A slightly hazed pour. Not a great head, not good retention or lace. Looks little NEIPAish - oh God ... Good aspirin bitterness up front, bites quite hard initially, and then backs off way too much.. Nose and mouthfeel are both too full and round for me. It's a bit flabby. A distinct lack of really clean lines, and that's a huge issue in a pilsner of any type for me. Soft, not well-defined. This way too yeasty, malty and rounded for the style, and although it sports some decent bitterness in...
Notes on beers in the style
German Pilsener
Zenne
Rothaus Pils
Tannen Zäpfle
12.2 oz bottle, gold foil topped. If there was ever a beer that I would associate on pure looks and taste with the Reinheitsgebot, it would most probably be this one! The no nonsense appearance, clarity and tastes scream German efficiency, cleanliness and purity. This is about as far removed from a hazed, adjunct laden beer as one can get. The pale golden clarity on the pour looks almost fake. It couldn't be clearer or cleaner. The same is true of the nose and the tastes. The beer doesn't...
Presque Isle Pilsner
12oz single thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Extremely pale color on the pour with a touch of haziness about it - not good for a Pils. Carbonation seems low for the style too. Weak vegetal notes, some dubious notes int eh nose and some funny dry bitterness in the finish. Not a clean beer and it lacks all kinds of attributes that a solid Pils should have. Perhaps better fresher and closer to the source, but I'm not convinced of that and I'm not holding my...
Schell’s Pilsner
12 oz single - thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour is a very odd color. It has a watery pale look, but also has a slightly bizarre hazed, wheat-like look. The head is not really of any consequence and there is a thin film of froth on the surface. No lace. The color is very disturbing to me - it looks both washed out and cloudy. Strange. Nose has some dry, grainy alcohol and a little degree of sweet malt. There is a hint of bitterness that permeates the beer (good), but it also...
Minhas 1845 Pilsner
12 oz bottle courtesy of Kevin. The pour delivers a color that is darker and more orange than I would like to see from a Pils. It has a slightly hazed, copper tone and doesn't give a very clean appearance. The head is a quick, one finger affair but it disappears very swiftly. No lace. Nose and tastes are at first watery and grainy, and then cut in with a huge dollop of sweetness. The sugar seems very artificial and quite chemical in its nature. The lack of body continually repeats itself....
Berghoff Prairie Lager
12 oz single, from Kevin - many thanks. Oh dear, this is not very good at ALL! I like the label and the general appearance of the bottle, it's a shame that this is by far the best aspect of this particular beer! Should i eat the label instead of drinking the beer? To be fair the beer does pour with a Pilsener appearance in terms of color, carbonation and clarity, but the head is woeful and the lace non-existent. The tastes and nose are INCREDIBLY sweet, even for my sweet tooth and obviously...
Klisch Pilsner Beer
12 oz single, from notes, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Label is slightly different to the one in the BA db where the words Pilsner Beer have simply become "Pilsner". Notched as being bottle in Wk 1, May but no year given, assuming 2010. The pour yields a beer that has a pilsner color (perhaps it's a little more 'yellow'), but unfortunately it comes with a slight haze that substantially detracts from the clarity. Not really what I'm looking for here, and it...
Elm City Lager
12 oz can from Grassroots in Jacksonville, GA, USA. The beer has a somewhat disturbingly, pale color and in terms of the hue looks a bit weak. Paradoxically, the head is resplendent - high, fluffy and full of sticky lace, it looks really good. Admittedly it is not really a classic looking Pilsner, nor is the head typical of the style but it looks OK. Carbonation is quite high too. This is a very, very sweet beer that I actually like. It does NOT deliver a classic, Noble or Saaz bite (which I...
König Pilsener
500 mL can thanks to Kevin. Cheers mate. A crazy colored pour which is pale, but distinctly yellow. Not golden like some macros, but really noticeably yellow. A very sticky but quite a light and fluffy head. Very clean malts in the nose and tastes but it comes without much Saaz like bite in the finish. The lack of distinct bitterness means it's a little off base for me. Extremely clean and crisp and this is really n extension of those pale, pilsner malt bills. Again the finish lacks any...
