From the Beer Writer: As proven by recent coverage on this very website, pilsners are exquisite beers that are finally getting their due throughout San Diego County. This time-honored classic style is treated as such, brewed to spec be it in German or Czech fashion. Recently, Rouleur Brewing dared to go outside the straw-gold box with its pilsner, Boneshakeur. Crafted to celebrate the Carlsbad, biking-themed brewery’s one-year anniversary, the beer is labeled as a “New Zealand pilsner.” There is no such thing, historically, but head brewer Rawley Macias isn’t concerned with that. He saw promise in a pair of hop varietals hailing from the Land of the Long White Cloud and decided to test their merits via a typically staid style. The result is a light-bodied beer offering citrusy scents intermingled with mineralic yeast aromas, plus a downright assertive, piney bitterness that sticks around like a nail lodged in a bike tire.
From the Brewer: “Rouleur Brewing launched with the intention to brew beers that didn’t necessarily obey, nor purposely defy, classic beer styles. We brew beers that we like and are not afraid to push boundaries in a delicate way. Up until now, our beer line-up consisted exclusively of ales and we always had it in our plans to eventually introduce a lager to our offerings. It’s somewhat hard to find a well-made lager in the San Diego area, especially in North County, and we were intrigued and excited by the challenge of brewing one, however, rather than brew a classic or conventional lager, we wanted to brew one that would be unique and memorable. We’ve toyed with New Zealand hop varietals on other beers and thought that a ‘New Zealand pilsner’ would be just that…unique and memorable, combining a classic pilsner base with newer hop varietals. We did a bit of research and decided to utilize the less popular Waimea and Wai-iti hop varietals. Waimea is a high-alpha, dual-purpose hop offering characteristics reminiscent of pine and citrus. Wai-iti is a very low-alpha hop and is primarily used as for aroma due to its stone fruit and citrus traits. From there, Bonesahkeur New Zealand Pilsner was born. The resulting beer is incredibly clean, crisp, and bold and offers a pronounced but smooth bitterness. The beer is named after the nickname bicycles were given when they were first introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s. It’s Rouleur’s first lager and we are very proud of it.”—Rawley Macias, Founder & Head Brewer, Rouleur Brewing Company