Sketchbook Brewing Company has taken the pilsner, a style built on restraint, and quietly smuggled in a passport's worth of New Zealand hop character. This small batch, limited release is hopped entirely with Manilita, Riwaka, and Mega Terps, three varieties not exactly known for playing it safe.
The result brings flavors of red berries, citrus, and a touch of white grapes to what is otherwise a refreshing, flavorful pils, at a very sessionable 5.1% ABV. New Zealand hops have built a reputation over the years for tasting more like a fruit market than a hop yard, and using them exclusively here, rather than blending in something more traditionally German, keeps the beer firmly on the interesting side of the pilsner spectrum without losing the clean drinkability the style depends on.
Evanston and Skokie's Sketchbook has never been shy about putting a small-batch spin on a classic format, and this pilsner is a good example of the brewery doing just enough to make a familiar style feel worth a second look. It's landing alongside this year's Night Game double IPA, giving the taproom lineup a nice spread from delicate to towering.
Tapping Friday, available on draft and in cans at either taproom.
Pilsners rarely get to have this much personality. This one clearly didn't get the memo.