Tailgate "Lager Projekt" German Pilsner

Having a Tailgate taproom (and associated new and limited edition beers in their to-go fridge) is a blessing and a curse. I suspect I'm going to have a bunch of their beer in these pages for a little while. So far, that hasn't been a bad thing. Sometimes I take a look at how a brewery is doing as kind of a check-in of the bar chart at the bottom of these pages. So far: 7 Not Great, 6 Average, 10 Great, and 2 Excellent. Not a single beer that is actually bad, so they're doing well.

Traditionally, I complain about any haze in a pilsner. Mind you, the taste is what matters, but a haze in a pilsner is like truck nuts on a Mini. Yes, I know you put it there for style, but that's not where it belongs. I won't ding this one too hard for the ever-so-slight haze to it. The white head is shy about coming out, and it runs away fairly quickly. It won't be leaving any lacing, and the ghost of a ring around the sides hardly needs to be mentioned. The aroma is lemon-glazed bread crust. It smells divine. 

First sip is complex, crisp, and clean. It's not complex like a nice porter or stout, but it's more complex than most pilsners I've run into. The balance of sweet and tart is a neat little see-saw with bread and lemons giving heft and vibrance. It is remarkable among pilsners already, and I have yet to swig. But I can take care of that.

Tip-in is sweet bread crust malt with light carbonation and little else. The middle encounters lemons and light spices while carbonation moves up to the roof of the mouth. The finish is a sudden orchestral thump of lemons, spices, tart, and sweet all rolled up before a clean break to leave bitterness on the tongue and sweetness on the lips.

Bottom Line: Out-freaking-standing.

5.0/5