Winter of Pilsners Continued: Switchback Citra-Pils Kellerbier

By: Jack Horzempa 
(Originally posted on Beer Advocate)

Today I have another installment for my series of Winter Pilsners: Switchback Citra-Pils Kellerbier.

I purchased this beer as I was leaving Lake Placid, NY a couple of weeks ago (ski vacation). I have limited experience with Switchback Brewery. I have had the Switchback Ale a few times on draft over the past few years in Lake Placid and I enjoyed those beers so hopefully I will like this brand as well.

For those of you unfamiliar with Switchback Brewery (which includes me), they are located in Burlington, VT and they “specialize in handcrafted unfiltered ales and lagers”.

I am a BIG fan of unfiltered beer since it seems to me that the filtering process strips some flavors from the beer in as a side effect of this clarification aspect. I would prefer for the beer to be less than brilliantly clear but fully flavorful.

Below is how Switchback describes Citra-Pils on their website:
“CITRA-PILS KELLER BIER

First Sold: May 2015

Availability: Year Round

5.1% ABV and 36 IBU

Unfiltered and 100% Naturally Carbonated

Born as a classic pilsener lager, Citra-Pils gets the added bonus of a lively, citrusy aroma from Citra hops to create a fascinating blend of pilsener and IPA sensibilities. The result is a complex beer which is clean, crisp, and refreshing. Citra-Pils is our special “twist” on the classic pilsener style of lager beer. We brew this lager in the most traditional way, using only Light Pils malt and Saaz hops. After a six-week lagering process, we dry hop this beer with a blend of Citra and Saaz hops. The bright lemony citrus notes of the Citra complement the noble Saaz character perfectly, yielding a delightfully refreshing pilsener with a decidedly nontraditional twist.

All Switchback beers are brewed in Burlington, Vermont and are carbonated during fermentation by the yeast itself resulting in a 100% naturally conditioned beer. After aging, we simply move the beer to the keg or bottle, leaving it unfiltered for the freshest, fullest, most natural flavor possible.”

As Arte Johnson would say: “Very interesting”. My apologies for you younger BAs.

One other worthwhile observation on this beer is that it comes in a 12 ounce stubby bottle. The beer I discussed last week (Ocelot Pilsner) came in a 500 ml stubby bottle. Are stubby bottles the next new thing?

Served in my trusty ol’ Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Light straw colored, very slightly hazy with a BIG rocky white head. This beer has very good head retention and leaves a pretty Belgian lace in the glass.

Aroma:

There is bready Pilsner Malt aroma accompanied by a lemony hop aroma.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with bready Pilsner Malt flavors and the hop flavors of lemon. There is a firm bitterness here.

Mouthfeel:

Nicely carbonated, medium-thin body with a dry finish.

Overall:

I think this beer is very good. It was an enjoyable beer to drink and the combination of bready Pilsner Malt flavor and hop provided flavors go really well together; I particularly enjoyed the lemony aspect.

A few editorial comments:

I think this beer would have benefitted from a bit more body but I enjoyed drinking it nonetheless.

Now, let’s talk Citra hops. I must admit that I was a bit reticent when I purchased this bottle of beer because when I have homebrewed with Citra hops they provided flavors of tropical fruits for my palate. I thought to myself: how are tropical fruits going to taste in a Pilsner? Well, to my welcomed surprise this beer had zero tropical fruit flavors and the Switchback brewers masterfully got the Citra hops to complement this beer.

Cheers to the Switchback brewers!!!

Jack Horzempa is a longtime friend of the store and an extremely knowledgeable home brewer, brewing some of the best beer I have ever tasted. Jack's palate is well seasoned and he has been a valuable source of beer expertise to the store. He has graciously allowed us to re-post his review/posts from Beer Advocate where he has achieved Poo-bah status. Since joining Beer Advocate 12 yrs ago, Jack has posted more than 20,000 times and earned over 25,000 likes.