Ever notice how certain ingredients get a cult following almost by accident? Nelson Sauvin is one of those hops for a certain kind of beer drinker - the one that tastes faintly like a glass of Sauvignon Blanc got lost on its way to the vineyard and ended up in a pilsner instead. Pivotal built Smoothcone Kinfolk as a tribute to it, and the tribute mostly works because the hop is doing something a hop rarely gets asked to do.
Brewed with Nelson Sauvin and Motueka from Garston Hops, this one leans into grape, lychee, fresh lime zest, and a faint herbal note that the brewery is calling "subtle cannabis aromas" in the nicest possible way. A crisp pilsner malt base and house Czech lager yeast are there to hold it together underneath, giving it a soft, sweetbread backbone so the hops get to be the main event without the whole thing turning into a novelty. Clear, pale gold, 5.6 percent, and built to be easy to keep drinking.
It is on draft and in cans-to-go now. If the idea of a pilsner that smells a little like a wine glass sounds strange, that is probably reason enough to go find one and see for yourself.