You pretty much can't get any further from the Czech Republic than New Zealand, but today Beer! finds out that this doesn't stop the Kiwis from making a damn good pilsner:
Brewery: Tuatara Brewing Co.
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Style: Pilsner
Rating: A-
Today we cross the Pacific on our quest for great pilsners. Today’s tasting is from New Zealand’s Tuatara brewery. The Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner pours up a deep, hazy yellow-gold color with a frothy, white head. The nose has notes of herbs, apricot and lager malt.
On the palate there is a nice progression that starts with dry lager malt, progresses to a fruity hops note and heads back to dry maltiness paired with bitter hops. The malt flavor is crisp without any skunky Eurolageriness (yes, I just made that word up) going on. There is a lot going on with the hops. There are herbal hops notes with some spice, fleeting sweet fruit hops notes of nectarines and orange juice, and bitter hops that build to a moderate level without being overpowering. The Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner is medium-bodied and crisp. the finish has long dry maltiness paired perfectly with bitter and spicy hops.
This is the first beer I’ve tried from Tuatara and I am quite impressed. The Bohemian Pilsner is a bit on the hop-forward side for a typical pils, but the dry malt never gets lost and is a perfect match to the more assertive hops. While this isn’t a big, full-on Imperial Pilsner, there is some big flavor here. Tuatara has an excellent, well-balanced Pilsner on their hands. Highly recommended.
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