Schell's 30th Anniversary Pilsner Series - Mandarina

This beer is part of the 30th Anniversary Pilsner Series from the August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. They were established in 1860 and I believe they are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States, behind Yuengeling (this is the 30th anniversary of the pilsner recipe, not of the brewery itself). This sampler pack contained the 1984 Recipe, the 2014 Recipe, a Roggen (Rye) Recipe and a Mandarina (hop) Recipe. This features a new hop variety from Germany, the Mandarina Bavaria.

The beer pours golden yellow in color, a hair darker than the other varieties. There is again, a tall head of white foam. The aroma is golden grain, with a touch of semi-sweetness to it, lightly grassy, with a citrus tang. The taste follows the aromas directly, hitting all the same notes, the citrus a bit more pronounced in the flavor than in the aroma. The finish is fairly bitter. This one just doesn’t hang together as well as the others for me, its citrus is a bit incongruous with the other flavors, and clashes with the grassy bitterness. This is the only beer of the four that I would not repeat over and over (but I will try it one more time and report back if it strikes me differently the second time). 

Okay, I came back to this a few days later on its own and it was perfectly fine. When tried in succession after the other three, it didn't hold up, but it was fine on its own.