Jever Pilsener - Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever GmbH & Co KG

smcolw

Massachusetts

1.25/5  rDev -65%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

In the past, I have lamented the presence of green bottles. I have found it interesting that the lightest beers often come this way. It is a shame that a potentially good beer gets completely ruined by becoming skunked.

Thus the score above. After purchasing a $12 six-pack of this beer to compare to other pilseners in a tasting, this was rated the worst beer out of 14; all because it was horribly skunked.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2009 23:06:52 | More by smcolw

BCMan

Pennsylvania

1.63/5  rDev -54.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

In reading the other reviews of this beer I'm hoping that the Jever I was in some way a bad bottle. It poured with a nice foamy head that slowly faded away. The color was a dark yellow and it smelled very dry. I don't know what to say about the flavor other than I thought it was awful. It was the only beer in my sample case that I had to pour our. I know others have said that they liked this beer in reviews but all of the memers in my beer club agreed that we disagree with the reviews on Beer Advocate.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2004 13:50:11 | More by BCMan

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

1.68/5  rDev -52.9%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Pours a clean yellow color, with a white head. In the aroma, a small dryness to nothing at all. In the taste, small dry, light malt, and really nothing at all. A smooth, light, and water bodied mouthfeel, with a small dry malt in the aftertaste. Watery, lack of taste and smell.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2010 13:20:29 | More by OWSLEY069

jdhilt

New Hampshire

1.78/5  rDev -50.1%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours with a three-finger white head that fades slowly and leaves a good lace. Clear pale amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Nose is hoppy/skunky. Starts hoppy and bitter, stays that way at the finish and leaves a lingering bitter aftertaste. $1.95 for a 330ml bottle from Julio's Liquors Westborough, Ma.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2006 23:29:18 | More by jdhilt

beertunes

Washington

2.08/5  rDev -41.7%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a bright, clean clear yellow with a tall, fluffy, bright white head that had very good retention and lacing.

The green bottle should have been my clue, but damn, this beer had a skunktastic aroma. Some grain and a hint of hops were also on the nose. The flavors were also badly skunky.

The body was typical and drinkability would have been decent if not skunked. In all honesty, I would need to try this fresh to be fair to it. As it is, if you see it, avoid it.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 22:14:34 | More by beertunes

bluejacket74

Ohio

2.13/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Served in a snifter, the beer pours a clear golden yellow color, with a small white head which goes away very quickly. The aroma is very grainy, with some skunkiness. It tastes sour, and like grain, metal, skunk, and a bit of grassy hops. Not very impressive at all. Mouthfeel is light with medium carbonation. Drinkability isn't good at all, too much skunkiness. I'll have to revisit this in the future, but this bottle wasn't good at all. And this was even after having drank a few other beers tonight. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2007 01:54:31 | More by bluejacket74

vancurly

Australia

2.13/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

a: Pale yellow/straw, white foamy head. Reasonable lace.
s: Spicy vegetatious hop firstly, but then stewed cabbage-like notes. Seems to skunk pretty quickly.
f: Swedish bitter herbs, aftertaste of iceberg lettuce, some pleasant malt notes, but a bit too vegetatious.
m: Light & sherbetty to start, becomes heavy and oily, with a strong extract bitterness at the back. Really unbalanced. The bitterness is more like coffee bitterness than hop.
d: Unbalanced and clumsy

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2007 10:46:32 | More by vancurly

bigdeuce

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -39.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Not impressed with this one. I should know, "never drink anything in a green bottle". It let's light through and ruins the beer making it skunky. This one was skunky, very light, and left a Heinekenesk aftertaste. Probably had good ingredients, but couldn't taste them. Straw color but poured not a head, like a beck's or heineken. Tasted of some malts, few hops but very skunky bitter. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2007 03:23:44 | More by bigdeuce

letsgopens

Pennsylvania

2.17/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I usually attempt to write my full review before glancing at any others to prevent the possibility of creating any predisposed biases, but in this case I couldn't help myself. It blew my mind that a great deal of people enjoyed this beer! Now I'm not saying it's the worst German Pils I've had, but it's certainly down there somewhere. I'm almost questioning the quality/freshness of this particular bottle. In any case, here goes...

The brew appears to be completely translucent with a pale yellow hue. The soapy, rocky foam recedes fairly quickly and leaves some short, but thick lace behind. Some sparse, rising bubbles can be plainly seen throughout the body of the glass.

I'd say the aroma is really the low point of this brew. Pretty dim and lackluster with some mild spice and dim, pale malt. Very mild and somewhat unappealing. Its got a distinct, unfresh smell. I'm really not taking any pleasure in the aroma of this beer.

