Saranac Pilsener: Clean and Clear like a Mountain Stream
Written: Aug 16 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Easy Drinkabilty; Good Clarity
Cons: Misleading name; Light
The Bottom Line: Saranac Pilsener is a good beer, for a light beer; easy to drink and clean tasting.
|
|
|
| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Saranac Pilsener |
Saranac is a brand name for a family of beers produced by the F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica, New York. A short time ago, I purchased a sampler pack of Saranac beers- a six pack that was supposed to include 2 bottles each of three different styles of beer: Black and Tan, Pale Ale, and Adirondack Amber. I had already tried and reviewed Black and Tan, but I bought the sampler pack anyway, so that I could taste and review the other two beers but, lo and behold, there was another beer in the pack. Someone had replaced one of the Adirondack Amber bottles with another Saranac product: Saranac Pilsener. The Amber and the Pilsener both have a yellow label, so I didn’t even realize that a switch had taken place.
Basic Characteristics:
Of the three new beers that were waiting to be sampled, this product was the one that I tried last. I didn’t do it because I was saving the best for last; I held off trying the pilsner because it seemed the least interesting of the three beers in the pack. Nevertheless, when the time came to sample this beer, I kept an open mind. You never know what you’re going to get, when you open up a bottle of beer for the first time, and you should never let the appearance of the label or the style of beer influence your judgment. You should always begin the tasting process with an open mind.
I popped the top of my beer and poured it into my beer mug. Right away, I could smell the aroma of hops and fruitiness as the beer swirled and foamed up inside my glass. The foam quickly settled down, which distracted somewhat from the appearance, but only a little. It was more than compensated by the clarity. Just like the Adirondack Amber, I was impressed right away with the excellent clarity of this beer! It was light golden in color and it had the clearness and cleanness of a glass of Pilsner Urquell, the world famous beer from the Czech Republic.
Saranac Pilsener is not what I expected at all, for this style of beer. As beer drinkers know, the term “pilsener”, is used liberally by American brewers and it often says nothing about the taste of the beer itself. After all, Miller Lite calls itself a pilsner, and so does Pilsener Urquell, even though these two beers are light years apart, in terms of taste and character.
This pilsener is made with wheat and barley malts, along with a mixture of Cascade and Tettnang hops, so to call it a “pilsener” is really stretching liberalism to its limits, and it will mislead many people who try this beer for the first time. The flavor is balanced and easy to drink. At first, the aroma of hops led me to believe that the flavor would be overly hopped, but it isn’t. It was balanced between the malt and the fruity hop flavors. If I was drinking this beer for the first time, in a blind taste- test, I would not have guessed that it was made with wheat. It tasted like an all barley- malt beer to me.
The brewers at Matt Brewery produce this pilsener with a starting gravity of 1.048, and a low ending gravity of 1.009, which is indicative of its lightness. The alcohol level is 5.3 percent by volume and there are 158 calories in a 12 oz. serving.
Food Compatibility:
Because this beer is on the lighter side, it would be very easy to match it up with many foods. It would accommodate cold meat sandwiches, light snacks, and many other foods as well. This is not a hearty brew by any means, so it wouldn’t be the best beer to drink with something like steak, ham, stew, or other heavy foods, but it would still be compatible. Not the best beer, but still drinkable with many foods.
Final Thoughts:
Saranac Pilsener looks light and drinks light. It’s got a nice hop aroma and a smooth, drinkable body. The calories and alcohol levels might seem more typical of a medium bodied beer than a light beer, but the numbers are deceptive.
I don’t normally give my endorsement to light beers, but if I had to drink one, Saranac Pilsener would rank high on my list. It’s much better than most other light beers. It’s got a slight touch of wateriness in the finish, but it has enough character, overall, to earn my recommendation.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.