Polar Bear Pilsner - Thirsty Bear Brewing Company

GaryMarkle84

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

03-06-2013 00:08:19 | More by GaryMarkle84

t0rin0

California

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

03-02-2013 23:51:45 | More by t0rin0

BubblesandFoam

California

3/5  rDev -11.8%

12-28-2012 01:51:24 | More by BubblesandFoam

Arborescence

Finland

4/5  rDev +17.6%

05-27-2012 04:09:49 | More by Arborescence

Piason

California

3.25/5  rDev -4.4%

05-11-2012 08:13:15 | More by Piason

moneyfunnel

California

2.75/5  rDev -19.1%

04-25-2012 02:36:41 | More by moneyfunnel

Hoppaholic

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

01-12-2012 03:42:34 | More by Hoppaholic

dgilks

Australia

3.18/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Slightly hazy golden colour with a small and shortlasted white head. Nice lacing.

Very light sweet malt aroma with nothing really going on.

Moderately high bitterness with very mild malt. Distinctly balanced away from the malt but with no hop character.

Medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation. Very crisp.

This is a simple, easy drinking lager with a distinctly bitter edge.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2011 06:28:03 | More by dgilks

litheum94

California

3.95/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed in a sampler. Reviewed 7/15/10.

P: Clear, golden body. No head, save for a small ring.

A: Grainy, blueberry esters, and some faint hops. Very fruity.

T: Clean, crisp, cereal grains. Good floral hop presence, balanced by apricot sweetness.

A very good pilsner. I'm not easily impressed by the style, but I enjoyed this a lot.

Serving type: on-tap

08-08-2011 03:43:31 | More by litheum94

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.38/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the brewery.

Pours a deep golden colour with only minimal head, that stays ina a white ring around the edge and even then is filmy. Looks rather limpid in the glass. OK, but not great.

Very little on the nose. Weak slightly grainy characters and only a hint of sharpness from the hops. Not great.

Sharper on the palate, with a clear hop vector through the centre, leaving the palate rather crisp. Not particularly complex, but with enough bitterness to at least represent the style.

Not bad. Drinkable an pretty clean. Nice enough in its way, but not particularly exciting.

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2010 01:46:44 | More by lacqueredmouse

argock

Virginia

3.18/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap in a tall clear pilsner glass.

A: Honey-gold with bright white head with scant lacing.

S: Sweet cereal grains and a little lighter-than-expected Saaz/Hallertau hops contribution in the nose

T: All the pilsner flavor components are there, but several are underwhelming and none stand out to give this beer any character. The over-grainy sweetness is not cut enough by the underhopping clear in the noble flavor through the middle and finish. A bit of lemon pepper and a slight metallic edge to the finish gives this a decent drying astringency.

M: The feel is good with light-medium body, even to a bit overly prickly carbonation, but with a good drying finish that leaves a clean finish and short, average-sharp noble hops and cereal grain aftertaste.

D: This beer was good, but some minor modifications of more hopping with Saaz and/or Hallertau hops and a tad cleaner, less grainy malt flavor would greatly enhance this brew.

Serving type: on-tap

11-13-2008 02:35:26 | More by argock

Hollenbeck2

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tried this golden bohemian style pilsner at thirsty bear downtown san fran. This is a darker pilsner with more of a bitter finish rings hung on this glass and the beer was really cold
Very drinkable an above average pilsner would recommend on a hot day in the city
Tasted orange and grapefruit

Serving type: on-tap

06-03-2008 00:49:38 | More by Hollenbeck2

JDV

Texas

2.68/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Light Yellowish pour, smell of hops, yeast, and is quite bitter for a pilsener. almost IPA like bitterness. Definitely not one of my favorite pilsners, and I didn't really care for this much. One of my least favorite of the 9 or so I tried from the Thirsty Bear in SF. Mine had a lingering aftertaste I didn't care for as well.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2008 22:12:44 | More by JDV

pweis909

Wisconsin

3.55/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This brew, advertised as a Bohemian pils at the Thirsty Bear, arrived in a 12 oz pilsner glass, dark gold, bordering amber, and hazy. The thin foam cap dissipated quickly. The floral hops are almost right, almost appropriate to style, but could be kicked up a notch to boost aroma, flavor and bitterness. The beer comes across as slightly too sweet, and it is a grainy sweetness, not the clean sweetness that often accompanies a pils. Strictly in terms of style, this beer is flawed. Appearance is wrong, the grainy flavor is off, and the hops might have been a touch light. It’s not likely to win medals, but nevertheless is a tasty, drinkable beer, and worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2007 21:55:50 | More by pweis909

bboven

Texas

3.63/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Apple Juice gold, thin head but good lacing for the style.

Smells like light malt and honey.

Tastes like malt and honey, a little bit of bitterness at the back of the tongue.

Feels a little thin and a little over-carbonated.

Very drinkable. It's light and just flavorful enough to keep a BA interested in this hot-day beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2007 23:25:31 | More by bboven

kdoc8

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I had this on tap at Thirsty Bear in San Francisco, CA. It was a bright golden color, not very bubbly and not much head. It had a yeasty aroma and a typical pilsner yeasty taste, but with more of a hint of hops than is usual. There was lots of lacing, despite the lack of a foamy head.

.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2007 22:15:07 | More by kdoc8

bultrey

New York

4/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

What a surprise -- out of all the beers on Thirsty Bear's menu, a case could be made that this is the tastiest one of the lot (I won't make that case because I haven't had all of their beers). As this one is at the top of the menu and clearly geared toward those macro-swilling jokers who ask for a Bud at a brewpub, I expected this to cater to their tastes. It might, but the crisp nutty pale malt flavor and ample, bracing hopping lends this a quite authentic german pils flavor. Lively tight carbonation lends this a champagne-like mouthfeel. I could have sat here at lunch and had a few of these. It went perfectly with my crab and manchego dip.

Serving type: on-tap

12-13-2005 07:06:20 | More by bultrey