Beer Review: Sam Adams Noble Pils Beer Sessions

For years, the Sam Adams spring seasonal has been a white ale - a very tasty white ale, we might add. This year, the brewery decided to change things up on us and they've put a Czech-style pilsner in their spring spot instead. Say what?! Let's see how this "Noble Pils" stacks up, shall we?

Beer Details: Noble Pils from Sam Adams/Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts. Available from January through March, this seasonal beer is brewed with bottom-fermenting lager yeast, Bohemian spring barley, and all five of the "noble hops." (5.2% ABV)

Appearance: The beer is crystal clear and a really gorgeous honey-golden color in the glass. An initial head of sudsy foam dissipated quickly into a thin film that left some light lacing on the glass.

Aroma: The aroma is very light and delicate. We smelled lightly toasted malts with a floral-honey depth and a sweet fresh-cut hay overtone.

Taste: The floral and honey flavors come through right away in the taste, and then even more as the beer warms a little. The malts are light and sweet with a bit of a biscuit quality, and this makes a nice contrast to the piney hops that come through toward the end. The beer finishes with a mineral flavor and a lingering citrus bitterness.

This beer is crisp and bright - like a lemon spritzer. It's medium-bodied with matching level of carbonation, making it taste smooth and refreshing.

Overall: Well, well, well! Maybe we won't be moaning over the loss of our white ale for long! This pilsner really surprised us. It's complex and nuanced, but stays very well-balanced over all. It's fun to drink, and it definitely keeps all our tastebuds happy!

Noble Pils is a refreshing change from the heavy, high octane beers we've been drinking all winter long, and we'll miss it when barbecue season finally rolls around.

Food Pairings: We kept thinking about spicy foods as we drank this beer: Indian curries, Mexican salsas, spicy Italian sausage dishes, even buffalo wings. The sweet citrus quality of the beer would help lift rich dishes and cleanse the palate between bites.

Have you tried this beer? What do you think?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

Comments (13)

This is the current favorite in my household. We will be so sad to see it go. :(

My boyfriend and I were not big fans of it, actually. We first asked for it at a local bar & grill we go to here in Boston, and the waitress told us they actually stopped carrying it, because they couldn't get anyone to drink the stuff. We went out and bought it a few days later, and while it wasn't a bad beer, we didn't enjoy the flavor, it just seemed too heavy-handed with the hops. (Obviously we shouldn't be drinking pilsners, then. ;) )

Have to agree with the above two comments.. sad to see that this has replaced the previous seasonal. I found the flavor wasn't my style - too hoppy and bitter. On a somewhat related note, I am a big fan of their decision to carry Blackberry Wheat year-around, rather than as a specialty brew.

I tried this a few weeks ago and am I big fan!

Hoppy, perfumey beer is my favorite. I'll check it out!

Someone gave me a case of this after I babysat for them last minute. We love it! I just finished it and hope to score another case before it disappears. It is perfect for the end of winter, when you long for spring and summer beers but can't have your favorites yet, but you can't think of drinking another porter (my winter fav).

With my dislike of IPA's, I was rather reluctant to try this beer with the five different Nobil Pils. However, the first time I tried it, I felt like Barry Badrinath from Beer Fest: "I wish it were winter so we could freeze it into ice blocks and skate on it and melt it in the spring time and drink it!" The beer has a unique taste and quite crisp, that is followed by an extremely smooth after taste.

With that said, I will be looking forward to drinking this beer next year, if and when this year's supply has ended!

Hoppy and bitter? Sign me up! Hope I can find it.

This has been on tap at my local bar for the past few months, and it has become my beer of choice when I want to drink on the cheap (only $2.75 for a pint!). It is such a nice reprieve from all the heavier beers I've been drinking/brewing this winter. I'll be sad to see it go, but then again, I can look forward to having the UFO Hefeweizen back!

I like this a lot -- picked up a six pack last night on a whim and had it tonight with broccoli rabe with sausage & orecchiette. Really good!

I will say this was darn tasty - pairing it with the right dish is pretty hard because of all the flavor

This is a great move for Sam Adams.

I always want to support them (big brewer with craft values - also a godsend during the hop shortage), but their beers are usually too sweet for me. I was really happy to see them try an IPA - especially a citrus-y version. It's bright, bitter and delicious.

adesalme2004: I'm surprised that they weren't doing well in Boston since Harpoon IPA (a similar citrus hop beer) does very well there.

First off, I've never had a Sam Adams brew I didn't like.

I've had this from the tap as well as from a bottle and it's very tasty all around!