#30SecondBeerReview · #FPLBeerClub
PILS
Alvarado Street Brewery — Salinas, CA
German Pilsner
Alvarado Street Brewery
5.2%
ABV
Golden yellow
Color
Contributing Factors
Presentation
✓
Character
✓
Experience
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Return
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4 / 4
I'd order another
Tasting Notes
Appearance
Clear golden yellow with champagne-like bubble action — the spunded natural carbonation producing a fine, persistent bead that force-carbonated pilsners can't replicate. Frothy white head, strong retention. Elegant presentation before the first sip confirms it.
Aroma
Bright lager sulfur upfront — the Augustiner yeast's authentic German fingerprint, dissipating quickly to reveal gorgeous Noble-hop aromatics from the Tettnang and Mittelfrüh whole cone additions. Herbal, floral, spicy, fresh. Floor malted Pilsner malt adds a biscuity, slightly cereal warmth underneath.
Palate
Six weeks of horizontal lagering delivers a smoothness and integration that rushed pilsners simply don't achieve. Medium-light body, biscuity malt richness from the floor malting, assertive yet refined bitterness from the whole cone Tettnang and Mittelfrüh. An interesting herbal note mid-palate that's the Tettnang doing exactly what it should.
Finish
Crisp, dry, and clean. Naturally integrated carbonation, lingering noble hop herbal note, faint biscuity malt sweetness fading behind it. Medium length, elegant, complete. The Augustiner yeast and six weeks of conditioning leaving nothing unresolved.
The Verdict
Alvarado Street built an authentic German Pilsner in Monterey — floor malted malt, whole cone noble hops, Augustiner yeast, spunded, horizontally lagered six weeks.
— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 18 Aug 2026
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