Very husky, starchy grain comes through in the flavor initially. Rather unpleasant and astringent. Dry rice-like grain and a great deal of pale malt. I hate to use the phrase "skunky" but this one hits the nail on the head. Slight, weak hop and sweet cereal. A slight toffee taste lingers bellow the unpleasantness in the finish. Not good sir, not good.

A crisp but certainly not clean feel along with a starchy character that leans toward dry. I suppose more husky than normal dry, but you get the picture (maybe). An odd buttery texture kind of lingers. The drinkability is decent I guess with an ABV just under 5%, but trust me I doubt I'll be drinking another one any time soon.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2008 06:08:20 | More by letsgopens

avalon07

South Carolina

2.33/5  rDev -34.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A: Poured from a bottle to a pilsner glass. Had a pale yellow color and a clear consistency. There was a big, creamy, long-lasting head. Below average lacing.

S: A very skunky beer. It hits you the second you pop it open. Small traces of hops and malt, though.

T: Tasted of mild malt, grain, and a little citrus up front, with some hops in the finish. Like the smell, the skunky quality emerges as well. Overall, it's too harsh and badly done. Not a particularly great flavor.

M: A fair amount of carbonation with a slick, oily finish. Light-bodied.

O: This is an unmemorable, mass-produced beer with little to recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2011 00:05:10 | More by avalon07

kegger22

Michigan

2.35/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Jever Pilsener was a crystal clear yellow in color with a small white head that dissipated to a large bubbled collar.

The aroma was grain, sweet malt and a bit of skunk.

The taste was more dry than sweet, with a slightly bitter hop after taste. That combination didn't work that well, even for a pilsener.

The mouth feel was light bodied, lightly oily and well carbonated.

Drinkability was only fair due to the less than satisfactory taste.

Not recommended, even as change of pace beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2010 01:40:30 | More by kegger22

BigMike

Pennsylvania

2.42/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: POured a light amber yellow. A pretty substantial head thats almost snow white in color tops it off.

S: The predominant smell is skunk and light noble hops. Skunky to the point it reminds me of heineken. (Thats not a good thing)

T: Taste mimicks the nose. Skunky noble hops with a bread like malt sweetness on the finish.

M: Light bodied. Lots of carbonation dancing on the tongue.

Overall: Not a real good pils IMO. Too much skunk covering up and real aromas and flavors. COnsidering this was on draft, i'm surprised at said skunkiness.

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2011 20:59:33 | More by BigMike

DarthKostrizer

California

2.48/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Look: Brownish yellow color with very little head and lacing

Smell: A hint of hops and that wonderful snuky smell that you get with german pils

Taste: This beer tasted like I was chewing on a leaf so if that is your thing then drink it up

Mouthfeel: This beer has a bit more body than water and nothing more

Overall: A very boring pils. It lacks flavor and body I would not recommend this beer

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 03:03:11 | More by DarthKostrizer

beerthulhu

New Jersey

2.5/5  rDev -30%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Green bottle packaging.

A: Pale yellow color, thin white head, decent retention with some small carbonation bubbling.

S: Faint malt on nose. Sour malt flavor and funky raw vegetables for flavor.

T: Palate is flat, with some earthy hop bitterness that stands out against an otherwise bland malt backing. There was some metallic ting upon warming. light corn and grains were detected.

M: Mouthful was bland and thin and uneventful with some fizzy carbonation.

D: Disappointing and not very drinkable, bland flavor. overall less then average in every category.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2008 20:36:12 | More by beerthulhu

Proteus93

Virginia

2.63/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Crystal clear amber, thick and creamy off-white head.

S: Hops, grassy, vegetable (greens), mild pine scents - perhaps a bit overly skunky.

T: Pine, very mild peppery notes. Bitter greens & what seemed like quite substantial hops.

M + D: Moderate carbonation, a bit of zing... I've had this before and recall it being a bit sweeter & smoother. This particular bottle seemed like it may have been rather skunked. I look forward to re-reviewing it in the near future, but this one ended up being the first beer (other than notable, poor quality macros) that I have poured half-through. Unfortunate.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2008 06:33:21 | More by Proteus93

kojevergas

California

2.63/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Draught into .3 litre glass in Berlin, Germany.

A: Clear gold with half finger, thin head of poor retention.

Sm: Fresh clean barley. Light scent.

T: Clean barley with stale finish. A bit bitter on the finish. Nothing new. Built rather blandly. Not difficult to balance only one note.

Mf: Too wet; coarse in the wrong places.

Dr: A bit shite for Berlin prices.

Serving type: on-tap

03-09-2011 03:10:40 | More by kojevergas

mcallister

Ohio

2.73/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Macro-esque. Light golden with a flimsy sputtering white head. Some trace thin lace.