E Figoun
$1.99 for the chance to try this at tower on Piedmont after this beer originally retailed around $5.99. An old(er) bottle, but with no discernible date on the label I feel totally justified in reviewing it. Macro color on the pour except for a distinct haze - in that respect, a little like a Hefe in the glass. Poor head, not much retention. Smell and tastes are slightly sweet, light vegetal aspects with nothing too offensive but at the same time nothing that would lead me to buy it again....
Coney Island Mermaid Pilsener
Review #2400. 16oz pint, on tap at Taco Mac, Woodstock, GA, USA. Golden pour that produces some nice lace despite the head fading fairly fast. Carbonation is medium. Nose delivers an unusual combination of a decent Pils-like bite of hops, but also a sweet background to the beer. The sweetness is the thing that stays with me which would normally make me a little unhappy, but the fact that there IS a decent dose of hop bitterness too, helps me to enjoy this beer a little more than I thought I...
S.O.S. (Save Our Shore)
22 oz screen printed bottle. Abita's charitable effort. Best By 08/11 on the neck of the bottle - can a Pils with an ABV of 7.00% really feel fresh over one year from now? I dunno - maybe. Pour offers a light, straw colored body with a fairly low level of carbonation. The head is minimal, but at least it hangs around to leave a small film on the surface of the beer and a decent amount of broken lace. Smell is a neutral sweet one with nothing else to report. Tastes are inoffensive but frankly...
Pikeland Pils
12oz can. I've heard quite a lot about this beer over the years, and some of it I suspect has been simply because it has been canned; there seems to be a mild hysteria that accompanies some canned beers where people get ahead of themselves and forget to worry about what the beer actually tastes like! Pour is a well carbonated, golden body with some decent head. the lace is not huge, but a decent, semi-thick film hangs around on the surface of the beer. A strange, citrusy, lemon like smell that...
Southampton Keller Pils
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a slightly clouded, lemon colored body with a rocky, if not dense head, sitting on top. Not much retention or lace. Nose gives a nice grassy, hoppy note. Tastes are really quite bitter up front (and in the finish), but in between there is a lovely balance and beautiful, creamy mouthfeel. Rounded with some sweet notes in the middle. Lingering bite at the end. Slightly metallic ending as well. VERY tasty and highly drinkable with a good,...
Simpler Times Pilsner
12 oz can from Trader Joe's - dirt cheap, may have only been around $1. Retro style presentation. Pour as expected, gives a nasty looking, macro urine color with plenty of trapped, large bubbles. Head is very fluffy and light, but has little or no retention but does give surprisingly good, sticky lace on the glass. Nose gives a neutral, light corn note and little else. Tastes are bland and lack any kind of real, Saaz-like Pils bite - then again, I wasn't exactly expecting much! Finishes with a...
Moa Original
It's been in Georgia for a few weeks now so I decided to take the plunge with one of the three Moa beers available here. All in 750's, all corked and caged and all $7.99. Reliably informed that these beers are bottle conditioned with champagne yeast. Opening the bottle backs that up with a BIG, impressive pop. Pour also suggests massive carbonation with an ice-cream, fine bubbled head on top of a murky, orange body. Looks good. The head IS impressive but fades surprisingly quickly to give a...
St. Peter’s Sorgham Beer
$3.99 for the 500 mL, old-style, St. Peter's bottle form Arbor Place, Douglasville, GA, USA. Right off the top, I think this should be categorized as an English Pale (at least in the way it drinks). WOW! A revelation. Obviously I went into this with some severe trepidation but came out amazed! The pour is a crystal clear, orangey/macro color with some limited head but surprising sticky lace. Nose is pretty neutral, but it gives away some simple malt-like notes. The tastes are AMAZING when you...
Polestar Pilsner
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. In summary I was very surprised at how "macro" like this was. There were very large corn and vegetal notes in both the nose and the tastes, and a really distinct lack of sharp, crisp hop notes. The lack of Saaz crispness and the lack of cleanliness are big problems when it comes to a PIls beer, and to be honest this was seriously lacking n both departments. The pour and appearance were promising enough with a decent, if not huge head sitting on top...
LTD Series – 03
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pale blue label this time on the usual, Ltd Series presentation. Pour is a crystal clear, mid-yellow with nice lace and retention. A good sign in a Pils and a pre-requisite for a good lager experience. Nose is light with little to report other than a touch of bitterness. That's OK, at least it's clean. Tastes are importantly crisp, dry and refreshing. As it should be, i.e. simple and straightforward. No off-flavors and although the beer lacks a...
