Beer 158/365 – Troegs Sunshine Pils

Style: German Pilsner

ABV: 5.3%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Very fresh and grainy

Will I be drinking this again: Yes, I need to turn my “miller lite” friends onto this beer

Grade: B+

4/15/2010: I have tried a ton of Troeg’s beer in my a day, but this is the first time trying Sunshine Pils! I would say Troeg’s probably has some of the best beer in PA. Actually they probably have the most solid beer overall from A-Z, with Victory a close second.

The smell on this I can only describe as “vibrant”… Very grainy, almost like smelling multi-grain bread, with some lemon scents in there too. The flavor is very crisp, a nice dose of hops for a pils, and again grainy. Very smooth and finishes a little bit dry. This would be a perfect gateway beer for your Miller Lite drinking friends.

Picture of the day: Okay this one isn’t so much funny, actually kind of sad. America is not #1.

Beer 106/365 – Thirsty Dog Lunar Lager

Style: German Pilsener

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: The most non lager tasting lager ever.

Will I be drinking this again: Maybe if it was the last beer on the moon

Grade: C-

2/22/2010: Ugh. So very disappointed by this beer. I love thirsty dog as they brew two of my favorite beers; Old Leghumper and Siberian Stout, but they really dropped the ball on this one. Not only did it not taste like the style AT ALL, but it just didn’t taste good for any style.

Lunar Lager pours out extremely hazy. Giant galaxies of yeast are suspended in the middle of the beer as if there was zero gravity in the liquid. I even let this beer sit for 10 minutes to see if the giant meteorites of yeast would settle, but they didn’t. Look at the picture… You can see the pile of sand on the bottom and the chunks floating around. The smell is sour as hell with no sign of hops at all, which is usually at the forefront for a German Pils. The taste is sour/spoiled lemons, and thats really about all. Its not the good kind of sour you usually get with a good beer either, its the spoiled sour type of taste. No sign of hops in the taste either. Mouthfeel is decent but not nearly good enough to bump this beers C- grading. Avoid this one, but it shouldn’t be hard as it was a one time experimental release. Also assuming not many people have tried it since there are only 6-7 reviews of it on BA.

Picture of the day: Now this is a good one. If men wrote Women’s magazine covers.

Beer 86/365 – Sam Adams Noble Pils

Style: German Pilsener

Purchased at: GIANT FREAKIN IGGLE… Still can’t believe they are selling beer.

What makes this beer different: Grassy

Will I be drinking this again: I bought a 6 pack so yes..

Grade: B+

2/02/2010: Jesus H did Sam Adams put enough money into advertising this stuff? If you haven’t seen the commercial you either don’t watch TV, or you are a zombie. Its odd how some snobs will hate on Sam Adams, and I think its because they are the largest by volume craft brewer in the US. We all know everyone in the US loves to hate the person/company who is on top, but really they paved the way for all the other great breweries that have sprung up in the last couple decades. Oh sidenote: check out the picture of the poured beer in my picture, it made me realize my table isn’t even close to level hah.

Anyways for those who don’t know a pilsener is technically a type of lager, and is hugely popular in Eastern Europe. Tons of hop smell once you pour the Noble Pils. The taste is crisp with a lot of hops, but not super intense. Pale/Grassy type hops are the main flavor I am getting. A little too far on the bitter side of the scale for me to give this beer an A, but overall very good. Very light mouthfeel with a good amount of carbonation. Worth a shot if you are into pilseners.

Funny Picture of the day: Anyone ever wonder where apple got the idea for The iPad.