t IJ Plzen

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hazy yellow, nice white head. Slightly yeasty aroma, floral notes and some malt. Yeasty flavor with both hops and malts. Bitter finish.

Bottle, sampled at The Rover, Göteborg. Hazy dark yellow. Fruity, malty nose. Homebrew, keller-style, pale malty, very dry pils. Lingering dry/bitter, somewhat papery finish.

The Lure:
Leafy, herbal hops evolve into citrus fruit at times. Shy pils malt form minute cookies with some of their mild honeyed sweetness. Bubblegummy esters rise from the yeast, which is definitely atypical of Czech pils, if that’s what they’re aiming for.

The Festivities:
Mostly herbal hops proceed to lend a wooden, dry bitterness. Tight carbonation gains more importance than the malt sweetness and hop fruitiness. There are no oily hops to speak of, and that yeast again is nothing like the style usually uses, so this becomes a totally different creature than that advertised. Approach this one as if you hadn’t read the name of the beer, as if you wanted a softer version of De Ranke’s XX Bitter.

Transcendence:
Expectations ruin the true appreciation of the moment.

Bottle. Weak, fruity, hoppy aroma. Pale golden colour, unstable head. Starts a little watery, but turns bitter. Has some aroma hops. OK bitter finish.

Bottled Hazy yellow coloured with floaties and a huge white head. Unpleasant acidc aroma with notes of ’t IJ-yeast, pine needles and hops. Flavour of malts, ’t IJ-yeast, pine needles and hops. Dry hoppy finish.

On tap at The Rover, Gothenburg. Very pale in colour, with white head. Unclear! Aromas of lemon and banana. Almost wheat-beer-like. Light flavour,fruity with cellar-like elements. Aftertaste is tropical fruits and a light bitterness. (051008)

(11.2 oz bottle: $4.59 at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA) Ugh, I need to get better about checking bottling dates when I buy beer, even when I’m in a great store like Bottleworks. I just bought this last month, and the bottle’s date? November, 2001!! Despite the fact that there is a significant layer of yeast in the bottom of the bottle, I’m still worried that I’ve wasted nearly $5 on this expensive Belgian pilsener. Pouring the beer into my pint glass, it’s golden-amber in color and fully cloudy. The creamy, off-white head rises to just under an inch in height, but settles to and holds a thin, complete layer. The aromatic nose is strong hay, earthy and very smoky, and is reviving distinct memories of a St. Peter’s Golden Ale, which for me is a very good thing. And likewise, the flavor is delicious cow food. Perhaps as strong a hay flavor as in any beer I’ve ever tried, and the smokiness is pretty powerful for a beer that doesn’t have "rauch" or "smoke" on the label. Mild bitterness doesn’t get in the way of the smoky hay flavor, and sweetness is light as well. In fact, it’s a pretty dry pilsener, and even lightly tart. It’s malty enough that this beer has a medium "plus" body well into the long finish, and yet, the unique combination of flavors makes this beer pretty refreshing on the palate. I have no idea what this beer should taste like fresh, but damn if this 4-year old pilsener isn’t one of the tastiest and most unique pilseners I’ve ever had. I’m not even sure I would consider this a pilsener anyway, though perhaps when fresh, it’s more pilsener-like. But I guess even for a pilsener, bottling dates just aren’t a reason to avoid buying certain beers, and Bottleworks was right to keep selling this beer. I should never doubt Bottleworks. Bad Elf! This may now be my favorite pilsener of all time, at least as good as Pilsner Urquell. Of course, I still need to know what this beer tastes like fresh to proclaim it king.

Unpretentious black and white label. Gorgeous hazy golden, bottle-conditioned though the white head fades with regularity and eventually is but a thin cover. Charming, rustic hay-grass like aroma with a gentle bready, soft, lean sourdough reminiscent maltiness. The yeast presence adds a whasp of originality in the shape of motherly doughyness and sheer rustic, fieldish character. In mouth, the delicate yet efficiently dry lemony, floral (honeysuckle) potentially hallertauer are perfectly balanced with the rest, ensuring immense quaffability and peace of mind. Might be one of the great bottled example, both for the measure and skill at conditioning with yeast and for the plain goodness. Wow, that’s good!

On Draught at the brewery, this was so fresh and excellently tasty that I must raise my already good score of 3.8 to a 4.2.