Beer of the Week: St Malo
South O Brewing's pils may not be Irish, but it's good and you can still dye it green
From the Beer Writer: Admit it…you’re surprised. Today is St. Patrick’s Day and the Beer of the Week is neither a red ale nor dry stout of Irish origin. I understand, but not only does the light-straw hue of this week’s featured beer lend itself to the addition of green food-coloring (don’t hate…it just makes it seem like you have something against people having harmless fun and that’s not you, is it?), but it comes in a green can and its name includes the abbreviation for “saint”. And, oh yeah, another pertinent detail–it’s a really good beer. Meet St Malo, a Czech-style pilsner from South O Brewing. The name references a subdivision at the end of South Pacific Street in the brewery’s eponymous South Oceanside community. That locale is named for a French port, but this beer is an homage to the Czech Republic town of Pilsen, the birthplace of the pilsner. Made with Old World ingredients, this refreshing, effervescent lager is bone-dry with a wisp of water-cracker character on the front end which transitions to cereal-grain in the finish. Everyone may be Irish one day of the year, but this beer is fit as a go-to for the entire 365.
From the Brewer: “Being a craft brewer is fun. You get to experiment with new ingredients and create new flavors, but some beer styles have been crafted for hundreds of years due to the popularity and haven’t required any significant stylistic changes. When brewing St Malo, we thought it was extremely important to remain true to the style. We chose to use historical ingredients that represent this beer style and the region from whence it came. For this Czech-style pilsner, we used floor-malted Bohemian Pilsner Malt, Czech Saaz hops and German lager yeast. I believe this is an excellent pilsner for the beer-lovers around the world to enjoy; a true crowd-pleaser. Na zdraví!“—Maurey Fletcher, Head Brewer, South O Brewing