Zephyrus Pilsner - Elysian Brewing Company

vkv822

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

on-tap @ Elysian Brewery.
taster glass.
from notes.

Medium golden color, foamy white head.

A bit subtle in the big picture of beers, yet very appropriate for the style, sweet, yet crisp, grassy, grainy malts. Fresh lemony citric zest.

Fairly average body, with prickly bubbly carbonation.

Another solidly crafted beer for the style from this brewery. Easy drinking, but pleasant flavors if you take the time to appreciate them.

Serving type: on-tap

08-13-2012 06:56:15 | More by vkv822

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.73/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had on-tap at the brewery in Seattle.

Golden, extremely clear in the body, with a white filmy ring of head. Some lace forms, but it's patchy and inconsistent. Yeah, it's a pilsener, not a particularly inspiring looking one.

Not much on the nose either. Some spicy characters, tending almost towards savoury. Fresh hop character is almost entirely absent, leaving a meaty note and a brusque grain in its place. Underwhelmed.

Taste is a lot better, but only because it's genuinely unusual. Grainy entry almost gives a sense of roastedness, before (and here's the really weird part) a big, spicy, peppery, chilli flavour comes through. It's just the flavour of chilli, not the heat or bite (or even the fragrance), but it's very strange. It even disappears before the aftertaste, which is smooth and light, with minimal bitterness.

Very smooth feel, so much so that it feels slightly undercarbonated.

Surprisingly drinkable and surprisingly good all up. Overall, it's very weird, but captivating in its weirdness.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2012 03:58:29 | More by lacqueredmouse

htomsirveaux

Texas

2.9/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tried 12 Sep 2009 at the brewery.

Bright golden yellow color, slightly hazy. Minimal aroma. Starts with some cirtus pith. Turns mineraly, then a lingering astringency. Subtle. Light body. Refreshing, easy to drink.

Guest judges J and K both enjoyed this one.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2009 04:58:54 | More by htomsirveaux

Redrover

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I had this one at their location near the Mariners ballpark. Served in a normal pint, the beer is a light gold with a chill haze. Bone white clingy head.

Nose of light spices, milled grains and something a tad floral.

The taste is crisp with peppery hops, grainy bready and a touch of sour green apple.

The mouth is brisk with nice carbonation. Beer lingers with a long finish.

Nice version, like the combo of German and Czec hops

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2009 19:10:55 | More by Redrover

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.13/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Sample at the Pike Street location. Pours a clear golden-orange color with a medium thin white head that dissipates steadily. Spotty lacing throughout. Hops, yeast and malt in the nose. Light-bodied and effervescent with flavors of zesty hops, malt and milld yeast and spices. The finish is clean and hoppy with a light peppery and spiced aftertaste. Average overall.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2009 20:20:21 | More by Dogbrick

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.28/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A fine suspended particulate makes this a bit clouded for a pilsner, though perhaps we should expect as much from a beer named for the west wind. Bright copper colored with an adequate, soft ivory head. Biscuity and tangy flavor with shrill bittering, sharp edges, and considerable spice in the finish. There's a little butterscotch in the nose. Workable, but not high on Elysian's list of accomplishments.

Serving type: growler

02-09-2009 07:12:43 | More by RedDiamond

benito

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A bright gold beer with a crowning, bonewhite head that sits cloud-like above the rest of the beer. It would be easy to think that a drink this beautiful was becoming to the gods and heroes themselves on Olympus and in the Elysian Fields.

The bouquet is salty and even doughy with a hint of honey and some, though not much, floral presence. Honey dominates the palate as well, giving a just-right sweetness to what is otherwise a very dry pils with a clean bitter finish. The only drawback is a bite of bitterness on the aftertaste, a surge of hops that interrupts an otherwise smooth finish to the beer. It is emminently refreshing--a light bodied whiff of summer air, the breeze of the Greek deities in a modern American craft beer.

Highly recommended--Elysian has hit a home run with this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2006 15:40:53 | More by benito

GClarkage

California

2.25/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Consumed in October 2004 from a 22 oz bottle purchased in Redding, CA. Poured with a great huge beautiful head and nice lacing. That's the good part. The bad part is everything else. Smelled bitter and sour. Kinda like a batch of lemonade gone wrong. Tasted about what it smelled like. BITTER BITTER and more BITTER. A pilsner? Huh? Took me a while to get this one down. A very dry finish also. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2004 20:26:40 | More by GClarkage

beertaster13

Washington

3.33/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had high hopes for this one, especially after the IPA I tried. Pours a nice orange/yellow with a nice froth foam head that vanishes to a lace quickly, the smell is very sour, citrusy and tangy sugar. The sweet malt I was expecting was light and almost untraceable. The taste was to sour, the hops did not blend right with the malts, the malts were not strong and the hops overtook the sweetness in a bad way, the citrus seemed almost to much. Lighter bodied then the average micro pils but not what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2004 05:43:49 | More by beertaster13

RoyalT

Ohio

2.28/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance – Light, cloudy yellow in color with a tinge of orange. The head was monstrous, fell slowly, and left a nice lacing as most good pils do.

Smell – This smells kind of funny. It’s definitely not the classic pils aroma. There are some hop scents in there, but it smells like about 17 lemons were squeezed into this one.

Taste – Ouch! Sour with just a hint of hop bitterness. Das ist nicht ein pils!

Mouthfeel – Decent carbonation with a somewhat dry finish. The mouthfeel isn’t bad on this one.

Drinkability – This was a real sipper, which is just the opposite of a good German Pilsner.

Comments – You can give this to your Bud friends and tell them it’s an authentic German Pilsner, but don’t serve this to a visiting BA buddy or anyone from Europe.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2003 01:35:14 | More by RoyalT