Russian River HUGE large Sound Czech Pilsner

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Santa Rosa, California USA

Draft at the Brewpub; Big nose of grassy hops; clear gold with a big white head; flavor of mild hop bitterness along with some graininess! An excellent Pilsener with great hoppiness!

From tap this beer came out clear blonde with a nice white head. Strong grassy hop aroma and malt. This beer fills your mouth with flavor. Lots of malt but finished with lots of grassy hops that balances nicely. Left me wanting another.

A Czech IPA! Refreshing and dry with a nice grassy hop character. This a session beer par-excellance. If only Vinnie would make this year round.

On tap @ the brewpub, chalkboard states 5.7% and 33 IBUs. Hazy golden straw with creamy one finger head, great retention. Floral and grassy hops in the nose, with some sweet biscuits and fresh pasta as well. The flavor adds just a hint of citrus hops. The finish is dry with bitterness at a 4. Medium body with light to moderate carbonation. Excellent lacing. A very good pils, but I still prefer Reality Czech.

(hand bottle from irishboy.thanks man!light orange body with a small white head.the aroma blends up melon,hay,and a tiny wiff of hops.the flavor is dominated by biscuits type malt,and is followed up by some melon,hay,and again a small hop presence.overall pretty solid.full flavor for a 5% beer.

Hazy golden. Aroma is big grassy hops, bread, some buttery goodness. Medium bodied, bittersweet finish. Big flavors for a pils. One of the best tasting, but lacked the drinkability.

I thought this was very well done for a Pilsner. Certainly modeled after the crisp bitterness in PIlsner Urquell, the beer surprised me. I am not a Pilsner fan whatsoever, but I would drink this beer all summer long. Thick for its style, and bitter enough to drive home some flavor, it was perfect with some pizza from the RR pub.

On tap at the brewpub. Mostly hazy, pale straw colored body with a finger of fizzy white head. Moderate herbal/spicy noble hop aroma with a faint, crackery pils malt note in the background. Clean and fresh aroma. Not as inviting of a pils malt aroma as I’d like, but the juiciness of the hop aroma is certainly welcome. Light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, silky texture. Light crackery malt presence up front, followed quickly by a powerful herbal hop flavor. Intensely hoppy, with an herbal/spicy character that almost approaches grapefruit in quality, but still maintains a "noble" hop perception. Finishes dry, with a refreshing hop bitterness lingering on the palate. This is an awesome, summertime refreshing pilsner example with a hop flavor that provides stiff competition for prima pils. The board stated 33IBU’s, but my perception would be more in the 45-50 range. A little bit more pils malt complexity would be nice, but the mouthfeel is right on and I wouldn’t want that to get in the way of the hop character. Overall, a very enjoyable beer.