Saranac Pilsener - Matt Brewing Company

Jason

Massachusetts

2.55/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

12oz brown with no freshness date.

Appearance: Bright pale golden in colour with a faint patchy white lace that dissipates.

Smell: Herbal and slight citrus in the nose from the hops, mild hint of bready grain also.

Taste: Husky pale malt is awry, hop bitterness only enhances it. Dry palate with an odd dextrin flavour throughout. Citric herbal hop is quick and lets in some astringent flavours, more huskiness comes through and is quite bothersome.

Mouthfeel: Slight crispness and medium bodied, I’d want more crispness out of this brew and it seems to have a bitty mouth feel in the end.

Drinkability & Notes: Real tough to put down 12 oz. This brew used to be a damn good lager, did this batch crap the bed or is this what Saranac is starting taste like? I’ll pass next time this is in my crosshairs during my next beer hunt.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2002 18:05:57 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

3.38/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The whole "Pilsener" labeling is confusing, but whatever. Loads of character. Ultra-clean aroma. Smooth and creamy on the palate, and very fresh tasting. What I really love is the snap that this beer has with its use of crisp wheat and dry-hopping. Light, mellow fruit with some dextrin sweetness and a flash of lime/citric hop bitterness. Goes dry in the end.

A very unique American twist of a style, and a solid, okay beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2002 14:54:57 | More by Todd

bsopko

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -41.5%

03-01-2013 20:46:27 | More by bsopko

DmanGTR

New York

2.25/5  rDev -34.2%

02-10-2013 16:50:58 | More by DmanGTR

Janeinma

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -12.3%

01-20-2013 23:13:10 | More by Janeinma

AlesaandLandon

3/5  rDev -12.3%

10-16-2012 01:22:44 | More by AlesaandLandon

generallee

New York

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

08-29-2012 11:22:59 | More by generallee

Dizzy242

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -5%

07-08-2012 15:42:16 | More by Dizzy242

dlin0sbb

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

06-12-2012 16:25:51 | More by dlin0sbb

Stockfan42

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -19.6%

05-31-2012 01:55:01 | More by Stockfan42

Jim_DemonDeacon

2.75/5  rDev -19.6%

03-10-2012 21:32:32 | More by Jim_DemonDeacon

chrispoint

Connecticut

2.5/5  rDev -26.9%

02-18-2012 20:29:03 | More by chrispoint

kmwilson76

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

12-26-2011 18:20:30 | More by kmwilson76

1p5v

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -26.9%

12-23-2011 20:35:57 | More by 1p5v

CaptJackHarkness

New York

3/5  rDev -12.3%

12-10-2011 01:35:50 | More by CaptJackHarkness

victory4me

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -12.3%

12-09-2011 03:56:30 | More by victory4me

rab53

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +17%

12-02-2011 04:18:22 | More by rab53

djrn2

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -12.3%

12-01-2011 23:23:56 | More by djrn2

animal69

Louisiana

3/5  rDev -12.3%

11-29-2011 03:04:10 | More by animal69

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.44/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Nothing special to look at or drink. Gold looking beer, typical head retention of a yellow beer.

Has some decent hop zest, I'm probably guessing its around 30ibus. Some of the zip might be from the carbonation, which seems on the high end.

Its not a bad beer, its a good beer to have around yourself to give to other people who don't like their beer to be too adventurous. But you're kidding yourself if you think this is an een average representation of a pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2009 22:39:55 | More by Beerandraiderfan

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a golden color however, not as light as other pilsners that i have had. The smell has a hint of fruity notes to it, however, the notes do not show up in the taste of the beer. The beer is a basic pilsner, for its class it is a good beer. Better tasting than the macros. The mouthfeel is without a lot of carbination. Overall it is solid but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2009 01:45:47 | More by goblue3509

therica

Maryland

3.7/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A= nice golden, slightly darker than usual but within limits, and a nice white foamy head which laced generously throughout consumption.

S= really really nice nose of hops and malts

T= immediately after pouring, I wasn't that impressed, mostly bland but clean yet bitter taste. A few minutes after setting, lots of nice body and taste. Then I was interrupted, came back about 10 minutes later and couldn't find much of the taste which had emerged, in fact the taste had become a bit watery. Overall, if you catch the nice mid-tastes it's great.

M= clean, crisp, with light but very-bitters lingering.

D= easily, and probably great with any meal

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2008 04:09:29 | More by therica

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.45/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bought as part of the Saranac 12 Beers of Summer mix pack ($11.99/12)

I must admit, this is one of my favorite overall styles and this one was by far the best in the 12 pack. The Saranack Adirondack Lager is also listed as a Pilsener but this is much better. Some nice fruity taste, well bodied, and highly carbonated which makes for a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2008 23:03:13 | More by marlinsfan4

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.43/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured a nice golden amber, a bit darker then I would have thought, and that is good. a nice fluffy pillow like white head graced the top to a height of about two inches before settling back down to just some lace ringing the glass, a touch of which stuck around for a while. Great visible carbonation evident in streams of bubbles filtering up from the bottom. Smell was light, lots of grain with some hints of maybe corn or an earthy cereal, but nothing spectacular. Taste was good, you typical pilsner. Light on the flavor, big on carbonation. Smooth crisp mouthfeel. Not a real lingering flavor, but what was there was lots of grain and corn maybe, something else but it was hard to place. Very sessionable, as it was very light. All together a good summer drinker, I have had better, but it is definatly not bad. Looking forward to hitting up some more.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2007 00:05:02 | More by mikesgroove

Deconstructionis

West Virginia

3.8/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Let's not freak out over nomenclature. American Pilseners frequently contain adjuncts and a a little wheat beats the heck out of a lot of rice and corn, n'est-ce pas?

This is a fine beer and a great choice for a summertime every day beer. It's not world-class beer, but it's also $4 a six at the drugstore. Dollar for dollar it's one of the best bargains around.

A shade to the amber/gold compared to macro brews it forms a thick sudsy head when poured to a chilled mug and has a crisp yeast aroma infused with bright cascade hoppiness. The taste is clean, refreshing, pale malts with a bare hint of wheat, and slightly astringent-- a real thirst quencher. It's a light bodied and fairly highly carbonated beer that is meant to be served cold, but iunlike typical macro lagers can be enjoyed at 45 -50 degrees.

Basically, I'd call it a high quality rendition of a macro lager. don't mistake not liking poor versions of that style with it not being a worthwhile style. Give some good ones a try. You have to go significantly up in price before you find a better one than this.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2006 14:30:26 | More by Deconstructionis