesn't give it that classic "beer" look. The head quickly dies to a small collar with no lacing on the glass.

The smell is pretty good but disturbingly sweet. There are a lot of residual sugars in this beer and you can easily find them in the nose. While there are no corn adjuncts in this Pilsner the smell is vaguely similar to the Corn Pops cereal. Surprisingly no hops at all in the nose.

The taste is pretty good - there's a pretty clear malt body but again it's a bit on the sweet side. Still a slight corny note though it may just be suggestability on my part. Some light hopping of something vaguely noble but not enough clarity or strength in the hops to start to identify which Euro hop is used.

Mouthfeel is okay but a little syrupy for a Pils. Not enough carbonation to clean the palate and not enough hops to dry out each sip.

Compared to most craft brews this one's pretty run of the mill... Compared to Bud this is a pretty meaty brew. There's a pretty strong malt body here (even though it's a bit sweet) and the beer does have some personality but it's pretty far from the style standard. Not enough hops to keep my attention and too heavy bodied to be a good Pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2006 04:41:16 | More by RedwoodGeorge

MSchae1017

Georgia

2.85/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

This beer was tasted in a Pilsner glass from a bottle.

The beer pours a hazy orange gold with a sizeable frothy white head that holds and laces well. The smell is primarily sweet almost buttery. The beer tastes very sweet up front. It is almost buttery maybe toffee and possibly a little butterscotch. The beer has a fairly good thickness but is a little overly cabonated. Overall I do not find this a very drinkable beer because of the sweetness. It could certainly use more hop bitterness to balance out the malts.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2006 03:33:40 | More by MSchae1017

hustlemuscle

Ohio

3.55/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

One of the ugliest labels I have ever seen. Not sure if a color didn't print, or what, but... I digress. Pretty good looking beer otherwise, tending toward golden. Crystal clear, with a decent head that receeded to nothing. Not much for nose, and a little disappointing taste wise as well. Crisp but thin saaz, with a fruity undercurrent. It tastes nice, but it is just too watery to really be a top notch pils. Very refreshing though, good for a relaxing summer afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2005 03:24:31 | More by hustlemuscle

brentk56

North Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a clear medium gold body, a little dark for a pilsner, with a decent head and some lacing

Smell: A grainy malt character with a somewhat musty smell that I am having a hard time describing

Taste: Much maltier and sweeter than I would expect from a pilsner; not bad, but not the crisp, bitter taste I was expecting; very little in the hops department

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation

Drinkability: Basically, a summer afternoon beer that is OK, but mislabeled as a pilsner

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2005 22:00:38 | More by brentk56

inebrius

Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +28.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

How many beers have you tried that claimed to be a pilsener yet tasted like pasta water? It's nice when the bottle label delivers.

All the marks of a quality european style brew out of the hills of Greenville. Lavender baked pretzel aromas invite a sip of spicy sweet malt juice that finishes long, dry and muscular. This ain't yer pappy's grocery store swill. Seriously impressive brew from Thomas Creek.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2004 00:49:41 | More by inebrius

merlin48

Kentucky

3.03/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, medium yellow body with a shortlived, white head that leaves some patchy, island chain, lace on the pils glass.
Aroma is faint. A bit of grainy malt and a hint of subdued, herbal hops.
Mouthfeel is average, with a light body and medium carbonation.
Taste is pleasant and clean, with grainy and biscuity malt and a subdued hops bitterness. Not very complex.
A good "lawn mower beer", and palate cleanser, but nothing special. Still, better than a macro.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2004 11:32:54 | More by merlin48

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer poured murky golden amber (a bottle conditioned pilsner mayber?) The head was white and stood tall, falling slowly to lace the glass.

The aroma was fruity and malty when first poured.

The flavor was fruity and slightly winey. There is some crispness to the flavor, but the beer is nowhere near clean enough for a pils. There is just enough bitterness to keep the beer from becoming sweet.

The finish was dry but fruity. The body was medium.

12 ounce bottle. I could believe this was a pale ale or an english bitter, but a pilsner...no way. Purchased at Total Wine is Charleston, SC.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2004 23:17:10 | More by GCBrewingCo

Loki

North Carolina

2.93/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer pours golden color with a slight cloudiness to it with a small head that fades quickly. The nose gives off mildly sweet malt, some barley, with hints of hops. The beer tastes very crisp and clean with a slight citrus hint. Not a great beer, but much better than its mass produced counter parts. Good summer time beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-20-2003 08:19:49 | More by Loki