Tröegs Sunshine Pils
Quite surprised that I haven't reviewed this before now. 12 oz bottle. Pour is classically clear and carbonated with great, golden color. Head is not hue, nor is it well retained or does it leave much lace. Initial Saaz bitterness is surprisingly early in the mouth rather than later as I would usually expect for the style. The beer drinks very cleanly which is obviously good, but to the point of almost being slightly bland. The best I can do is describe it as neutral. I dunno, this looks nice...
Jever Pilsener
12oz single from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Nothing to report on the pour. Disappointing head and lace and the beer body is a little more orange than one would expect. Nose is frankly pretty skunky. Not a very clean beer. The finish DOES have a characteristic bitter Pils edge but outside of that it drinks quite poorly. Tannin seems to come through in the finish as well. Not an impressive beer to me at all, nor does it seem like a classic Pils. It seems old and tired as much as...
Josephs Brau Hopfest German Style Pilsner
$1.00, 12 oz single from Trader Joe's, Atlanta, GA, USA. I've had plenty of success with TJ's and their cheap singles so I feel confident to at least give these cheap beers a shot. Pour is decent in terms of color, but the head, lace and carbonation seems weak to me. The mouthfeel seems to have more carbonation that the look would suggest. Nose has virtually nothing. WOW, what an odd taste. A combination of corny sweetness and then a VERY strange, peppery bitterness. As far as this being a...
Kulmbacher Edelherb Premium Pils
On tap at Taco Mac midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. $6.00 for the 16oz pour. Macro, pale yellow pour with plenty of clarity and carbonation but a lack of head and lace. Disappointing look to the beer. To be honest a dreadful disappointment. Lacks Saaz bite, cleanliness, and general refreshing qualities. I am beginning to wonder if TM has put a macro beer on tap instead of the advertised! Plenty of vegetable notes and corn finish. Not good at all. Bad value and a pretty poor beer - lacked Pils...
Wernesgruner
Not sure how old this bottle is, but with no dates on the bottle put there by the brewer I feel justified in reviewing it. Picked up as a 12oz single from Jax in Sandy Springs. Odd, wit colored pour but exhibits some clarity. Not much carbonation but it does create a decent head in the 20oz Imperial pint glass. Macro lager attributes all over the place with the exception being a sharpish, hop bite in the finish. No aroma and a strange, malty bitterness associated with each mouthful Mediocre at...
Braumeister Harvest Pils
On tap at the Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. Served in a Prima Pils glass. Slightly cloudy, yellow body lacking the super-clarity associated with the style. Small head and a disappointing lack of retention and lace. Apperance is not the strength of this brew. Tastes are really quite sweet. A lot of malts sits on top of a mild hop finish. Very easy to drink, I'd have to put this in the "summer quencher" category. As I got down to the bottom of the glass it began to lose some life - a little...
Flensburger Pilsener
$2+ change from Camp Creek Beverage, Atlanta, GA, USA. First time I had seen this in the ATL. Big, fizzy pour with excellent carbonation and head. Lively looking beer. Pale yellow color. Crisp and clean with a refreshing quality. Finish lacks real Saaz bitterness, but still satisfies. Pretty good example of the style I would say. Very simple, good value brew.
Woodstock Pilsner
Been around for a long time in Atlanta, GA, USA, just getting around to reviewing it now. 12 oz single from Michael's. Nice yellow color with some head and a little lace, but lacks clarity with some chill haze. Corny nose lacks definition. The taste also lacks definition. In a Pils I am looking for a clean beer and a big, dry hop bite in the finish - this beer doesn't realy provide it. Has potential but currently it's a beer that needs sharpening up and has to get a better defined edge to make...
Sweetwater Road Trip Ale
$4.00, 16oz serving on tap, Taco Mac, Marietta, GA, USA. The new release from Sweetwater. Pump clip is an attractive sky blue color. Nice looking golden yellow pour with a medium head that unfortunately fades quickly. Nose and taste have the Pils feel, but the finish lacks that typical hop bite. This is especially disappointing since this is advertised as a DOUBLE Pilsner. A bit lightweight all around. Goes down easy and it is a refreshing summer drink, but for me this was a disappointment -...
