Hannenberg Pils
Grand River Brewing

Hannenberg PilsHannenberg Pils
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From:
Grand River Brewing
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
German Pilsner
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.78 | pDev: 7.94%
Reviews:
25
Ratings:
30
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 13, 2014
Added:
May 11, 2008
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
A tribute to the German style of pilsner. A clear pale golden blonde body, almost fruity malts and pointly refined hops. Balanced and very drinkable Pils with great flavor.

Named after our owner Bob Hannenberg who made everything that this brewery is possible.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Molson2000:
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Rated by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

4/5  rDev +5.8%

Sep 13, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of BuckyBeerBeaver
Reviewed by BuckyBeerBeaver from Canada (ON)

3.96/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Another beer from the folks at Grand River Brewing, picked up from their on-site retail store. This time it's their Hannenberg Pils (“HP”), 4.5% alcohol by volume in their standard 500 ml bottle, bottled on December 15, 2013.

HP poured a clear yellow/gold colour, taking on more of the golden hue when backlit. An aggressive pour produced about 1.5” of bright white head which lasted for about 3 minutes before fading to a collar of foam and thin film, leaving behind some modest spotting. Its aroma was of sweet bready malts, with earthy and grassy notes as well. The sweet bready malts led off the flavour parade, followed by the earthy/grassy tastes, and ending with a mild hop bitterness. This is a nicely balanced beer, and although the flavours from the first mouth full were a bit odd, it was an enjoyable beer thereafter. I would describe HP as relatively light bodied with a crisp mouth feel and no lingering aftertaste, and the carbonation level is well suited to the brew. My favourite of Grand River's beers sampled so far…but I still have a couple of bottles in inventory.
Apr 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Feb 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by kinguy from Canada (ON)

Nov 03, 2012
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Reviewed by korguy123 from Canada (ON)

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle into pilsener glass.
Bottled March 20th, 2012

A- Crystal clear straw yellow pour. Finger and a half of soapy white head. Lacing is good.

S- Grass and earth, slight grain, with a little musty aroma. Hops are minimal and earthy.

T- Sweet malt, sweet biscuits, light floral hops with a smooth finish.

M- Light bodied, slightly sweet feeling (coats), good carbonation.
Jun 08, 2012
Photo of TheSevenDuffs
Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle to Great Lakes pint glass. Thanks to korguy123 for this one. Bottled on March 20, 2012.

A - Pale straw yellow with one finger of bright white head. Some light lacing.

S - Light hop presence up front with some floral and earthy aromas. The malt bill adds a sweet bready aroma.

T - A crisp hop presence up front with light floral, herbal and earthy flavours. A sweet bready/cereal malt backbone provides balance. The finish is slightly bitter with the hop presence returning.

M - Light body with a slight chew. Light to moderate carbonation.
May 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)

Mar 17, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by MattPS from Canada (ON)

Mar 03, 2012
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

3.72/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pint at Gambrinus Bistro & Cafe in London, ON. Taps a clear golden hue with a sliver of white foam and some dots of lacing on the shaker glass. Head subsides halfway in. Smell and taste are bready-biscuity malts, cereal grains, table cream, floral hops, honey, musty-yeasty notes, hard water, and grainy-biscuity afters. Mouthfeel is lighter than medium bodied, crisp carbonation, mild prickly bitterness precedes a clean, drying finish. Overall, Hannenberg Pils is a satisfying no frills session lager that quenches the thirst. Although it could use more hops, it packs a ton of flavour for a 4.5% beer. A solid drinker.
Jan 08, 2012
Photo of liamt07
Reviewed by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Growler from the brewery, split with my girlfriend into some pint glasses. Growlered (?) on July 6, 2009, 4 days old at the time of consumption.

Poured a golden yellow, with a finger and change of head. Falls quickly to a solid white collar, leaving some light lacing behind. Nose has some very mild butter, understated fresh German hop character and some faint sweetness. Simple and adequate. Taste again has notes of mild butter, with some muted hops, light grain notes, some sweetness that lends some honey comparisons and a moderate mineral quality to the water. Light body, light bitterness and a soft/subdued carbonation. Too easy to drink (could've crushed the growler solo, but sharing is caring), and the ABV only aids this. Decent, albeit unspectacular.
Jul 18, 2011
Photo of Bestuurder
Reviewed by Bestuurder from Canada (ON)

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a 500mL standard brown bottle into a pilsner glass. Bottled December 31st, 2011.

Pours a golden yellow colour. Carbonation is high, but not uncontrollable. Decent head, which is about an inch and a half thick receding to a nice thin lacing throughout consumption.

Heavy notes of banana and diacetyl, and milder notes of butter and czech hops. Mildly malty, but nothing special.

The palate is excited with a smooth and refined texture. Hard water does wonders to mouthfeel and head retention.

Certainly another could be consumed, but I think I stop at the one.

Cheers!
Jan 07, 2011
Photo of papat444
Reviewed by papat444 from Canada (QC)

3.41/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to grub for this one.

Poured from a 500ml. bottle, bottle May 14, 2010.

Appearance: A stark white 4 finger head that slowly goes down to 2. A very clear pale yellow body that gets a little hazy after emptying the bottle.

Smell: Crisp pils aroma with some corn but not adjunct-like. Not bad.

Taste: Very mineral-like which lends itself to a certain bitterness. Lots of citrus in there and ends with a distinct salty twinge. Weird but good.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is pretty good, not too high and the body is a but thin though not enough to distract completely.

Drinkability: Very easy to drink. Glides down well and i'd probably have it again.

