Smoky Mountain Old Thunder Road Pilsner

Brewed by Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Gatlinburg, Tennessee USA

I’m a bit biased toward pilseners. I think they’re the worst style of beer. Maybe it’s because all the bad macro brewed American beers are all "pilseners". Anyway, I can’t rate this beer very high.

12 oz bottle, via trade w/ BeerandBlues2. Pours a deep gold, clear, with a fluffy and small white head. Grainy malt aroma, with light floral hops. Very muddled flavor, grainy malt with virtually no hoppiness. Very watery with no body, thin and fizzy on the tongue. Lacks the crisp finish required of a well crafted BoPils, combined with the virtually non-existant hop profile and you get something that doesn’t resemble the style it proclaims to be.

Bottle. Poured an amber color with a slight haze. Small white head that fully disappeared in no time. Smells of grass, lemon, and sweet caramel at the nose. The flavor was similar to the aroma. Lemon, earthy, caramel, and grass. Light body. Starts with a light bitterness but ends sweet.

Draught at Cheasepeake’s in Knoxville. Deep gold, almost bronze, with pretty strings of bubbles. No head and no lacing. Very, very faint aroma of malt, wet wood, and (eek!) vomit. Tastes like MiIchelob’s big brother (as I remember Mich tasting the last time I had it ~10 yrs ago?) Soft malt, barest impressions of ashtray and sulfur. Very woody, like licking a new oak barrel. No hop flavor or aroma. Surprisingly full, buttery mouthfeel. Unusual aftertaste of peppermint and cedar.

Honey colored was a valid commercial description. Aroma was negligible. Very light malt and hops. Flavor was lightly hoppy, malty, with a bit of mineral and soap. Adequate body. Boring but drinkable.

On tap at the brewery/restaurant in Gatlinburg. Bartender touted it as being "like a Heineken" when I asked if it was "like a pilsner urquell" but I knew better when I read the "beer menu" and saw its description, and was justified when I saw the color of its dark honey pour. This is perhaps the best beer on tap at the restaurant. Though maltier than most pilsners, the aromatic saaz hops really stand out, making this beer both crisp and flavorful. The restaurant and this beer are some of the few things that saved me from the hellhole known as Gatlinburg (as I’ll point out in my brewery review). If the bottles are as good as this one was on tap, I’d buy it often (if it’s available locally). Vellas (the brewer) surprised me with this one. I think that he could shake things up a bit if he starts playing with more hops. I wish I had tried the specialty pale ale now, but never got a chance to give it a shot. Well done.

Clear, dark straw body with gentle carbonation and a loose, sudsy white head. Light butter aroma plus medium hop notes that are mildly grassy and spicy plus some sweet malt. Medium sweet, buttery flavor with a light nutty component and a tea-like quality. Has a building Czech hop character and moderate bitterness. Medium-light texture with some flat slickness. A decent American-made pilsner. Thanks SpringsLicker.

Draught at brewpub. Clear yellow-gold with a hoppy aroma. The flavor is a smooth hoppiness that increases over time. Some other secondary flavors in the background support it, but it lacks something I can’t quite place. A decent pilsner.