Our second batch of Chameleon Pils is ready! Enjoy it now as a German pils and then wait until it changes its colors in another 6-9 months to become a Brett pils.
If you enjoy Chameleon Pils right now it is going to seem like a German style pilsner with a slightly different hop profile. It is clean and crisp with a smooth bitterness and nice honey notes from the malt, as you would expect in a pilsner. However, a traditional German pils has a hop aroma filled with earthy, herbal and spicy notes. This time with Chameleon Pils we used two newer German hops, Tango and Callista. Both of these have much more passionfruit and citrus notes and very little herbal aroma.
As the beer warms you might get some very light funky notes. That is because the brettanomyces yeast is working. It hasn't had much time yet so there are just a few fleeting hints of it right now (or maybe that is what my mind tells me). The strain of brettanomyces we used with Chameleon Pils is very different than that for Farmhouse 2024. The Chameleon strain is a much more delicate version that will produce white wine and citrus flavors. Because it is more subtle we felt a pilsner would best suit it. The lager yeast is very clean and allows the aged Chameleon to really show off what the brett can do when given time to blossom.
So, enjoy Chameleon now and then again this winter when we release the other half of the batch!