Butte Creek Organic Pilsner
12 oz single, Jax, Sandy Springs, Atlanta, GA, USA. Very cloudy yellow, decent head and some lacing, basically this looks pretty much like a standard Hefe rather than a Pils. Grassy hop nose with a strange hay-like smell over the top. Astringent grapefruit like bitterness, quite strong. Mild malts barely hold the whole thing together. This is a bitter beer without much subtlelty. Not a very good Pils but I'm not sure if that is the beer or the Organic element that make it different. Not...
Organic Ur Pils
Unfiltered Pils! Extremely light yellow with some haze and a lot of fine carbonation. At the bottom of the glass it is so light it almost looks watered down - literally. Good head and some nice lacing. Bread like aroma, with a little yeast character. Tastes are wheat based and almost Hefe like. In fact if I was drinking this blind, the combination of the appearance, the head, the lace and taste would have me thinking it was a Hefe rather than a Pils. Perhaps a little less traditional Pils...
Über Pils
$4.99, 22oz bomber, Hilton Head, SC, USA. Don't really know why, but I've passed up the chance to try this on several occasions and have only got around to trying it and reviewing after several years of not bothering. Shame, because I really like it. Much more orange color in the pour than a traditional, light pure yellow Pils, and a bigger head with more dense fluff characteristics and good lacing. Nice looking beer. Aroma has hops, but not astringent and sharp. MUCH more rounded with a...
Dockside Pilsner
Frankly I have almost no idea what this beer is supposed to be, but I can say one thing for certain, this doesn't taste ANYTHING like a German Pilsener! Massive head, in fact the carbonation is annoying. Once it dies down then we get a disappointing amount of sustained head and very little (if any) lacing. Buttersotch yellow cloudy pour - where is the crystal clear body? Aroma is a weird peppery, soapy mess. Taste is ridiculously sweet. Not horrible becasue I like sweet beers, but in a Pils??...
Scrimshaw Pilsner
There is nothing quite like a Pilsener when you feel like a Pilsener, and this beer does a nice job, if somewhat atypical of the style. Fairly cloudy yellow body with some chill haze appparent, I suppose that the lack of absolute clarity is a bit unusual in the Pils stakes but it is not unattractive. Very clean, tasty and refreshing, with a fuller mouthfeel than one would usually expect, but still very nice. Almost a litle creamy! I found the hops to be up front, more so than in several Pils,...
Carlsberg Beer
Slender 12oz bottle, bought as a single from World Market as a mixed sixer, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is very promising. Obviously the golden yellow color, but the head is impressive and lasting and the lacing is sticky and very attractive. However, that's where the attraction stops. Amazing skunk of really, really sweet fructose corn and a taste to match. Very sickly sweet taste, and after 4 oz or so this went down the drain (a very, very, very rare event for me). Pilsener? Well, I get no dry,...
Pilsner
Better than average if somewhat of an unusual version of the style. This poured in a classic Pilsener manner, but the nose and taste were much, much sweeter with a distinct lack of hop bitterness that accompanies the classic version of the style. It was creamier and more rounded than a traditional Pils, and subsequently lacked the crisp, cleanliness that one would normally associate with the traditional German beer. As long as you were not craving a classicly stlyed beer, then this all comes...
Hooch Pilsener
Pretty decent Pils with a good mouthfeel and nice look being its best qualities. Aroma's and tastes are standard, but the yellow body is topped by a good head and decent lacing that are both above average. Less hoppy than many in the style and there is definitely a lack of bite in the finish, but the extra, unexpected depth in the body makes up for that. Slightly out of style in that respect, but nevertheless a decent drinker.
Prima Pils
On-tap, Sansom Oyster House, Philadelphia. Absolutely crystal clear appearance, to the point of being clinical, golden, pale yellow color, small tight head with a minimal amount of lacing. Hops dominate the smell, and I certainly agree that there is a pepper/spice/herbal note to them. Some creaminess in the mouthfeel. It drinks exactly as you would expect. Clean, bitter, hoppy and peppered. Some Saaz like bitterness in the finish and aftertaste too. Good thirst quenching characteristics, but...
