Flensburger Pilsener - Flensburger Brauerei GmbH Und Co. KG

Drew966

Florida

3.03/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Flensburger Pilsener pours a light gold with sparkling carboanation and a thick white head that leaves thick lace as it goes down from a brown twelve ounce swing top bottle. Very mild aroma tending toward the malt end of things. Interesting taste, strong malt character that leads me to understand why another reviewer called it musty. I think I can get past this and enjoy it anyway, ymmv. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2006 21:12:47 | More by Drew966

Cresant

Kentucky

4.88/5  rDev +39.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured this 12 oz. brown ceramic flip-top bottle into a plisner flute. Bottle was dated 7-10-06. Pop-gun "pop" when opened.

Body was a crystal clear pale golden-yellow. Head was very tall and required waiting a few minutes in order to pour the remaining beer into the large glass.

Smell was of crisp, clean grains. Leafy hop aroma. Very appetizing. No skunkiness.

Taste was sweet, rich malts and raspy noble hops. A great combination and an awesome pilsner representation. Bitter, crispy, dry finish.

Mouthfeel was smooth and rounded, yet zesty and scrubbing at the same time. Medium carbonation. Very nice, what I hope for in a Euro pilsner.

I am sad that I only purchased one. Extremely drinkable, perhaps my new favorite pilsner. I will search for this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2006 00:07:21 | More by Cresant

allengarvin

Texas

4.13/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a small stein glass. Crystal-clear straw-gold color with lots of fine bubbles and a huge, frothy head. Aroma is faint at best, just a light grainy malt. Excellent flavor, though. Good initial malt, with substantial bitterness and a delicate floral hop flavor. Very dry finish. Light bodied.

Except for an unexceptional smell, this is a very good German pils, on the bitter end of the spectrum.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2006 01:54:47 | More by allengarvin

beckje01

Minnesota

3.4/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle to pint glass.

A- Lively looking a good amount of carbination moving, an inch of head with a bit of lacing.

S- Pungent a bit hoppy

T- A fuller tast then I was expecting, yet crip and ends with a bite of hops. The malt base comes through a bit, but its nice.

M- The carbination feels alive.

D- Refreshing goes down pretty easy but has a bit of an after taste. I would probably have another if I had it on hand but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one.


Notes: When I opened the bottle it poped and gave me a bit of a jump. But I think I was fair even though that pop scared me ;)

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2006 00:33:32 | More by beckje01

Pegasus

Texas

3.08/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Very pale golden color, with a rather small white head, and excellent broken lace.

Aroma: Mildly sweet, with light tropical fruit notes, and a slight graininess.

Taste: Highly tart, verging on sour, turns lightly sweet midway through the taste. Finishes with a harsh, oily metallic bitterness, which lingers on well past the end of the taste.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, and full, quite plesant.

Drinkability/notes: Not unpleasant, but a rather average example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2006 03:16:04 | More by Pegasus

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.38/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Straw yellow with amber leanings. Intermittent superfine bubbles race up to a fantastic looking head the color of newspaper that is incredibly rumpledbumpy on its superior surface. It's also nicely tacky as evidenced by the impressive display of cheese grater lace that finds its way to the glass. If I remember correctly, this brewery's hefe weizen looked good as well.

The nose is just okay and certainly doesn't rise to the level of the appearance. It's decently hoppy, but is more musty than musky. I like the latter and don't care for the former. The beer hasn't yet reached its 'best by' date and I'm positive that it isn't oxidized. Still though, it smells papery to me. Maybe that newpaper comparison was prescient.

I've had dozens of German pilseners it seems and feel fairly confident in putting Flensburger's version squarely in the middle of the pack. It's much closer to its 'best by' date than it is to its bottling date, so some of what I'm tasting can probably be chalked up to age. How much though I couldn't say. I would love to drink some of these European beers at the source one of these days.

There's a sturdy pils malt base that provides a fair amount of sweetness and that just begs to be festooned with a generous amount of noble hops. The hop flavor is moderately grassy-spicy--as nobles are wont to be--but lacks the pungency necessary to thrill my taste buds. There's enough bitterness on hand to meet and exceed the malty sweetness; a necessary quality in a pils and one that impels me to bump the taste score a half-notch.

The body is certainly big enough for the style (medium in general terms), but feels even bigger due to the dearth of carbonation. That lack of energy, along with the lack of hop zippiness, contributes to the failure of this beer to engage its drinker in any profound way. Sometimes I wonder about the effectiveness of these swing-tops in terms of carbonation retention. I love to hear a rifle crack on opening, but didn't get one here.