Nice saaz hop aroma aromas with a malty background and a hint of lemongrass. Yet no "wow" factor.

Below average. No complexity. Thin weak body and mouthfeel. Again hints of lemongrass, but lacking any substance. More of the saaz in the mouth and malt would have been welcoming and spiced things up a little.

Serving type: on-tap

09-11-2006 21:54:40 | More by mcallister

lagomswedish

Sweden

2.73/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bought this 330ml bottle from the Systembolaget. Had a BBD of 07/07, but...

Appearance - light, rather thin straw colour, with wispy bleached white head that vanished quickly.

Smell - mildly light-struck, with an earthy, aged nose. Behind that a hint of lemongrass (?) and honey.

Taste - Skunked beer (however mild) never tastes that good. The noticeable hop punch was a welcome departure from many standard pilsners, leaving a long, salty bitter snap at the end.

Mouthfeel - clean, but uninspiring.

Drinkability - a hot weather beer. No more, no less.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2006 16:10:35 | More by lagomswedish

armock

New York

2.73/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle given to me at Perry's Liquor in Livermore, CA by a distributor sales rep.

A - Poured a clear golden yellow with a white head that leaves lacing behind

S - Has that typical green bottle smell I expected better handling from a sales rep hops weren't completely shot though as some grassy scents are present

T - Like the nose slight skunk with some grassy hops and a slight bit of spiciness from the hops

M - This beer has a light body with medium carbonation to it

O - I would really like to try this beer again on tap or from a can to experience it flaw free regardless its still pretty easy drinking and worth trying if you like pilsners

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 22:24:18 | More by armock

kevinglin

Germany

2.75/5  rDev -23%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a green, .5l bottle, dated 10.08, into a tall pils glass. Pale yellow in color with a somewhat rocky, white head.

Musty, damp, green aroma was also reflected in the taste. Definitely a Eurolager, and I'm not sure if the green bottle contributes, but this beer had much more "greeness" to it than other Pils I've had that come in brown bottles. No real dominance of hops in the taste, just a slight hint of bitterness, but also no real malt profile.

I've had better pils and doubt I would pick up Jever again given there are other offerings readily available in my area.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2008 19:01:51 | More by kevinglin

Loki83

California

2.75/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Had on tap at the owl club in Roseville

A: dark urine in color, wimpy head with little lacing possibly due to a bad pour
S: smelled like spices
TandM: spices, and a slightly unpleasant taste and mouth feel
D Not terrible, but I had to force myself to finish my pint, worth trying but I won't have it again

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2009 21:00:19 | More by Loki83

bob3701

New Jersey

2.78/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a Sam Adams glass. Very clear pale yellow in color with a decent head and laced OK. The aroma says German pilsner but I found this to be a very dry and bland tasting beer. I had picked it up from seeing it in the '300 beers to drink' book but I really think there are a lot better brews out there than this one. It was drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2009 01:42:14 | More by bob3701

Wonka

Maryland

2.8/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 fl. oz.
Best Before: 28.04.06

Appearance – gold/straw body with a few streams of carbonation; 1-finger thick, white wispy head at pour with reasonable retention; lace is also reasonable

Smell – skunk smacked me in the nose immediately; based on the ‘Best Before’ date, I wonder if it was mishandled; wheat, grass, spice and noble hop sneak through

Taste – thankfully, the skunk dissipated when taken past the tongue; wheat; slight metal; good floral hop in the close, but that Pepe Le Pew creeps back in the slightest measure between sips; without Pepe, it’d garner a 4

Mouthfeel – very even crispiness; light/moderate feel; really clean close; just a hair dry

Drinkability – easy drinker, but the damned skunk causes me to cut out the nose early in consumption in order to have the best experience

Jever would be a reasonable summer beer if the skunk didn’t ruin the picnic.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2005 21:14:38 | More by Wonka

Dogbrick

Ohio

2.8/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a clear pale straw color with a medium thick and fizzy white head that burns away rapidly. Patchy lacing. Aroma of mild hops and hay. Light-bodied and effervescent with a dry mouthfeel. Lightly bitter hops and sour fruit flavors are pretty much the only flavors. The finish is dry and hoppy with some sweetness coming through. Not as easy to drink as most Pilseners. Fairly average all around.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2007 19:34:10 | More by Dogbrick

soju6

Missouri

2.8/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Jever pours a pale yellow with a light head. The aroma smells grainy and skunky Taste was not as I expected as it was a bit rough. It followed through with a bitter aftertaste. Not a beer I want to drink everyday.

Jever seems to be a typical Northen German beer. Primarily a local/regional pub beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2010 12:12:45 | More by soju6