Stoudt’s Pils
An extraordinarily clear beer, the clarity and the pale golden color making it very Champagne like. Very lively carbonation with streams and streams of bubbles rising quickly to give a small but persistent bone-white head. Some watery lacing. That lovely, clean Pils hop aroma dominates and gets carried over to the taste. Absolutely simple, with the requisite bitter hop twang in the long, dry finish. Puckeringly dry bitterness gives a metallic mouthfeel that is perfect for the style. I'm not a...
Beck’s
Drank loads of this as a student, not much in recent years, but it occasionally serves as a half decent standby in NCBOMA (no craft beer only macros available) situations. Appearance. Pretty good, nice clarity & color and good level of carbonation too. Unfortunately we lose the head quickly and little or no lacing develops. Decent refreshing palate and a passable hop twang in the short finish too. Lack of dryness helps the beer be drinkable. Aroma is slight skunk, but typical of a macro...
Saranac Golden Pilsener
Very pale golden, with pretty much absolute clarity. Small head, not much lacing. Decent looking. Some sweet, malty wheat aroma, with a very, very small amount of hops in there too. Flavors are very mild, quite clean and refreshing. A little, typical Pilsener hop bitterness, but not a lot, and it fades pretty quickly. Essentially this is a lightweight Pilsener at best, and probably slips out of the style because of its lack of hoppy character. Not especially good in terms of being a Pilsener,...
St. Pauli Girl
Having had a pretty decent experience with the dark version; http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/224/698/?ba=Ding I was very disappointed with this. Lifeless and pretty tasteless was the overall verdict, with little to endear it to me. In fact, it had macro junk stamped all over it. Pale appearance, slightly skunked and that odd combination of being over carbonated but unable to hold its head, this gave a grain/corn aroma and the same in the initial tastees. Mouthfeel below average and a...
Palma Louca Pale Pilsner
Utter swill. Flat, thin, and heavily reliant upon all the bad attributes of an adjunct lager, this stuff must make the genuine German brewers go insane. Nothing to redeem this yellow, alcoholic water, it's a really nasty concoction that's sweet and acidic. BTW, I didn't like this much.
Phoenix Pils
Very refreshing and satisfying. Classic appearance with, what I consider to be the most important part of the look for a pilsner, a head with excellent retention. Even with quality pils, if you lose the head you'll end up with something that looks like an adjunct macro lager. Definite sweetness in the aroma, but a sufficient hop bite to make the beer feel real. I enjoyed the cleanliness of the brew and it's refreshing quality. Great summertime-lunchtime drinking.
Dinkel Acker Cd-Pils
Solid Pilsener - not my favorite, but a good example. The simple, pale yellow relatively unattractive typical pour, with an initially lively head that's gone in seconds. Little or no lacing. Typical crisp, dry hop bitterness of the style, with grain and alcohol in the nose. A little fuller in the mouth than I was expecting too. Decent refreshing snap - must be super cold for full effect.
Bohemia
Pale yellow, urine like, macro adjunct appearance and a very odd "wet dog" like aroma. Bland all the way through. I wasn't expecting much and that's pretty much what I got. The strange skunky aroma carried on into the aftertaste that I found very odd - a sort of dry, hop-based bitterness that I was not expecting in the beer. Decent refreshing quality, cold and sweet, but nothing to endear it to me or to make me rush back. The skunk and the aftertaste detracted from the clean, crispness that...
Saranac Adirondack Lager
Average in the extreme!? Does that make sense? Anyway. Half-decent beer that takes you above horrid macro to the start of a very long journey to wonderful micro, but not very far along that path. Pour is nicely balanced with good, deep orange color and a nice head with some retention. A very small amout of lacing adds to the visiual impact. Mild caramel and sugar in the nose and taste, but also with some hop bitterness to even things out. Unusually dry finish brings the beer to a somehat...
Brooklyn Pilsner
Very nice beer for two main reasons; Firstly I found it very refreshing. A little edge of bitterness and malt, but the right amount of smoothness to take the edge off a thirst. Secondly it looks great. I think this starts with the bottle! I like the simplicity of the Brooklyn packaging and the predominately yellow label catches the eye. When the beer is poured, the head is solid and not too overwhelming, but hangs around long enough to make it better than average. With Pilsners and the like...