Flensburger Brauerei has provided me with so-so beer (Gold), very good beer (Weizen), and now something that fits comfortably between those bookends. Again, I get the sense that Pilsener was a better beer, though probably not a great beer, when fresh. The brewery has been kind enough to provide us with dating, so take advantage of that fact when contemplating a purchase.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2006 14:17:33 | More by BuckeyeNation

PBRstreetgang

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a golden straw, as clear as an unmuddied lake of deepest summer. Dense white foam fills the glass, then gradually settles to a solid rocky head that forms big sticky patches of lace. Saaz and hallertau nose with a pilsener malt background -not very strong- but a nice honey aroma comes through as it warms. Pale and crisp pilsener flavor that hints at sweetness. Spicy saaz and noble hop bitterness in the aftertaste with a surprising lack of dryness; these flavors remain strong into the finish but never become overpowering. The carbonation is mild and the body is thin, making it very easy to swig on.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2006 04:32:27 | More by PBRstreetgang

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Best by 7-10-2006

Appearance: Clear, pale yellow. Copious amounts of carbonation are present. Thick crop of bleached white head. Lacing is great. I'd give this an even higher rating in this category if the color was more "golden" in nature.

Aroma: Biscuity malts. Doughy malts. Herbal and floral hops. Nice blend. I like sniffing this one.

Taste: Solid bready, biscuity, crackery like malt base. This is speckled with pleasant spicy, herbal, hay-like hop qualities. Nice combination of hops and malt.

Mouthfeel: Solid level of carbonation. Gives a good "scouring" of the palate. Medium-full body. Alcohol is unnoticeable.

Drinkability. I find great pleasure in finding new (to me) examples of good pilsners. And this is one of them. This would be great with a variety of foods as well as on the back patio on a hot summer (or spring) day.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2006 19:29:59 | More by Bighuge

hanco005

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The third of three by Flensburger that I picked up to try. 12 oz flip top bottle, dated 07.10.06, poured into a pint glass. The bottle opened with a “fifph, pop”

A—pours a clear dandelion yellow, with a 1 ½ inch bright white fluffy head, almost cotton ball like, head slowly fades down evenly, sparse lacing is produced as I drink

S—sweet candy, smells a bit like a chocolate Tootsie Pop, which I have picked up in another beer before…odd, but that’s what I smell and it’s dominate. I would never have guessed it from the appearance. Really malty

T—bittersweet, the hops and malts are balanced well in the start, the taste hangs on until the finish, which is very dry. Leans more bitter than it does sweet

M—sharp , light/medium bodied, decent carbonation

D—not bad, but not a favorite of mine. The dryness takes away from some of the enjoyment for me. If it weren’t so dry, I would rank it higher.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2006 01:58:20 | More by hanco005

theozag

Louisiana

3.05/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Floral, fruity, and sweet smell. Pours to a very thick white head that lasts. crystaline clea yellow brew. Starts tart and semi-sweet. Settles onto the tongue with medium body, fruit flavors, and becomes bitter over the initial tartness. Finishes waxy, rough, generally unpleasant, and with a strong aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2006 02:04:08 | More by theozag

HardTarget

Texas

2.23/5  rDev -36.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Bottle Inspection: Best before 07.10.06 (sampled 03.24.06). Swing top opened to a very firm “pop”.

Aroma: (3)Light grain, slight cooked corn note

Appearance: (3.5) Light gold glass with white edges and a half finger of head that lasts the glass with minor lace

Flavor: (3) Firm bitter hop, some grapefruit rind and some butter notes. All bittering hops, no flavor or aroma.

Mouthfeel: (3) Light body, fairly thin texture.

Overall Impression: (2.5) Pegasus commented that it tasted like Rattlesnake beer, I got a Mexican lager feel. All in all, just not my cup of tea.

Thanks to Pegasus for sharing the find.


Re-reviewed 4-29-06
Date on bottle: 07 10 06
Aroma: (1.5) Acetyladehyde? Slight skunk, cheesy old hops, metallic in the nose, which is a first for me, which gets worse as it warms

Appearance: (3.5) Thin gold, firm head that lasts and laces

Taste: (1.5) Unpleasant, strong bittering hops and off tastes overwhelm a cracker malt start. Medicinal finish

Mouthfeel: (2) Soaks the chops and won't go away.

Overall: (1.5) Just wrong, couldn't finish it. I'm guessing we got a good bottle the first time, or a bad one this time, but both had the same date. Ugh.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2006 22:25:10 | More by HardTarget

nlmartin

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer came in a nice flip top bottle. Best by date was 07/10/06.

Appearance: The beer poured a clear straw yellow coloration with tight carbonation. The head was thick white and great staying power. Sticky stringy lacing remained behind on the glass.

Smell: The beer smelled of sweet maltyness and grassy hops.

Taste: The beer was full of malty breadyness with hits of cheesyness and grassy hops.

