New Glarus Hometown Blonde

Brewed by New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Pilsener
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

Date: 03/15/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: hazy dark yellow, frothy off white head, drippy lace,
Aroma: skunky malt aroma with light spicy hops,
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, touch of candy sweetness, light balancing hops, hint of wood pussy,

Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 4/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 7/20
Rating: 2.1/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *+/4

12oz bottle acquired in trade with Brigadier (thanks!). Poured a medium golden color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas of grass, grains, and a trace of citrus. Tastes of grains, and light grass. Starts of lightly sweet and ends in a grassy bitterness.

Pours a very fizzy medium golden with a puffy white head. Noble hoppy aroma with some wheat profile. Flavor is smooth and somewhat robust for a pilsener, mostly dominated by hops, but some malt is noticeable. Pretty true to style and quite drinkable.

Bottle… Brilliant, clear yellow lager with a small, soapy, white head and good retention. The subtle aroma is of spicy, peppery hops with whispers of pilsner malt, lemon peel and acetaldehyde. Crisp, acerbic, hop flavor with moderate to medium bitterness. Medium-bodied and oily with lively carbonation. Short, metallic, abrasive finish.

Pours yellow with a white head. Smells of dry malt, noble hops (spicy, sage, earth). Tastes initially sweet with a nicely balanced hoppiness on the finish.

12oz bottle. Slightly hazy hay lemon colored body. Nice, pleasent, lemon and corn fuel nose, but tempered by some pillowy yeast, giving it almost a cream smell. Sweet wheat, hay, lemon, and rich honey malts all over the mouth, with a semi-sharp bite over the middle and a crisp, sweet lemon and cracker pils malt finish. Very tasty.

The description on the bottle describes this as a German style Pilsener, but it gets the generic categorization on the site. All of which matters little, since this has nothing to do with the Pilsener style, drinkable though it be. In the glass it’s golden, nicely carbonated, and has a mediocre head. The aroma is bready malts with a drop of honey, but no sign of the requisite hoppy bitterness. There’s a mild grassy/floral bite to the flavor, but not enough to classify this as a Pils. Okay, I s’poze, but not what I’d expected.

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A very good german pilsner. Nice sharp hops with the malt to back it up. A seasonal which is brewed whenever the brewery has time. The hops this time are a little more asserative then their last effort a few years ago.