Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
Where: Hickory, North Carolina
Beer: Piedmont Pilsner
Style: German Pilsner
IBU: 18.2
ABV: N/A (Estimated 4.5%)

Piedmont Pilsner one of my favorite beers from the Olde Hickory Brewery.  This beer pours with a nice foamy head and a beautiful light golden color, much like a blonde, if not even lighter than most.  It has a very clean and extremely crisp flavor from the German and Czech pilsner malts followed by a very minimal hop presence of Saaz and Hallertauer hops.  This beer also has a fair amount of carbonation that adds to its refreshing and light character.  This is definitely a good choice when you want a lighter fare on a nice summer day.  Unfortunately, it's 45°F outside here today, but I can enjoy this beer anyway :)

If I haven't mentioned it in the past, I'm extremely happy that Jason and Steve at OHB are offering up their brews in 22oz bombers these days.  I have quite a few more samples from the OHB on the shelf here that we'll be getting around to over time.  I still have over 35 beers in the tasting queue, so I have a lot of work to do. 

Until next time....

I picked up a couple samplings from Flensburger on my last visit to Gail's Hops and Grapes. My first taste is their German Pilsener.  This beer has a rather nice hop bite compared to most pilseners and the aroma has a nice floral and spicy undertone.  It's also packing a very crisp and refreshing flavor while only ringing in at 4.8% ABV.  I was rather surprised at the head retention and lacing on the glass that followed this drink.  It's not the finest pils I have quaffed, but it's not the worst either.  I'm not sure yet if it will make my repeated consumption list, but it very well might.  I have another Flensburger in waiting that I'm sure I'll like better than this one, so we'll get a taste of it in the near future.

I absolutely LOVE the swing-top bottles though.  I like re-filling them with my own beer at bottling time in the brewing process.  They are a lot easier to work with compared to capping regular bottles.  The rubber gasket on these can be re-used 4 or 5 times before it needs to be replaced, which makes it almost as cheap as crimp caps.

PS - I broke a beer glass tonight.  That pissed me off because it was the glass I use to photograph these beers.  I don't normally drink from the glass in these photos, but I do occasionally...