Pilsnerd
Yakima Craft Brewing Co. / Hop Capital Brewing Co.

 

Fair

Purchased and reviewed in mid-May '19. The can has no visible date and may be old, but we'll rate it as we had it. Pour is alight amber, clear, small, tight head. The aroma is a bit yeasty, some light grassy notes. For a pilsner, we found the taste on the heavy side, with prominent bitterness. Not much to show for malt. Mouthfeel is average. It's a serviceable offering, but there are far better pilsner lagers around.

Clear gold with two fingers of white head. Plentiful fine bubble lace displayed as liquid drops.
The smell is classic pilsner hops and pilsner malt.
Taste is grassy herbal hops with pilsner malt. Some spicy character from the hops.
Mouthfeel is light bodied with good carbonation. Finish is dry and mildly bitter.
Overall a fine European Pilsner. From a 19.2 ounce can.

I've been seeing quite a bit more pilsners coming out of the PNW craft breweries the past couple years, which is nice! One of the first beers I truly enjoyed in my early 20's was Heineken straight off the top in Amsterdam, which has a much fresher, less skunky flavor prior to export. Pilsnerd is really close to my memory of that fresh Heineken. This one's got a tiny bit more hop bite, it's essentially very sweet-forward with a lot of honey flavor, a little skunk, a little citrus. For me, pilsner like this has always come across as non-complex on the palate, but I've heard that brewing a good one can be somewhat of a challenge. I think Yakima Craft Brewing has really pulled off a classic stunningly well, and it's actually cheaper than imported Heineken where I purchased my can. It's nice to see this coming out of the northwest - strange to say that it feels like somewhat of a risk in a market still dominated by high IBUs, haziness imported from the east coast, and a (delightful) increase in the power of sour.

Appearance is slightly cloudy pale straw with a generous white head that has good retention and lacing. Aroma is grainy with some nice lemony hops. Taste is the similar. Very refreshing on a hot day. This 19.2oz stovepipe goes down wat too easy.