Great Lakes The Wright Pils
Customers have spoken and GLBC has listened! On Thursday, December 17, 2009 (the 106th anniversary of the first fixed-wing flight), GLBC’s Brewpub will release The Wright Pils, a classic pilsner style beer with a flowery bouquet and elegantly dry finish. Named after the brothers Wright who built the world’s first successful controlled airplane, this pilsner, like these local heroes, has all the Wright stuff!
In early 2010, expect to see The Wright Pils in 6-packs in the GLBC Gift Shop, as well as on draft in Concourse C at Cleveland Hopkins Airport!
TYPE/STYLE: Pilsner. Until the 1840s, most Bohemian (now Czech Republic) beers were top-fermented, dark and cloudy, although Bavarian brewers had begun experimenting through "lagering" beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer’s clarity, flavor, and shelf-life. The Burgess Brewery recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, created the first batch of modern pilsener on October 5, 1842. The combination of pale color from the new malts (aided by the Bohemian city of Plzen’s remarkably soft water), noble hops and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which caused a sensation. Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was quickly available throughout Central Europe, and its style was soon widely imitated.
FOOD COMPLEMENTS: Works well as an aperitif and with salads, salmon, tuna and marbled meats
In early 2010, expect to see The Wright Pils in 6-packs in the GLBC Gift Shop, as well as on draft in Concourse C at Cleveland Hopkins Airport!
TYPE/STYLE: Pilsner. Until the 1840s, most Bohemian (now Czech Republic) beers were top-fermented, dark and cloudy, although Bavarian brewers had begun experimenting through "lagering" beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer’s clarity, flavor, and shelf-life. The Burgess Brewery recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, created the first batch of modern pilsener on October 5, 1842. The combination of pale color from the new malts (aided by the Bohemian city of Plzen’s remarkably soft water), noble hops and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which caused a sensation. Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was quickly available throughout Central Europe, and its style was soon widely imitated.
FOOD COMPLEMENTS: Works well as an aperitif and with salads, salmon, tuna and marbled meats
3.3
265 reviews
Cleveland, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Malty, crackery nose, biscuits, grassy noble hops. Brilliant pale golden color with a relatively low head. Bready, crackery malts, crisp hops, nice bitterness. Crisp, clean body. Good, reliable pils.
on tap @ Party Town / Florence KY --- Clear light amber with a fluffy white head, clouds of lace. Taste is clear malt that grows smoothly into the palate, adding citrus hops (which goes a little against traditional floral hops in German Pilsners), but it all works very well, kind of an "American Pilsner." It is fun to drink, quite satisfying, and would be great for sessions.
Bottle into pilsner glass, golden yellow color with off-white head. Aroma of pale malt sweetness, citrusy/floral hops and slight pepperyness. Taste adds notes of grain, bread, grass and slight spiciness. Light body, moderate carbonation, crisp, dry with very minimal earthy bitter finish. Pretty good pils.
I say you cannot go wrong w/ a good pilsener and this surely qualifies as a good, if not great pilsner. It is not perfectly authentic---too much citrus--but I really could care less. It is clear golden in color w/ a small white head and little patches of lace. Nose is of fresh cracked pale malt and a touch of honey floral notes. This is a medium bodied beer and slightly sweet, fat and malty which brings out a fairly strong orange and lemon citrus character. The carbonation is vigorous which helps dry it out and keep it drinkable. It finishes crisp w/ just a touch of lingering bitterness and sweetness. I don’t know if I would quite call this a world class lager--malt character just isn’t quite there for one--but definitely I could down a sixer of this every night for a weekend and not get sick of it so it works well enough for me.
pours hazy straw yellow with a creamy white head, good retention and lacing. pils and lightly sweet grains - fresh, floral grassy-citrusy, sulfur, lemon, pepper - the usual suspects, also hint of sweetness- honey and lightly sweet white wine, hint of dust. moderately low carbonation - slighlty lacking perhaps, light body - fairly oily, lightly astringent and assertive woodsy-grassy-herbal-citrusy finish. very nice pils.
(bottle) Pours a clear light gold color with a thin white head that leaves webby lacing. Aroma holds big time GL house yeast, with a character I always associate with peanuts for some reason. Smells quite similar to the great Dortmunder Gold, but holds a bit more snap and zest in the aroma than the aforementioned beer. The snap and zest components are composed of fresh cut grass, hay, light must (so slightly wet hay), and little stabs of lemon zest that amp up the freshness factor fivefold. Malty undercurrents are at play here too, and instead of the dry, crackery, scents I associate with some pils, there exists a more rounded, doughy aroma here. Perhaps a bit of honey. Really pleasant to nose. This thing smells a lot like a field. Flavor holds a bit more snap and crispness, with a good kick of mineral character that’s coupled with more of the lemon zest and grassy hops. The malty undercurrent present in the aroma holds its position here in the fore and mid palate, but asserts itself just a little bit towards the finish with some baked bread like components presenting themselves upon exhalation. This sensation is very slight as the zip and crisp components really clean things up on the finish. Mouthfeel is medium and carb is a little lively. I bought this and noticed that it has a best by date of 08/14/14 which means this is probably getting a bit long-in-the-tooth, but if a less than fresh sampling of this beer creates an impression this pronounced, I can only imagine what an incredibly fresh example would yield. Hopefully I can come across one at some time, as I’ll definitely be seeking this out again.