Mouthfeel: The beer was lightbodied with a slick mouthfeel. This is pretty much on the money for a pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2006 06:12:41 | More by nlmartin

chilidog

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A nice little pils to be had. A cool little flip top bottle for me, only adds to the appearance.
It pours a nice, clear golden yellow that displayed the carbonation bubbles well. Carbonation, though mild, made up a nice frothy white head, only to lace in thick blogs.
The aroma was sweet with hints of hop. The taste was good, mild malts with a suttle hop balance.The taste also shows mild citric sweetness and grass.
The mouthfeel is smooth with only a slight hint of mineral and a metal.
Overall very drinkable and well enjoyed and surprised.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2006 03:03:53 | More by chilidog

Globetrotter

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev +14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I found this in a Moscow kiosk. Brown 33cl stubby with a swing top and a gold and yellow label featuring a viking ship sailing in front of a castle tower. Purity law applies. Best before 11/1/05, I opened it on 8/9/05.

Beautiful pour: clear deep gold under a two finger snow white head with excellent contour, superb retention and very nice lacing. The smell is also divine, full of spice and pine, with just a hint of metal. The mouth is very prickly and fairly light. The taste is a bit mild on the malt, slightly sweet and a bit like oatmeal. The hops dominate, however - tinny, spicey, dry and bitter. Nice espresso flavors emerge in the finish. The aftertaste is mild and only slightly bitter. Very enjoyable example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2005 03:43:07 | More by Globetrotter

watermelonman

California

3.2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This poured to a very light and pale golden yellow. The small head lasted well and left a nice curtain of lace behind.

The smell is pretty plain, if somewhat floral. The taste follows that same pattern, leaving some bitterness in the finish after the light malts up front. Some degree of pepper comes through as well. The mouthfeel is pretty light and it is easy enough to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2005 13:48:49 | More by watermelonman

mwrseeley

Ontario (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

My Flensburger Pilsener came in a brown 331ml bottle with a classy ceramic swing-top. I didn't get much of a head - much less than my fellow reviewers, by the look of it - and the beer itself was somewhat pale. There wasn't any lace of which to speak.

The first thing I noticed about the aroma was the scent of raisins. The taste indicated a slight spiciness and was full of hops. On the palate, this beer was, unsurprisingly, but pleasantly, dry.

I liked it and would drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2004 12:41:54 | More by mwrseeley

Bourre

France

3.28/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A foamy head on a pale golden color. The smell is dry and herbal. The taste is somehow surprising, but enjoyable. Fruity, but not really. Slightly sweet and floury. Spicy, with a hint of caramel maybe. The mouthfeel is quite smooth and enjoyable. The kind of overwhelming hoppy finish wasn’t exactly to my taste, but I thought this was an interesting pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2004 22:14:30 | More by Bourre

PatandDavid

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear light golden when poured, it ended up with a frothy white head that looked like egg whites. It had a very faint aroma, really I could barely pick up anything. Taste was slightly spicy from the hops, but not overwhelming in any other ways. Not awesome, not horrible. Made with hop extracts.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2004 12:22:04 | More by PatandDavid

clvand0

Kentucky

3.3/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This bottle was brought to me by friends who went to Germany. Comes in a green bottle with the ceramic flip top. Pours a very clear and pale yellow with a thick white head. The aroma was very hoppy. The taste was exactly what I expect from a Pilsner, but this one does it better than most. Taste is very hoppy, slightly bitter, with a bit of good skunkiness. Not bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2004 19:40:41 | More by clvand0

allboutbierge

Austria

3.4/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Color is slightly bland looking other than its bright gold body. The lack of head kills what could've been an attractive looking beer. Aromas are particularly pungent but notes of sweet candy-like scents fill the front of the nose. Taste is overly sweet and few notes of hops, malt, or anything of the sort come through. They're in there but really really masked. The sweet tastes are remniscent of butterscotch and cotton candy. Despite its really sugary taste it is a refreshing beer in its own right. It catches you off guard and makes you wanna order another just to entertain something new.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2003 20:22:35 | More by allboutbierge

Todd

Massachusetts

3.38/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

What an odd little gem this was. Drunk out of the bottle at a bar deep in East Berlin called "Conmux" -- which in itself is another little gem. 0,33l short brown bottle, with a ceramic flip-top lid. Freshness date on the back.

As this was in the bottle, I couldn't really judge its appearance or smell, so I'll assume it's average for the style.

Flavours consisted of a thin sweetness, slick/oily hop bitterness that lent a cheesey, grassy and skunky edged character. Quite bitter all around with notes of salt and mineral, both in body and flavour.

A very unusual, and at first, odd beer ... but the stuff grows on you.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2002 05:28:06 | More by Todd