Efes Pilsener/Bare Knuckle Stout (TUR/NH)

Efes Beverage is a swaggering international corporation based in Turkey. They apparently sponsor a basketball club where Mehmet Okur and Hidayet Turkoglu used to play (and where former Syracuse Orangeman Preston Shumpert currently plays, but I digress).

Their pilsener isn't all that bad. I think this a beer that our European cousins have seen around a lot, but it's new to me. It tastes like a second tier Euro pils, with grainy malts and light, grassy hops. Not much kick, but nothing off about it either, and it's reasonably crisp and refreshing. I liked it with a spicy stew.

Bare Knuckle Stout is A-B's attempt at a Guinness clone. I'd never heard of it before and ordered it in an out of town hotel bar thinking it might be a local beer. A-B only sells it on tap I think. It certainly has the look down, complete with cascading foam, and the nitrogen texture, for better or worse. Taste-wise, it comes across as a somewhat watery version of Guinness (which isn't the stoutest stout to begin with). Still, it wasn't bad, and I'd order it again in an A-B exclusive location (or maybe I'd order American Ale).

But who's going to drink it? This isn't Anheuser-Busch trying to overhwelm tiny microbreweries. Guinness has formidable marketing and distribution of their own. Also, I can't imagine the Guinness fanboys switching even if BK Stout were superior. Is Bare Knuckle destined to be the stout of choice in unlikely places (e.g., hotel and airport bars)? Or does A-B plan on doing some serious arm-twisting to take taps away from Guinness?

Four from Lakefront Brewery (WI)

To me, Lakefront Brewery is known for two things: for New Grist, their gluten-free beer, and for being arbitrarily sued last year by a guy who was hit on the head by a can of Schlitz. As their beers are newly available to my area -- we seem to be getting a lot from Big 10 country all of a sudden -- I figured I'd try to learn more about them.

I bought their unusual 8-by-1 variety pack from my local retailer. It's a nice package for those who want to try as many beers as possible, although I'd prefer at least two of each. Thankfully, New Grist is not included. Instead, there are a surprising four lagers in the box, perhaps a sign that this Wisconsin brewery embraces it's German roots.


Cherry Lager: This is the seasonal in the pack, and an out of season one at that (my variety pack seems to be from late August). The last fruited lager I had was the crummy Wild Blue. Cherry Lager is much better, although still not great. It pours with a pinkish hue and really nice head. The cherries aren't really prominent, but at least if you didn't know you could guess they were there. There's only a light cherry tartness to it, and some proper fruitiness. The beer finishes dry with rough hops (Mt. Hood, the website says), which maybe clash a bit. Overall, I'd say this is pretty good for a fruit beer in that it doesn't have that no-calorie seltzer flavor that so many others do.

Klisch Pilsner: Klisch is the family name of the brothers who run the show. Their pilsener is pretty ordinary: straw-colored, light-bodied, fizzy, without much of a hop kick. There's an unfortunate faint sourness to it. In the summer, I might applaud it for being thirst-quenching, but now there isn't much to recommend.

Cattail Ale: I should point out that I don't like the label designs on any of these. Cattail is categorized by Beer Advocate as an English pale mild. I don't know what Ratebeer says; they're down again. The ale is a hazy golden brew, light and fizzy, not too distant from the pilsener. Again, there's a slight sourness. Is this a problem of lack of freshness? There aren't many hops here, nor even much in the way of malt body. Cattail probably works best fresh in the summer as a sessions beer at just over 5%.

Oragnic ESB: This may be the best of the bunch. It pours more amber has more heft to it than Cattail, with biscuity malts and earthy hops. The website says "cascade hop flavor" but I don't detect that. Also, it really isn't all that bitter, even by English standards. It's a style I like though, and a solid attempt.

Not a blockbuster start for the eight-pack, but the beers are to follow are darker and more to season right now. I enjoyed the ESB the most but would probably order the Cherry Lager if I had a choice, if only that it's just about the only one of its kind out there.

Jever Pilsener (GER)

I have a bottle of Southern Tier's new Cherry Saison I was planning of reviewing, but the vicious weekend heat has made an Imperial anything seem like too much. Instead, a classic North German pilsener seemed like it would hit the spot. And it did.

