Freestyle Pilsner

Santa Fe Brewing began crafting their New Mexico bubbly barley juice in 1988. Desiring an alternative to the mundane macro-lagers, Santa Fe Brewing set out to improve New Mexico's beer selection with quality ingredients and skilled brewing techniques. Expanding in 1997 and again in 2005, Santa Fe has grown into a fine brewery with a charming palette of delicious beer. My personal favorites in Santa Fe's beer quiver are: The wicked aged barley wine, the feisty IPA, the luscious java stout, and the jovial Oktoberfest. The barley wine and IPA are available year round but the java stout and Oktoberfest are their winter and fall seasonals. They are two of three canned seasonals offered by Santa Fe. The third is their summer seasonal, a German-esque Pils called Freestyle Pilsner.

The designs that Santa Fe uses to adorn their cans are some of the best I have seen. Original and unique, the cans are part of the indie spirit embodied by Santa Fe. Each displaying distinct individual characteristics while sharing a few basic design elements. The Freestyle Pilsner comes in a bright reflective green can with gold script and two hop cones on either side. One cone has a gold halo the other has a pair of devil horns. A sign of balance contained within.

The pour is simple and clean. A nice small mellow head grows from medium carbonation. The nose has some mild grassy hops with a grainy present malt. The taste follows the nose. Medium. This is not a bad beer by any means. It's still miles ahead of any thing made by any of the macro-brewers. It's just, well, good. Kinda disappointed with its promise of being a hoppier than average pilsner. The thick grainy malt is fun but it kinda drowns out the seemingly mild hop. 6.2 things out of 8.8 stuff. It's a good beer that I intend to drink again, I just feel that it's not the best Santa Fe has to offer.

cheers