Bottle from 7/11. Poured golden with white head. Aroma light with grain. Light carb med bod. Light sweet honey hay grain taste
Okay pilsner. Not as good as Krombacher.................................................
Bottle via Summer Secret Santa 2014. Pours a deep yellow with white head. Aroma is popcorn, corn and hay. Taste is slightly sweet corn and some spice. Some nuts and a little lemon. Nice pils.
Pours a very bright gold with a huge, foamy head. Malt and bread notes, with a hint of fruit. A very good pils!
Pours a crystal clear pale golden with a medium white head. Aroma and taste is sweet fruity notes, yeast, grains, some malt. Palate is a light to medium body, crisp clean refreshing mouth feel. The finish is sweet malt, fruity mild citrus, yeast and bread with a mild hops on the end for balance. This is good refreshing mild brew for a hot summer day.
Pours a clear bright pale gold with a fairly decent white head. Sweet grass aroma. Taste is crisp, sweet pale malt with some biscuits and new mown hay. Hops are well balanced with the malt to make for a refreshing pils. Quite good.
12oz bottle pours a bright clear golden with a large off-white head. Aroma of musky caramel malt, some honey, light grassy hops, and dry pils yeast. There is a lingering sweetness that sticks to the palate all the way through, grassy hops and graham cracker, with yeast on the finish. Nice!
Clear yellow with a little orange and I swear a slight green tinge on it. Nice floral/bready aroma, quite a bit spicier than Great Lakes’ other lagers as is true to style. Flavor generally more of the same with a mouthfeel this seems a little heavy for a refreshing lager. Decent, but unexceptional pils.
Bottle:
Pours clear, bubbly, yellow gold with a tall white head.
Slightly lemony grain malt aroma.
Solid pilsner malt, crisp floral taste.
Very nice.
Overall, Great Lakes deserves more notice than it gets....nearly always solid beers out of this brewery.
Not bad. Refreshing and drinkable. Very golden with little head. Would drink again in a pinch.
12 oz. bottle. Bright straw golden pour with a medium white head. Aroma of herbal, noble hops and fresh baked bread. Flavor is crisp, clean, hoppy, with some mild sweet malt presence. Medium bodied with above average carbonation. Finishes with a bitter hop note. Nice, crisp pils.
On tap at the brewpub (God how I miss this place no longer living in Cleveland). The first attempt at a Pilsner that I tried from Great Lakes was the Prohibition Pils, and that one didn’t do it for me; that beer was too thick and the hops were too weak. With this beer, I think they got it right (at least the way I like it). Light body, crisp, clean hops. Hops are slightly floral, beer is light in color and body but grainy malt is strongly evident in the aroma. Very enjoyable and I’d gladly drink again. One of the better Pilsners I’ve tasted to come out of an American brewery.
Bottle. Light yellow. A nice sweet drinkable pils with high carb that doesn't get in the way. Some floral hops stand out. Good stuff.
On draft. Pale golden color with one finger head. Malty and grassy aroma. Dry finish and crisp. Ends with a sweet maltiness. Good pils.
Drank from bottle. Light flavor and crispily carbonated. Good for the style, which isn’t my favorite.
(bottle - 12 oz) Pale gold color with a ton of white foam. Light floral hop aroma with some light malts. Flavor is very light as well. Some hop bitterness and that’s about it. Way over carbonated.
12 oz bottle from Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh. Rather dry with a floral finish. Not a great selection from GLBC.
12 ounce bottle. Pale yellow gold color. Large foamy white head. Fragrant, grainy malt nose. Crisp sweet malt flavor. Citrus hops come into play. A nice balance of malt and hops. Complex citrus hops in finish. Very tasty and refreshing. Nicely done.
Not sure what some of you are balking at. Typical Czech pils. Tasty with the noble hops. Not great but no Czech pils is really good. Enjoy it for what it is. Yes 9.99 for a six is high.
good, but not great. has a nice mouthfeel, but bitterness is kind of harsh. don’t know if it’s the type of hops used, the water, or something else in the process. could use a little more color.
From a bottle. Light, refreshing, delicious, crisp, full flavor. Nicely made.
This is a strange take on pils - at first, I was not sure if I liked it - it has a lot of what you want in a pils - a lively mouthfeel, and a crisp, light, refreshing nature - in has grassy and floral noble hop character - it has some crackery malts and light mineral - a snappy, bitter finish - however, it also has a sweetness to it that brings with it a fruitiness that you do not often find in pils - it tastes a bit like white grape - once I got used to it, it wasn’t as disorienting, and I actually grew to like it quite a bit - Great Lakes just makes darn good lagers - this one, however, has some odd qualities for the style, so I can see how someone would not like it.
Tasted from bottle. Pours a pale light yellow with white head. Aroma of grains and grasses. Some spices noticed. Taste is light to medium bodied, crisp and refreshing. Moderate sweetness with grass, floral, spicey notes. Minimal bitterness. As usual from a Great Lakes beer, a great pilsner. Perfect for a hot summer day.
Bottle. Pours pale gold with a foamy white head. Aroma is grass and irises. Taste is clean, with some oyster cracker, grain, and grassy hop. Would have preferred a bit more crispness on the tongue, as I like a well-carbonated pils, but this is very solid.