A green bottle and an all too close "best before" date make Jever a bit of a risk. Indeed, the smell is skunked up a bit. However, the sustaining white head on top of a straw body work in the beer's favor, and the taste doesn't seem off at all (but possibly muted over time). There's some initial malty sweetness -- more than I expected given this style of pils -- but from there on it's herbal hops, bitterness and a very dry finish. Jever is something like 44 IBUs, and the relatively light malt profile make it seem like more. So it largely comes down to whether you like German noble hops. I do.

Jever is a nice beer for the right occasion. Still, it doesn't quite match up to my favorite US pilseners (e.g., Victory), and the vagaries of green bottles and travel make it a tough buy.

Left Hand Sawtooth Ale/Polestar Pilsener (CO)

Left Hand's Mountain Mixer put me back more than $18 before tax and deposit, which is certainly on the high side for a 12-pack.

Sawtooth Ale: This is the brewery's flagship beer, an "American-style" ESB. Or maybe it's a slightly hoppy amber ale. The key here is balance between malts and hops, sweet and bitter, and I think this gets it right. The hops are citrusy, but not pushing too much into APA (or IPA) territory. Light-to-medium bodied and crisp carbonation, it's drinkable, and probably good will all kinds of food. The downside is it can get lost in the shuffle. I'm not sure I could pick this out of a lineup. Still, you need something like this in a good variety pack.

Polestar Pilsner: "The hardest beer we make -- there's nowhere to hide!" For that effort, this turns out to be an okay pilsener, but not much more. It's straw color is oh so slightly hazy with a nice white head. The aroma is sweet to me: cookies, maybe banana (!?). But the taste doesn't seem to follow suit. Grassy is the first thing that comes to mind. I like it, but it's not flavorful enough. Would be good for a hot summer day, but not much else.

The two dark beers to come.

Victory Prima Pils (PA)

A late September heat wave draws me away from the fall beers and right into the arms of Prima Pils, one of the most highly regarded American pilseners. My bottle says "enjoy by Dec 12 07."

It pours a slightly hazy straw yellow with a lacy white head. Body is medium, with good fizziness, but not too rough. It's tasty. I've heard some people describe this as a bit of a hop bomb, at least by the standards of the style. I think it has less bite to it than Ithaca's take on the style. Prima Pils is more balanced though, with some cereal maltiness to it. There's a hint of grapefruit bitterness around the edges, but not too much. It leaves a nice aftertaste too.

I'm glad I tried it.

Erie Brewing Presque Isle Pilsner (PA)

I randomly grabbed a single of this while on my way to the checkout at my favorite beer store. The brewer describes it as a Southern German pilsener, which is similar to a Bohemian pilsener (that's how ratebeer has it categorized). I drank this along with my last bottle of Ithaca Pils and found the two brews could hardly be more different.

Presque Isle (named after a state park in Erie, PA) pours a slightly cloudy yellow with a healthy white head. It resembles a wheat beer. The aroma is a bit sweet and bready, and the taste follows suit. More malty than hoppy, the beer has a slight citrusy note. The finish isn't as clean or crisp as I'd like. Still, it's pretty refreshing and has a lively carbonation.

In comparison, Ithaca Pils looks more copper-toned and clear. Its taste is definitely hoppier, and even its texture has more bite. Honestly, Erie's beer is arguably more similar to Ithaca's Apricot Wheat than to its pilsener. I don't dislike Presque Isle, but am not going to rush out to buy a sixer. This probably isn't the best example of the Bohemian or S. German styles, although its congenialty might make it a good try for those still under the spell of macro lagers.

Ithaca Pils (NY)

Ithaca introduced its pilsener in March of this year, and as far as I can tell it's only available on tap and in the summer 12-pack. Here's the brewer's blog post from February 2nd. "It’s a German-style Pils, brewed strictly with ingredients from Germany."

I think every pilsener rating at either ratebeer or Beer Advocate includes the words "this isn't my favorite style." I won't even bother to say that. The Ithaca certainly looks like a proper pilsener: straw colored and clear with bubbles ascending. The texture is sort of that fine grain sandpaper, with all the small bubbles scraping your throat on the way down. I mean that as a compliment. I might have liked to taste a bit more here. It's moderately hoppy and sort of grassy (mulchy?) and has a hint of grapefruit juice in its finish. Give this a try if you're a pilsener fan or thirsty Cornell grad student.