Corporate Ladder’s Paperweight – a phenomenal Pilsner
Corporate Ladder began in Palmetto, Florida back in 2018 on a small, 5-bbl system. After gaining some traction with their unconventional and innovative brews, the brewery began to explode. And, at the very end of last year, the brewery made a massive expansion – moving their production to a new 10,000-square foot, 20-bbl facility in Walstonburg, North Carolina…some 715 miles northeast.
You can still visit their OG taproom in Palmetto but now you can also find their brews in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
However, I was missing out. I hadn’t had a single one of their beers until I found this guy – Paperweight Pilsner.
Paperweight is an unfiltered, Neo-American Pils made with 100% German Pilsner malt and a nice dosing of Motueka and Hallertau Blanc hops. It has a 5.5% ABV and the 16-ounce can cost me $5.50 but a four-pack at the brewery (when available) is only about $16…so better to get it straight from the source.
The beer poured a very pale straw color with about two fingers of fluffy, eggshell white head topping the brew off. The head was quite resistant, lingering for well over two minutes before enough had finally fizzled away and made the beer accessible. For the long head retention the brew had, there wasn’t nearly as much lacing as I was expecting. Instead, only a few strands of bubbles clung to the sides of the glass, while most sat just atop the liquid.
The aroma was crisp and bright. There were zesty notes of pepper, some sweet and juicy citrus, and a dash of earthier, more floral traits. The grains also added a nice malt backbone that offered up notes of dough and biscuits…but those qualities sat well underneath the citrus and spice.
Each sip begins with a super crisp and light body. However, while the beer still drinks insanely light, there is a pillowy soft mouthfeel that begins to expand after a second or two and coats the entire tongue with a slightly dry resinous feeling.
It wasn’t long before the flavors really began to pop and they were absolutely amazing.
There is a boatload of citrus up front, with sweet and juicy notes of orange, lemon, and lime hitting the taste buds repeatedly. There is also a hint of dripping honey and some floral orange blossom notes that adds to the thicker mouthfeel and initial sweetness, respectively.
Around the midway point, that black pepper attribute appears, adding juuuuust a touch of spice. The grist also appears here, adding some crackery breadiness underneath. Towards the back end, the hops do add a pithy, resinous feeling with the tiniest bitter bite.
It finished quite dry and with a sticky, orange rind pithy quality that did linger well after everything else had faded away.
And yet, even with that, I was addicted to this beer. It was so damn good. I couldn’t get enough.
The Pilsner base was super light and crushable and the hops added a ton of great flavors with very little bitterness. Yes, it was super pithy and dry. But it was absolutely amazing. I finished the pint in under seven minutes. Like…I tried to take my time while writing this…but it was just too good. Well worth the dryness.
