Bearded Iris "Technicolor" Pilsner

A rare pilsener from our friends at Bearded Iris. These guys normally stick to IPAs and double IPAs, but occasionally they'll go outside their comfort zone and produce something different. As I have stated many times in the past, if they make a beer, I'm gonna go ahead and sample that beer. I just really like this brewery.

I'm starting to become convinced that this glass is actually designed to produce the maximum volume of head from a beer. As a result, I can tell you that it's big and fluffy and seems fairly white. It does leave a little bit of lacing as it goes down, and it tops a vaguely murky gold beer underneath. The aroma is a bit off. It smells a little sour and a little tart with tangerines and oranges seeming to lead the charge. I'm double checking the can, and I don't see sour anywhere on it. So, I'm assuming this isn't going to be a sour. Pilsener's are not typically very well adapted to become sours.

First sip has a tartness that is almost sour waiting in the wings. Tart grips on to the teeth while a relatively watery, grainy malt fills up the center of the mouth. I'm not sure where the fruits went, but I don't really taste them. The resulting beer isn't too sour for me, someone who hates sours, to say that it is terrible. Instead, it's interesting enough to go in for another sip, but that's not what I'm going to do. I have a process, and I'm going to follow it.

Tip-in is mild carbonation tingle with tartness leaning towards sour gripping the teeth while grains and fruit rind coalesce in the center of the mouth. The middle retains the tartness, but it releases the sour and the middle ends up being a crisp blend of bright fruit juices and well-meaning grains. The finish almost reminds me more of a wheat beer with the amount of grain that I taste, but it's definitely sweeter than most wheats while the tartness disappears entirely.

Bottom Line: It's perfectly fine if you drink it the right way, but it is ultimately rather forgettable.

2.5/5