La Magie Is Built on Strisselspalt, an Alsatian Aroma Hop

France rarely turns up on a hop bill, which is most of what makes La Magie interesting. Wayfinder Beer's French pilsner is built on Strisselspalt, an aroma hop long associated with Alsace. It is out now at 5.3% ABV.

Strisselspalt sits in the same broad family as the German noble hops and is often compared to Hallertau Mittelfrueh. It contributes very little bitterness. What it offers instead is a soft floral and herbal character with a faint spice behind it. That sort of delicate contribution disappears entirely in a beer with anything loud going on, and only becomes legible when nothing else is competing for attention.

Wayfinder describes the result as having a subtle spiciness alongside floral and herbal notes reminiscent of lavender and chamomile, finishing crisp and dry. The brewery's pub list puts it more tersely: floral spice, soft grass, soft mouthfeel, gentle bitterness.

The style name is worth a brief word, because "French pilsner" is not a historic tradition in the way German and Czech pilsner are. France's own great beer lineage runs through biere de garde rather than pale lager. In practice the designation signals hop origin more than anything else. That means nearly the entire character of a beer like this rests on the single ingredient it is named for. That is a narrow ledge to build on and a clear one to taste.

It is also not the only pilsner currently on Wayfinder's board. La Magie is pouring alongside Party Time, a Bavarian-style pilsner at 4.9%. The pairing makes for an unusually direct comparison between two hop traditions on the same list. Both are available now in half-liter servings at the brewery's Portland pub.