Judge's Review: 93 Rating - Bohemian Riot by Arches Brewing

Bohemian Riot by Arches Brewing has been evaluated as a Czech Premium Pale Lager (2015 BJCP Category 3B) known better to most beer drinkers as a Bohemian or Czech Pilsner.

The aroma is clean and malt forward with just a hint of bread crust and an underlying herbal hop presence that emerges as the beer warms. Once the olfactory senses have acclimated to this beer it can be difficult to perceive much aroma at all due to an exceptionally clean fermentation profile and subtle malt and hops. The beer is gorgeous – deep burnished gold with incredible clarity and a dense slightly off-white head that has decent retention. The flavor is well balanced between malt (which is quite rich) without being sweet and a moderate bitterness that is present without being invasive. The hop flavor is subdued but appropriate to style with light floral and herbal characteristics. A low level of diacetyl is acceptable in this style but there is none present in this example. This medium-bodied beer is a wonderful domestic example of a style that is often overshadowed by it's northern German interpretation.

This beer falls somewhere between a German Pils and a Vienna Lager and audiences of those styles would be pleased to drink this fine example of a Czech-style pilsner. A bit more hop aroma and flavor would be welcome but overall this beer ticks the guidelines quite well for the style. Another solid offering from Arches Brewing that throws a bone to those just beginning their discovery of classic styles as well as to connoisseurs with refined palates looking for the next best beer they haven't tried yet.