A couple weeks ago I visited the Bavarian Lodge in Lisle, Illinois with some friends for a couple pints. One of the beers they had on tap was Steigl. I was looking for a light European Lager for my second round and this beer fit the bill. I enjoyed this beer fresh from the tap, but the bottled rendition left wanting.
A close cousin to the Pilsner this beer has similar qualities, yet distinctly different. While both use Pils malts I did not get the same light malty sweetness in this lager as I did with Pilsners past. There was a pungent skunky aroma classic of Euro lagers. The color had a nice straw-gold glow about it, but he head was lacking and faded quicker than I had hoped. The carbonation was bubbly for a couple minutes then stopped. Currently I just have a skunky, gold, non-carbs, cold beer in front of me. Don’t get me wrong I’ll drink it, but the quality is lacking. The bottle is green so maybe during storage and shipping the beer was “light struck” causing it to decay (light and beer to not mix).
The flavor typical and made me long for a glass from the tap. It was crisp and clean, but the aftertaste was…well, a little skunky. It did have a light body and thankfully the carbonation lifted some of the taste of my palate. You could tell that German/Bohemian hops where used (Saaz, Spalt, or Hallertau), but they played a minor roll in the overall taste.
While I might recommend this beer fresh on tap, I would suggest avoiding from the bottle. The logo on the bottle has stairs ascending upwards. Unfortunately, if they were trying to convey that their beer climbs to new heights or is top quality I would beg to differ. I’d say it did even make it to the first step.
ABV: 4.9%
Grade: D+
Perhaps if you had a beer before the Stiegl Pils (like at the bar), you would have liked it more 🙂
I did in fact. I had Petrus Oud Bruin! Very delicious. I believe my review stated that I enjoyed Stiegl on tap, just not in the bottle. It tasted stale.
I love this beer, but I can only get it in a can. It always strikes me as a creamy beer-one of the easiest drinking and most refreshing beers I’ve run across. I’m really surprised you found the head lacking. I may not be not much of a connoisseur, but I do know this beats the hell out of any Canadian beer I know of. Yours must have been a bad one.
Definitely deserves more than a D+. You probably bought an old bottle that was exposed to too much light. I’ve had it in can and bottle, and I know for a fact that if you get it fresh it’s an excellent beer.
Thanks David,
You make a great point. I have seen it in cans so I will get a couple and revisit this beer. I enjoyed the Pils they brew so I most likely got an old bottle.
Cheers!
we serve Stiegl Tap everyday at our bar, the skunky aroma is a bad keg not indicative of the beer as a whole. Ive tapped a hundred of these kegs at least, once in a while you get a smelly one. revisit that grade buddy it’s a great beer.
Avoid the green glass bottles, only buy the cans. This very good beer gets light struck all too often… Most everybody knows this, and still marketing puts this beer in the green glass bottles. Go figger…