San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
New Pearl beer tastes better than before
If you think you know Pearl beer, think again. Long derided by many beer aficionados as thin, insipid suds, the iconic San Antonio-born brew has received a makeover worthy of the brand’s 134-year history.
The relaunched Pearl xXx lager has a new formula, a new logo and is being brewed in a new home.
Pabst Brewing Co., which also owns Lone Star Beer, shifted the production of Pearl from Fort Worth to Austin. They’ve also altered Pearl’s formula and bottled the beer with a newly designed label that feels simultaneously retro and renewed.
After a long Memorial Day weekend sipping on a few, I can say the folks at Pabst have created a summer sipper perfect for sweltering San Antonio afternoons. It’s worth a try, if for no other reason than to reintroduce yourself to a part of the city’s history.
The old Pearl was already on the light side alcohol-wise, at about 4.8 percent. It was also pretty dreadful stuff to my, admittedly, spirits-preferring palate. There was little to distinguish it from every other sad, mass-produced brew I’ve tried.
The reborn beer has significantly more body than the old Pearl, a deeper amber color and a pleasant, malty taste with little hoppy bitterness. It also comes in lighter on the booze at 3.8 percent alcohol.
Marketing material for the new beer says it’s finished with a touch of citrus, but I wasn’t able to detect it behind a flavor that’s predominately easy-sipping lager with a bit of wheaty smoothness.
The new Pearl will be available in retail stores in the major cities across Texas in early June with a suggested price tag of $9.49 for a six-pack. More at pearlbeer.com.