Hats off to Oskar Blues for getting that beer name past the ATTTB. Damned fun-hating nimrods (and yeah, yeah, I know, zey are only follovink orderss...).
Mama's Little Yella Pils is, far as I know, Oskar Blues's first shot at a canned lager, and they did okay. The pour's yellowy-gold, and not bright, which troubles me a bit, to be honest. The aroma's good -- hopfen und malz, Gott erhalt's -- and it tastes clean enough, and it doesn't suffer from being over-hopped, a problem I have seen in some craft lagers. I had no problem putting this away in fairly short order.
But I have to say...west of Minnesota, I've noticed that craft-brewed pilsners tend to be on the heavy side. I thought that of the vaunted Moonlight Reality Czech Pils, too. Mama's just not quite as crisp as I'd like it. Her state-mate, New Belgium's Blue Paddle, is better, but still a bit...what, blunted?
I don't know if this effect would be better after a couple or not, but I did knock back two other cans in pretty short order late last week, so maybe it's not such a big deal. Doctor, please; some more of these...
14 comments:
You need some Double Aught.
I just had a can of Pils last night, and basically I think they blew it. I'll probably blog about it today. There's always Gordon.
Fun is bad...and therefore fun things should be regulated...guns, beer, liquor, sex, etc.
Moonlight's Pils TOO HEAVY?!?!
As the experts always say about the traditional German versions...did you drink it at the source? If not...you can't be biased.
So...did you drink it in San Fran or thereabouts?
Heavy? Bah...
This is supposed to be available in Wisconsin, but I haven't found it yet. Grrrr.
Loren,
Had it at Toronado, my man. Good to see you still are open to other viewpoints!
I agree - it's a solid beer, but it's definitely missing brightness in appearance and crispness in flavor. A little too round for a pils.
I've had buttery samples at the Toronado myself. But closer to Windsor it's always perfect.
Go to THE source next time.
Bailing out now...
You do realize that by back-pedaling like this you have severely under-cut your credibility (such as it is)? I am not going to travel to every single source when a top-notch beer bar is serving it in the brewery's backyard! Nimrod...
I reviewed it for All About Beer a couple of weeks ago for the next issue and I liked it. A great boat beer! Cans, no glass. Drinkable, yet with some character too.
Agree completely about Moonlight. That was pretty heavy for a pils.
Oh and I had it in Santa Rosa. It was excellent though.
Lew,
There was an Oskar Blues event last night at Fatheads, and the brewer there was Tim Matthews, who used to be Steve Sloan's assistant at the (much missed) John Harvard's Pittsburgh. I don't know how much influence he had on the Pils, but just thought you might be interested to know (and this was a good chance to mention it).
(Ohh, Steve is now the head brewer at Lost Coast Brewing...he'll be missed around here too, but a good opportunity for him!)
Definitely late to this conversation, but Tim and Lew, I think you hit the nail on the head with your comments. Mama's is a bit muted in flavor/hoppiness and a tad heavier than a traditional pilsner, but very easy to drink nonetheless. Would be interested in what you think of other Oskar Blues brews. Tried Gubna?
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