Short's Pontius Road Pilsner - Short's Brewing Company

Lillenk

Michigan

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had on tap at Grill One Eleven.

Appearance was a very nice golden color but a little cloudier than I would like to see from a Pilsner.

Smell was nice. Very typical smells of a pilsner. No off smells. Some hops in there too.

Taste was good. Very typical of the style. Nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary but a good crisp sessionable beer.

Mouthfeel was great. Very light bodied. I could definately drink quite a few of these. Overall a pretty good beer experience.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2011 16:27:58 | More by Lillenk

rings

Michigan

3.13/5  rDev -14%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

While I've always enjoyed their beers, I'd never really "reviewed" one as they never tend to be much for style accuracy. Heck, their offerings are typically tough to actually even define, much less get into style.

Their Pontius Road Pilsner is one of those beers. Offered on draft only, the PRP is described as "true American pilsner," which is somewhat akin to Miller Lite's claim, albeit in a completely different direction and for completely different reasons.

It's does pour pale and clear, but it strikes me as more of a helles than a pils, although it's flowery enough to even doubt the lager yeast. It's very mildly hopped, with little of the crispness one might expect in a pils. The body is sweet and full, with a gorgeous full white head. There is a mildly dry finish and, unfortunately, a hint of DMS, although nothing more than a Rolling Rock would consider distinct.

As one of their tamer offerings, this would make a great session beer and pair nicely with almost any tomato dish, especially anything highly seasoned or spicy.

While not within style, this is nonetheless a very enjoyable brew and is recommended.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2011 19:29:53 | More by rings

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.38/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed on 6/29/2010. On tap at Shorts. The beer pours a cloudy bright yellow, almost neon yellow, with a white head. Aroma of grainy malt, sweet fruits, bitter and sweaty hops. Flavor of wheaty, grainy, dry malt with a crisp hoppy finish. Nice pilsener.

Serving type: on-tap

12-24-2010 01:29:00 | More by LilBeerDoctor

kbeals

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Poured into a snifter glass. Pale, golden yellow in color with about a figner of off-white slightly fizzy head. Good head retention but not much lacing.

S- A bit citrusy with a pretty good sweet malt bill. Not much else to it.

T- Has a relatively strong bitter, citrusy kick with a good malt taste to finish. A pretty well-balanced beer. I wish I had more familiarity with pilsners.

M- Light-medium body with a bit of carbonation. Goes down pretty easy.

D- Easy to drink. Not a real high ABV but a very tasty beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-28-2009 02:53:22 | More by kbeals

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyed at the brewpub. Perle hops, santiem hops. Dry hopped. Yellow looks like ginger ale, and lacey. Medium mouthfeel. Served very cold, that's intentional. Very drinkable, alight bitterness and minerals, different than the Czech pils I have been having.

Serving type: on-tap

08-07-2009 11:49:04 | More by northyorksammy

tai4ji2x

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +19%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

on-tap during the short's throwdown at the roadhouse, in brookline, ma, on april 24, 2009, the week of the craft brewers conference.

very pale yellow. slight haze. creamy head soon shrinks to wispy, foamy, thin layer, then just ring. splotchy rings of lace, with one nicer ring further down the glass.

bready aroma and hint of yeast. whiff of sulfur, with solid noble hop profile; herbal with peppery note.

taste: big hoppy bite! almost peppery again. crisp, bold bitterness, but balanced by a nice malt breadiness, almost sweet. crisp and hoppy.

light body, but resins give texture in the finish. lots of crisp carbonation to lift flavors and refresh.

not a typical czech pils. borders on german. on their website, short's just says "true american pilsner style beer". fair enough - and truer than miller lite can ever hope to be.

Serving type: on-tap

06-27-2009 10:30:17 | More by tai4ji2x

sarahspat

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Had this one on tap at Cambridge House last night. Served in a Weizen glass (close enough, I guess).

There was about an inch of white, soft-looking head which quickly retreated. Left a few bits of lace here and there. The beer looks exactly what you would expect a pilsner to look like. Very clear, light golden yellow color.

The nose is pleasant and features light floral scents and deep, sweet fruitiness.

Lemon peel dominates the flavor; this beer has a bitter bite to it. There is also a kind of an elusive malty sweetness lurking in the background. I was never able to put my finger on any other specific flavors. The finish is very dry with a medium-light mouthfeel and just the right amount of carbonation. Much more hoppy than malty.

I deducted points from the drinkability because it made my mouth uncomfortably dry. Despite the pleasant flavor, I found it a little difficult to drink the whole glass.

This is maybe my third craft pilsner ever, so I'm definitely not an expert on the style, but this one might be my least favorite. It's not a bad beer at all, just didn't really have the crispness I was looking for.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2009 14:24:17 | More by sarahspat

Gigantis

Michigan

3.7/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had a pitcher of this split between 3 of us.

A lovely blaze of bright, dirty sunshine/gold with a tidal wave of foamy white riding high above. This beer looked extremely appetizing in the pitcher and it poured well into the pils glasses provided to us by Logan's Alley. It left tattered curtains down my long glass.

The aroma was nice and clean - a little hint of citrus zest.

The taste starts off clean and floral. Dry malt taste lingers afterwards. There is a hop kiss to end each drink. I found the light bitterness to be the best thing about the taste of this pils.

This is light-medium beer all the way. The carbonation is just right and the floral, just-barely-there bitterness feels very good. I kind of felt that the taste sat on my tongue a bit too long though. Not quite dry enough.

Very drinkable. It has that crisp clean taste that leaves you wanting a little bit more. I could have probably finished the entire pitcher with not a second thought.

Serving type: on-tap

03-09-2009 21:00:48 | More by Gigantis

TurdFurgison

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this on tap at Slows in Detroit this week. The beer was clear and golden/straw colored, maybe a little hazy, with a very thin head. The smell was more malty than hoppy, actually a little bready and clean. The taste was likewise malty, no real hops flavors picked up except a touch of bitterness. Medium body, this is easy to gulp, crisp and refreshing, not as hoppy as I'd like though.

Serving type: on-tap

09-12-2008 22:32:40 | More by TurdFurgison

brentk56

North Carolina

4.47/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Arrives at the bar with a clear golden color and a modest head that nevertheless litters the pint glass with a few shards of lace

Smell: Floral and grainy

Taste: Opens with a crisp, bready quality that quickly forges forward to a grainy bitterness; after the swallow, it really comes into its own, with a crisp floral, but not sweet, finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with prickly carbonation

Drinkability: The floral finish on this beer makes it eminently quaffable; when combined with the bitter character, it makes the beer sublime

Serving type: on-tap

07-14-2008 02:23:27 | More by brentk56