Escutcheon Brewing John Riggins’ 4th & 1 Pilsner
I may be a life-long New York Giants fan, but I grew up in the Washington, D.C. metro area and was thus subject to many Redskins games in my youth. As such, I’m pretty familiar with John Riggins and his mohawk (Google it). That’s just about the only reason I picked up this pilsner from Escutcheon Brewing with his name adorned on the can. Oh, and it also serves as my first introduction to this Virginia brewery.
I haven’t seen many beers from this brewery on shelves, but given that I picked up this can in late July as the NFL season was ramping up, it sort of makes sense to see only it so far. The pilsner uses the standard 2-row pilsner malt and dextrin malt as its base plus a blend of Perle, Tettnanger and Saaz hop varieties.
And much like the former running back, this 4.4% ABV pilsner is pretty solid. It hits all the right marks in terms of flavor and deceptive drinkability. I’d prefer the beer to carry a slightly more crisp mouthfeel and less sweetness — both personal preferences for the style. Other than that, the beer served as a great introduction to Escutcheon Brewing.