Budweiser Batch no. 63118 Review

I finally found a case of the Budweiser Project 12 beers and here is my first review in real-time.

All right, I have here in my beer-stained hands some of the first Budweiser Project 12 beers that I've seen anyway. I’m sure maybe some other people have it first but I decided I’m going to taste this and talk at the same time. This is the first one that I figured would be the one I would test first, which is batch 63118 which is supposed to be a Pilsner in the classic American style.

It is inspired by ingredients commonly used at the St. Louis Brewery during the 19th century.This traditional American lager is brewed using Hallertauer and Tettnang hops so it should have some noble hop character. It was created by St. Louis brew master Jim Bickland in collaboration with Katie Ripple from Fort Collins brewery. They’re calling this a 6% ABV and a deep gold color so let me get right to it.

I poured it out. The heads definitely long lasting like it’s suppose to be. I’m judging this as well as a Classic American Pilsner because that’s what they’re calling it. Not sure that’s exactly what they wanted…the color’s perfect on it. Nice deep gold, substantial long lasting white head. Of course it’s filtered so the clarity’s perfect and it’s got some nice carbonation.

On the aroma on this, I do get some sweet maltiness. I don’t get a whole lot of hop and that’s what I would expect. That’s the one downfall in this, although it is a 6% alcohol by volume, it’s right at the edge of that and they may have under hopped it. As I smell it I get a little bit of maltiness. It’s definitely sweet, and as I said before, I’m getting no hop aroma. Again, I waited a sec for it to warm up. No DMS is perceptible so there’s not corn characters in it. Definitely smells clean. I don’t get any fruity or diacetyl.

Let’s go to flavor now. I definitely get a high maltiness and I don’t get any corn. So, I’m not sure. I don't believe they used any adjunct in this even if I don’t see anything in there that would cause that. One thing I would say that’s not correct, again, is the hop flavor. I’m getting some hop flavor but I’m certainly not getting a medium-to-high hop bitterness, which is what I should expect. I’m not saying that there’s isn’t any, but it’s definitely malt forward fruity. There isn’t any fruitiness or diacetyl, which is right. It’s smooth, it taste great, it’s a nice drinking beer.

Maybe my problem is I just got done drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale so hopefully that’s the case. I’d love your comments on that if you get any hoppiness out of it. That’s my first impression…the only flaw I get is it’s not really hoppy enough for me to be called a Pilsner.

The body’s definitely medium, medium-light. I have a rich, creamy mouth feel and it’s fairly decent carbonation, so I’d call it medium. I will say it dries out nice just like a nice German lager would, unlike most American versions of lagers that don’t really dry out.

I definitely like it and if you have a chance to try it I’d love to hear your comments and reviews on it. I don’t believe there’s any adjuncts in it but I could be wrong. I don’t see anything saying that and I certainly don’t taste the lightness that I would get out of a adjunct-based lager, so try it out and see if you agree with them that this is an example of a pre-prohibition lager.