Sour citric jaunt and green maize astringency bookend seltzer flow for crisp alternative to strident Pearl Lager.
PEARL LAGER
Oldest Texas brewery cranks out these blue collar medium-bodied macrobrews. Murkily malted rice-maize conflux teeters on soured barley-hop frailty.
(PEARL) COUNTRY CLUB MALT LIQUOR
Nasty corn oil aroma suits cheap crystal malt saturation and cloying ginger ale flow. Heady alcohol subsidy soaks up syrupy corn-sugared buttered popcorn illusions.
PEAK ORGANIC PALE ALE
Arguably closer to toasted lager than fruity pale ale, allowing smooth almond cluster to fortify roasted barleymalts and rolled oats. Herbal dalliance wavers.
PEAK ORGANIC NUT BROWN ALE
Enjoyable light-bodied dark ale furnishes sweet cashew-hazelnut roast and bittersweet black chocolate blast with slim orange-grapefruit bittering. Soft vanilla cadence and mild chicory nuance suit nutty finish well. Updated 2013 version (with generic label) afforded creamier mocha essence, richer caramel-burnt molasses penetration and deeper nut-charred hop roast.
PEAK ORGANIC AMBER ALE
Delectable sweet honeyed malt opening serenades cognate barley-roasted flaked oats nicety. Affluent piney grapefruit midst strengthens graininess, but bitter hop finish needs more aggression.
PAX LIMBURGS WIT
Fair hazy blonde suffers from obtrusive skunked malt whiff, unusual white sediment clumping and dour banana frontage. But oncoming chicory-tinged clove-spiced mint freshness succinctly activates brisk lemony orange tartness. Mild wheat-grained bed provides moderate pilsner appeal.
PAX LIMBURGS PREMIUM PILS
Unassuming pale-blanched white-headed lark bends sweet malt stickiness into dull sour candy dreck and mild grassy hop bittering, barely beating out watery American macrobrews.
PAULANER THOMAS BRAU
Worthy of a few sips despite petty 0.5% alcohol range and unobtrusive nature. Clear-toned, malt-toasted, daintily barley-tinged pale amber with sugary backdrop too slight to dent charts. Stale bread finish lowers appeal.
PAULANER SALVATOR DOUBLE BOCK
Elegant maple sugar richness firmly coats barleywine-port warmth, dark cherry pureeing and creamy butterscotch sweetness to candied molasses finish. Delicate honey-spiced mocha malts contrast back-ended musty cellar dankness. Mild floral hops soften subtle wheat biscuit spine of classic double bock jealous rivals envy.
PAULANER PREMIUM PILS
Heavily hopped citric bitterness and deep grain-roasted persistence calmed by permeating fizz of aluminum-hued medium body. Just a tad thicker, heavier, and more yeast-y than Czechvar (the original Budweiser), but less satisfying.
PAULANER OKTOBERFEST MARZEN AMBER ALE
Supposedly the world’s #1 Oktoberfest ale, offering sour citric-quince jab, dainty hop bite, mellow barleywine illusion, and dry whiskey aftertaste, but lacking pronounced up-front thrust and denied necessary full-bodied richness to earn four stars. Caramel creaminess relegated by fizz-spiced mineral water crisping.