Crown Valley Brewing's Old School Pilsener

First off, I want to apologize for how quiet it was. I'm still experimenting with equipment to find just the right setup for the blog.

Today's beer was Crown Valley Brewing's Old School Pilsener out of St. Genevieve, Missouri. You can probably tell by the look on my face that my first impressions might have been less than positive. I wasn't lying when I said it was pretty good, but it's hoppier than I'm used to, and I've never been much for hops (a sin, though that may be). Let's go down this in order.

First off, the look was beautiful. It had a sort of goldish look, on the darker end leaning more towards honey, very effervescent and the head was amazing. I've not poured a beer with that much head before, around six fingers and I was very glad that my glass was as tall as it was. Lacing was light, but it stuck around, as did the head itself. Hours on, there are still traces of lacing on the glass (which I'll be taking into the kitchen shortly).

The smell was yeasty, which is not a bad thing like it may sound. Another thing that came to the fore was the smell of the hops. There was a wheat undertone, and it was only vaguely floral, but otherwise nice.

The first taste was further confirmation of the yeast and hops smell from the nose of the drink. It was only a little wheaty, but there was a lot going on in this drink. It was, among many things, one of the more complex beers I've tasted. If you're looking for a drink that will make you think, this is one to take a look into. Taste was quite bitter, laden with hops, which I know will appeal to a large segment of beer drinkers. The mouth feel as I described it was wonderful. Very clean, a lighter body to it, with carbonation lending to the experience.

Really, I didn't know what to expect coming in to this. I've never had a pilsener before, so this was all very new to me. Again, I could recommend this drink on the complexities of the flavor alone, and it qas very enjoyable whatever my face said on the screen. At first I was surprised by the hops, but as I finished the drink I became more accustomed to it.