Overall: A good pils that packs moderate amounts of flavor.
Sep 18, 2010
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Reviewed by ritzkiss from Canada (ON)

3.26/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Pint on tap at Volo. Arrives a clear light golden hue with a finger of foamy head which has a little staying power. Pretty standard.

Nose is grainy and sweet, just the lightest hop presence.

Quite floral and sweet, a good dose of graininess, a hint of "generic lager" in there. Light bittering hops, but especially with the overly robust sweetness the hops are way under represented. Creamy, slightly oily body - could use a bit more carb though I think the sweetness weighs it down a bit again.

A drinkable pint, I finish easily enough but I don't think I would have a go at it again; just not crisp and quenching enough.
Jun 11, 2010
Photo of Ralphus
Reviewed by Ralphus from Canada (ON)

3.54/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
I'd love to know if this beer was named after the president of the company Bob Hanenberg, even if it's spelled slightly different.

Pours a soft, clear golden colour. Showers of carbonation burst to the top of the glass creating a two finger head. The head recedes to a ring of foam maintained by the carbonation.

This batch is full of diacetyl. The nose is dominated by it and so is the taste. Luckily for me I don't find it all that off putting. In the taste, beneath the butter, you can find a solid pilsner. Lightly sweet and malty with a very well balanced hop finish.

LOVE the mouthfeel on this one. Despite the high carbonation mouthfeel is very soft. Really good. This aids drinkability as it goes down in gulps.

If the diacetyl can be brought down I think this could be a really good pilsner.
May 24, 2010
Photo of pootz
Reviewed by pootz from Canada (ON)

3.92/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Sampled at the Brewey:

Pours a gold-amber with a good sized rocky cap, great glass lacing. Fresh grainy nose some floral some spicy earthy tones. Sharp mouth feel, slightly dry character, lots of biscuity malts up front, not cloying, some musty tones with a sharp herbal spicy bie from hops , clean crisp finish with a light biscuit aftertaste. A good rendition of a German Pilsner with Grand River's signature touch.]

UPDATE: June 24/09....newly fomulated this Pils is better than ever...very close to Plsen taste but the hard mineral water gives a wonderful 'bite' to the hops, less sweetness and fruitnes ( new yeast?) this is an excellent craft pils...always fresh and bright.
Apr 22, 2010
Photo of MrHall
Reviewed by MrHall from Canada (ON)

4.02/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle that was capped on Dec 27/09. Light straw colour. Very white head that disappears fairly quickly. Some nice lacing. The hops are up front. Then a huge biscuit taste, malty coming through the other end, then the hops come back for one last bit. Nice and yeasty at the end to. Not my absolute favourite GRB beer, but they set a pretty high bar to begin with. Also they're pretty true to the German pilsner style.

Can't wait to try it in the summer!
Jan 10, 2010
Photo of JohnnyBarman
Reviewed by JohnnyBarman from Canada (ON)

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
On tap at the Grad House at the University of Waterloo. Marketed here as "Schweitzer Farm Pilsner" as a salute to the building's heritage, but the keg says Hannenberg.

Pours a nice light golden, leaves a thin white head that lasts for half the glass. A bit of lacing.

Smell is nice, somewhat sweet and yeasty with the hops coming in later on. A bit of bread or biscuits.

A fine local pilsner, very smooth and refreshing. A sweet pilsner, with the hops and the yeast balanced fairly well. Very nice,

Certainly worth a go - another winner from this Cambridge brewer!
Nov 08, 2009
Photo of mrmanning
Reviewed by mrmanning from Canada (ON)

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Growler- Pours from the giant bottle, a slightly hazed sparkling gold topped with a one finger of white froth. No real lace to speak of. In the nose I get floral notes, and lemon zest with pale malts, and a blast of almost tropical fruits, leading to fresh floral hops and a bit of yeast. Also present is the ever there mineral/tin presence of all grand river products which is a by product of what I think is the water, but which I also find very enjoyable. I can't describe how good it smells with my words, but I'll say that it is all subtle,but well balanced and leaves me wanting to take a sip. The taste is bitter, grassy, lemony hops, with subtle sweet malts and grains. This lends a hand to a yeasty, metallic twang with a good astringent finish. Yet again, I am at a loss of words when describing the beer from this brewery. I could drink this all day long. It seems to be a great hybrid between the helles that was originally planned, and the new pilsener designation. My hat goes of to you Rob, Bob, and crew. Please keep on kicking my ass with your amazing beer.
Oct 28, 2009
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Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: Poured a deep golden color pils with a large foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of lightly sweet floral malt with light dry hops notes. Taste is also a nice mix between some floral malt and light subtle dry European hops. Body is slightly oily with good carbonation. Crispier hops would have improved this beer but very good nonetheless.
Oct 16, 2009
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Reviewed by ThatWineGuy from Canada (ON)

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled July 13th, consumed on Labour Day. Yellow, almost a green hue as it poured into my Guinness glass. Clear mostly, neat small and medium-sized bubbles, medium carbonation with good retention, very natural. The head was half finger white with nice lace. Some sediment in the bottle.

Smells of a spring meadow, grassy and floral aroma's. Bitterness figures prominently; tastes also of malt. Not a lot of hops, minimal at best, yet clean tasting and refreshing. This beer is almost what you expect in a pilsener lager but has more body, more dense than your average macro lager out there. Aftertaste also malty. Good drinkability, easily a sessional for anyone who appreciates a fine pilsener.

This is my seventh beer from Grand River Brewing and I'm impressed again. Lower alcohol than average without sacrificing taste and quality, good work being done in Cambridge Ontario.
Sep 08, 2009
Hannenberg Pils from Grand River Brewing
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 30 ratings