Kuhnhenn Czech Pilsner

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Warren, Michigan USA

Draught at TJ’s: Faint aroma of pils malts and Sazz hops. Poured yellow/gold/amber in color with a small, white head that lasted around the edges. Slightly hazy. Sparkling. Flavor is light to medium bitter and slightly sweet. Tastes of noble hops and pils malts. Medium body. Slightly dry texture. Average carbonation. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, noble hop finish.

12 oz shaker @ kuhnhenn. yellow with a fluffy white head. minimal body carbonation but laced the shaker nicely. clean saaz and pils malt nose. clean basic pils flavour. i wasnt blown away but also not dissapointed. standard pils.

On tap at the brewery. Clear gold with white head. Aroma of slightly sweet malt, hay, grass, and hops. Flavor is malty with crisp straw/grassy hops. Very nice carbonation, crisp mouthfeel. Good beer!

Kuhnhenn Czech Pilsner 64 oz growler Moderate pour in an English pint Unknown brewing (recent?), enjoyed 2 days after the growler pour, 04/07 Poured a clear gold with a medium frothy somewhat diminishing white head with fair lacing. Smelt of moderate to strong rustic yeast, dry leaves, cheese and light spruce. Taste was upfront moderate sweet bread malt and light spruce hops followed by a strong bitter cheesy yeast and dry leafy hop on a moderate finish. Overall, a nice Czech pilsner with good flavor, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Clear and bright gold color, thin cap of whitish foam. Almost zero head retention. Aroma is both crisp and sweetish malt. Lightly sweet malt up front, then crisper with a dry earthiness and plenty of spicy/herbal hop bitterness behind that. A hint of light smokiness shows up ever so briefly. Medium body, a bit too lightly carbonated (though that could be due to the growler). Smooth and tasty

5.8% ABV. On draft at brewery. Clear light gold color with white head. The aroma is light noble hops, sweet wheat malt and a hint of banana. Nice dry flavor of sweet malts plus some wheat, banana and noble hoppiness biting around the edges.

Growler consumed on 11/4/06 (one day old)
Soft honey and pale gold colored body has a slight bronze tint. Clarity is medium, perhaps a bit too hazy for the style? A two-finger high head can be coaxed out of a vigorous pour, but it rather quickly fizzles to cover. No lacing, sporadic bubbles rise in the liquid.
Very strong aroma extraction from Saaz hops. Not exactly the most poignant hop by any means, but here it is well represented, giving a very dry, wet grass nose with hints of lemongrass and white pepper. Yeast is very strong in the nose as well, with the lightly mineralic notes associated with the style and producing a moderate crispness on the end. Very lean malt apparency in the nose, though it does have a light touch of caramel or very sweet honey. There’s a bit of unrefined graininess to it, however, that makes me think they just used their regular house malt (2-row) and not pils malt. Though I’ve got absolutely no idea if that’s the truth. Still, whatever the case, it seems that the pils malt would contribute a much more soft, delicate honey aroma and flavor. Aroma strength is medium to medium-high, no alcohol or flaws noted.
Sweet honey-caramel dollops provide a wonderful medium on which is delivered a crisp, lemon-orange flavored hop bite that provides both flavor and bitterness (though the bitterness is much less). Soft grass and light flower petal like notes slowly transition in to a slightly doughy yeastiness that somewhat impairs the otherwise modestly crisp finish. The one thing that struck me was the amount of doughiness and it just seems like there’s still too much yeast in the beer. This really dulled an otherwise wonderfully hoppy, delicate flavor, with a dry, almost pepper and iron-like finish that seems quite authentic. Pepper and iron is a pretty stupid way to describe it, but the one thing that has always challenged me is describing the flavors produced by European lager yeasts on the finish. Definitely a mineral character, maybe some apples, white pepper. Whatever. Low carbonation could stand to be somewhat tighter, but isn’t too drab overall. Dry, well-attenuated texture.

Tap at the brewery. Clear straw gold color, minimal head, and nice lacing. Aroma has a nice balance of malt to citrus hops. Bready, malty body. Sharp hop finish. Clean dry aftertaste with perhaps a tiny hint of diacytel. Medium-thin body (a bit thicker than I’ve ever had in a pilsner) slightly oily mouthfeel.