SA Noble Pils 2011 falls flat

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hollywoodbrew

hollywoodbrew

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Is it just me or does this year's batch of sam adams noble pils fall short of last years? I remember a huge hop aroma, that is gone. Replaced with green apples. The hops aroma just isn't there. Also i taste diacetyl, like drinking butter and apples. I'm dissappointed. Last year i bought a half dozen cases of the stuff it was so good. This year it tastes like budweiser.
 
Haven't tried it yet, but if your experience is the norm then that's going to be very disappointing. Maybe I'll pick up a six pack in a couple weeks and see how it is.
 
I didn't taste apple or diacetyl in the first 6-pack that I bought, it was comparable to last year's from what I remember. I picked up another 6er yesterday that I didn't crack yet, I'll give it another look.
 
I tried it for the first time recently and found it unexceptional. I was expecting a taste like Victory Prima Pils, which is lovely and hoppy, but it tasted like a boring old pilsner to me.
 
hollywoodbrew said:
Is it just me or does this year's batch of sam adams noble pils fall short of last years? I remember a huge hop aroma, that is gone. Replaced with green apples. The hops aroma just isn't there. Also i taste diacetyl, like drinking butter and apples. I'm dissappointed. Last year i bought a half dozen cases of the stuff it was so good. This year it tastes like budweiser.
Click to expand...

I never had it before this year, but I too don't like it.
 
I had a pint or 2 the other day and on tap it was pretty good. They blew the keg of Harp which is one of my favorites along with Guiness
 
robtotten said:
Six packs were really hit or miss in my experience last year.
Click to expand...

This was my first try from the six-pack. That could be the issue. Maybe what I'm tasting is skunking from light exposure.

Or, maybe they had this problem last year, and decided to go less on the aroma hops.
 
I haven't had it this year. I liked it last year, but I definitely got a little diacetyl last year. It wasn't bad though. My tolerance for diacetyl is probably greater than others, but I don't really want much in my pilsners.
 
Had it on draft only last year and I really liked it. Huge hop aroma. Looking forward to trying it again.
 
I'm on my 2nd 6-pack of this year's batch and it's excellent. Better than last year, IMO.
 
I find this beer to be very inconsistent. I tried it 3 times last year, all times on draft, and each time it was a completely different beer - terrible, alright and amazing. I had it a couple weeks ago, on draft as well, and it was crap. I want to like it because of that one night where it tasted amazing but I'm not holding out hope. I'll grab a bomber to give it a shot in the bottle but that'll be the last chance.
 
I thought last year was great, huge hop aroma. This year its definitely lost some of that. The hop flavor is still really good though and I still like it. I won't buy another 6er this year though. Plus I'm a different beer drinker then I was last year, and perception can be a funny thing sometimes. Sometimes a beer doesn't taste good cause of my mood or my meal or a hundred other things. YMMV.
 
I agree that it doesn't seem to have the hop aroma that it did last year out of the bottle. Not bad.....just different. Need to go try it on tap and see if it has a better nose.
 
Had one 6er and had it on tap. I think last years was better but still a good beer IMO.
 
I've got one bottle left out of 12 and have been just as happy with it as last year. The aroma isn't quite as strong as last year, but everything else is right on mark.

My pipeline is almost back to normal so I shouldn't have to buy any more commercial until next January...
 
I had it on draft this week for the first time this year. I found it to be better than last years if anything. HUGE hop aroma, great taste too.
 
I really enjoyed this beer last year and do agree that this years is different regarding the Hops... I still like it though
 
I havent had any noble pils but I think the problem is sam adams isnt doing enough quality control. I know there were a lot of people talking about the inconsistencies in the chocolate bock in the winter pack and I experienced that myself. The first one had nothing to it and the second one was rich and chocolatey. I'm happy and all they are trying to keep light out of their beer but they really need to focus on making the beer what they want it to be before they worry about protecting it.
 
Last year I got a 6 pack, tried 4 bottles on different occasions, gave the last 2 away. Tasted like Budweiser threw in some fresh grass in the boil. Not good to me. I seriously think I could replicate what I tasted by grabbing a handful of grass and tossing it in.
 
I never tried it last year. I found a place locally that was selling individual bottles a couple of weeks ago, so I bought one. I have to say that I was really disappointed. To me its a gimmick beer. The whole "5 kinds of noble hops" sounded good, but didn't really deliver for me. It's just kind of tasted like a jumbled mess of hops flavor. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they had picked a couple of complementary hops and just brewed a solid pils.
 
+1 I thought it was great last year, this year it's disappointing. I don't taste apples or diacetyl, just not the hop profile I remember. I'll still drink it and buy it a couple more times likely.
 
I tried one a couple of days ago. It was a taste comparison between Noble Pils and Mighty Arrow for spring beers. I agree that the hops seem to be gone, especially when compared to the Arrow.
 
I also like how the "spring" beers are released in January. Wtf. Noble Pils and Blue Moon spring to name 2.
 
Noble Pils is okay, but I see no reason to ever buy it again when I live in Minnesota, where I can get the ultimate pilsner, Schell's Pilsner.
 
Tried a couple pints today.

Absolute crap.

Last year this beer was great. This year it is absolute crap.

They have sullied their reputation.


Mr Koch owes us all an apology for knowingly brewing this crap and using the same name as last year's masterpiece.
 
LOVED it last year. Drank it this year. That's it. I just drank it and thought, "Meh. Decent pils." Hop aroma was non-existent. The bitterness that tasted "bright" last year fell flat this year. I supposed my palate had changed, but judging by the other comments here, I must conclude otherwise.

I had three sixers last year, and the one I had over the last few days is probably my last this year. I didn't find it bad, but not as good as last year, and there's more interesting beer around for me to drink instead.
 
I like it enough to have gone through 4 12 packs this year - it's the temporary guest beer at my place for BMC drinking company - seems well received enough, while not be a totally devoid of flavor fizzy yellow beer.
 
I had a fresh six pack after a long decoction-mash brew day, it was refreshing. The circumstances definitely helped, but I still feel after three six packs that they may removed some aroma hops from the recipe.
 
Haven't tried it yet this year, but the reviews sure are inconsistent. Hmmmm....


_
 
I loved last year and got two six packs this year. The first was skunked, the second is very nice.
 
Had it on tap, didn't seem to have the bite it did last year, still decent though.


_
 

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