The Beer Critic Beer reviews for beer enthusiasts.
Brewery Website: http://www.lefthandbrewing.com
Type of Beer: Pilsner Lager
Alcohol Content: 5.5%
Beer Review –
Appearance: Right out of the gate this beer looks refreshing with its clear, bright, gold color and fluffy, bright white head. The two-to-three finger head stuck around for quite a while before finally settling to a sticky film that left a trail of beautiful lacing down to the last sip.
Smell: The aroma is what you would expect from a well made German pilsner; sweet, clean and slightly hoppy. Some sweet bready malts come through first followed closely behind with a nice bit of grass-like hops. The smell is clean and refreshing with just enough hop spice to make things interesting.
Initial Taste: The taste mimics the smell perfectly with an upfront sweetness giving way to the earth hops. The malty sweetness is pretty light and is reminiscent of sweet bread and biscuits. The malt is balanced by an earthy/grass-like hoppiness that creates a crisp, dry finish that begs you to come back for more.
Thoughts: This beer is the product of the ever creative Left Hand Brewing Company located in Colorado that in 2007 took home the bronze metal at the North American Beer awards (pretty cool!). It’s easy to see why this refreshing pilsner is award winning. The flavor is skillfully crafted to be subtly sweet and yet refreshingly hoppy making this a light, crisp, dry beer that ranks among the best session beers I’ve had the chance to review. I will no doubt be stocking my fridge this summer with lots of Polestar (and how cool is the name?). But don’t fear, even though this is probably the perfect beer for the summer heat this masterful lager is among their “perennial” beers meaning it’s available all year round. So the next time you have a bbq or make a pot a chili or just need something to combat the seemingly never-ending heat of summer, check out Polestar. You won’t regret it. Cheers!
Pour: I broke protocol and drank it right from the bottle. I couldn’t wait to taste it; just bought my first 6-pack of bottles today.
Appearance: Golden.
Smell: To me it smelled “sharp” and I knew immediately I was going to taste a unique beer. It definitely grabbed my nose and smelled like no other beer I’ve tasted. (I’m 61 years young and believe me, I’ve tasted a lot of beer from different companies/countries).
Taste: Initially “light” but soon there’s a taste of hops on the palate and the outer edges of my tongue. It tastes good to me and is a nice departure from the usual fare of Bud Select, Bud Light, Miller Lite, etc. which seem watery to me now. In other words, the texture is “thicker” than what I usually drink, and that’s a welcome thing. I’ll definitely buy more and continue to enjoy it, year-round if possible (that depends on the stocking preferences of my local liquor store). Having said that, I’d go out of my way, say to a different town, to buy some. It’s that good.