Ataraxia

Ghost Town Brewing — Oakland, Ca

25 Feb 2024 · Stephen

Pilsner Ghost Town Brewing

5.5% ABV

Pale golden Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return –

3 / 4 I'd recommend trying it

Tasting Notes

Appearance Pale golden, brilliantly clear with fine lively carbonation and a white head. Clean and luminous in the glass — the Nectaron and Mosaic dry-hop character doesn't cloud this beer, it just charges the aroma.

Aroma This is where Ataraxia earns its reputation. Nectaron is a New Zealand hop with an intense tropical fruit profile — passionfruit, peach, and a distinctive stone fruit quality that's unlike anything an American variety produces. Mosaic layers in mango, berry, and a little earthy complexity underneath. Reviewers specifically call out Nectaron shining — tropical fruit, grassy, expressive — with a West Coast hoppiness that sits comfortably on a clean pilsner base without overwhelming it. It smells like tranquility.

Palate Clean, crisp, and smooth — that's the lager foundation doing its job. Medium-light body with the Nectaron tropical fruit carrying through the middle alongside a faint grainy sweetness from the malt. The hop bitterness is present but restrained, keeping the beer firmly in pilsner territory rather than pushing it toward IPA. One reviewer notes it's not as full-bodied as Ghost Town's Bottom Feeder, but still clean, crushable, and with that West Coast hoppiness — which is exactly the right comparison point.

Finish Clean, dry, and quietly tropical. The Nectaron passionfruit and stone fruit quality lingers briefly, fading into a refreshing grain-dry close. Short to medium length, completely clean — the kind of finish that delivers the Ataraxia state the name promises. Tranquil. Contented. Ready for another.

The Verdict

Ghost Town's West Coast pils game nearing a pinnacle. Ataraxia is what happens when a brewery that knows hops applies that knowledge to a style that demands restraint. Nectaron and Mosaic on a clean lager base, 5.5% ABV — serene contentment in a can. The name isn't a coincidence. This is exactly what tranquility tastes like.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 25 Feb 2024