Bred at the Hop Research Center in Hüll, Germany, and released in 2002, the initial goal of Saphir hops creators was to produce a more commercially viable alternative to German Hallertau Mittelfrüh through increased disease resistance and the retention of Hallertau’s noble characteristics. In that capacity, Saphir would most certainly be considered a success. It is resistant to many of the most disastrous disease and mildew including wilt, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. Saphir hops, sometimes called Saphire, Sapphire, or Hallertau Saphir, have a very low alpha acid content at 2.0 to 5.0 percent, making it one of the lowest alpha hops in the world. The bitterness is naturally very low with Saphir, and the real contribution from this hop is on the aroma side. Bringing a sweet citrus bouquet to the pot or fermentation tank, Saphir can be used throughout the brewing process. Saphir features elements of spice and fruit amid refined citrus notes of tangerine. It is considered well suited to Belgian whites as well as pilsners and German lagers. Today, Peaks and Pints presents Craft Beer Crosscut 9.19.17: A Flight of Saphir.
pFriem Pilsner
4.9% ABV, 38 IBU
Visually, the pFriem Pilsner may be the lightest beer we’ve ever seen. It pours with a delicate green tint, a fluffy white head, and a crystal-clear complexion. Pastoral aromas of flowers and meadow grains combined nicely with a typical maltiness pilsner scent. The taste is the best part, though, with a deep dryness at the back of the mouth and the faint minerality that’s so crucial to a pilsner. The mouth fills with zesty spiciness from the Saphir, Perle, Tettnang and Spalt Select hops, a touch of honey, and finishes crisp, snappy, and refreshing. Though it’s a term with varying meaning, pFriem Pilsner highly “drinkable,” and perhaps dangerously so — with its lovely front end and low carbonation, pFriem’s Pilsner goes down easy as a breeze.
Sierra Nevada Nooner
5.2% ABV, 38 IBU
Sierra Nevada Nooner pours a deep golden straw, darker and more color-saturated than we expected, which triggered a fear that it was going to have not only a misleading ABV but also a non-pilsner taste. Nope. Nooner has pleasant aromas of black tea with lemon and a very small touch of honey, with an overall earthy and floral profile. The front hits with some bready biscuit malt sweetness, as well as some cracker, followed by light, fruity citrus notes, with some pear, watermelon and spice character. The hops — Saphir, Tettnanger, Strisselspalt and bittering German Perle — are floral and spicy, which balances the malt sweetness. The bitterness is a bit bigger than the malt and hops flavors, but the beer is smooth, with a creamy mouthful.
Matchless Original Pilsner
4.8% ABV
Matchless Brewing presents its take on a classic German pilsner. The Tumwater, Washington brewery step mash 100 percent American grown Moravian pilsner malt and use only German Callista, Saphir and Northern Brewer hops. The beer is unfiltered and conditioned for four weeks in one of its traditional horizontal lagering tanks. It pours a straw yellow and is crisp on the palate and finishes clean. It is an easy drinker that is perfect for a sunny, or not so sunny, day in the Northwest.
Unita Golden Ale
5% ABV, 12 IBU
When national parks are mentioned what comes to mind? Mount Rainer, Olympic, or perhaps the Great Smokey Mountains? But what about Uinta? Yep, not a national park and not the noted national forest — Uinta Brewing Co. in Salt Lake City, Utah. We speak of the craft brewery founded in 1993 best known for the delicious pine and citrus forward Hop Nosh IPA. Uinta introduced its Golden Ale this year, a light bodied, slightly sweet, year-round refresher inspired by the U.S. national parks with a different park gracing the can quarterly. All the Uinta Golden Ales will feature Carapils and Vienna malts in harmony with German Saphir and Sterling hops. Bitterness is as low at the Grand Canyon, allowing a hint of sweetness to shine through in the finish. It’s a hiking, paddling, Instagraming kind of craft beer.
Firestone Walker Pivo Pils
5.3% ABV, 40 IBU
Firestone Walker Pivo Pils is a smooth operator. It has a silky, foamier head than most other pilsners, while also sporting the lightest consistency and color, making it look a little like sparkling grape juice. Fruit scents like apple and tangerine tickle the nose, balanced by a tart, peppery detail that rounds out the sweetness nicely. Pivo Pils offers impeccable balance with floral aromatics, spicy herbal nuances, and bergamot zest and lemongrass notes from dry hopping with German Saphir hops. After a potent aroma, the taste is deceptively subtle, balanced and clean. Pivo is astonishingly — almost dangerously — drinkable.
LINK: Peaks & Pints cooler inventory
