Mike Duggan #03 German Pilsner
Duggan's Brewery

 

1.69L growler from the brewpub, consumed two days after fill. Pours a slightly hazed light golden with two fingers of head, good retention that throws down spotty lace.

Real nice. Lemony, grassy hops, grainy malt bill. Biscuits, light sweetness, dry finish. Not Prima Pils hop load but a really pleasant kick. More body and more hops than most, yet superbly refreshing. Lots of carb despite being in the growler. Love this one, right up there with King Pils as the best in the province.

Finally bought a growler from Duggan's to go camping with. This was a hit with the couple people that shared it.

It pours a hazy golden colour with huge head and nice head retention. It has a great floral hop smell. Some bitterness with floral hop flavour, but this isn't a hop bomb or anything. Very clean flavours in this, with a nice bready malt. I had most of the growler myself and was not tired of this at all by the end. This is certainly one of the better Ontario pils.

On-tap at Duggan's Brewery, in Toronto.

Unlike most pilsners that gleam with the golden radiance of a sunny day, this hazy and worn out lemon juice-like body is too drab for light to even bother with it; it has the complexion of the clouds not the sun. But its drab, pale Champagne colour fits and looks only natural under the heavy, soapy lid that clamps down on it from above.

True pilsners have aromas every bit as hoppy any IPA you care to name; this one has a nose that opens up like a Venus-fly trap and exhumes all the soapy, lemony, grassy, pungent characteristics that make that most classic German hop, the Hallertau, so worthy of not having to share the stage with anything, less maybe a dash of bready malt.

This beer is a crash course in brewing ingredients for all the novices out there. Smell the aroma: that's the basic smell of a hop. Taste the beer: that's what basic pale malts taste like. Over the course of the pint one can really become familiar (intimate even) with those two ingredients, the Hallertau and pilsner malt. This is bare and basic as can be.

But it's also, dare I say, as best as can be. That bready maltiness is dry as sand, it's like chewing on spent gum or straw or raw grains (husks still on). As for the hops, they are so lemony and grassy and herbal they seem equally fit for a Thai dish as they do German beer. This is so tasty; one is hard put to believe it's just hops, water, malt and yeast.

I know he's a good brewer and all, but I'm not entirely convinced Mike Duggan didn't just travel to Germany and sneak a whole keg of pilsner back. There's a reason, and it's an obvious one, why this style above all the others took off so successfully; if there is a more satisfying style of beer than a well-crafted pilsner I have yet to find out about it.

A: Golden-yellow with a white head, good retention & lacing.

S: Light floral & herbal aroma, bready, earthy & some sulfury mineral.

T: Very bitter. Definitely one of the more bitter pilsners I've had. Floral, herbal & grassy; light sulfury mineral; good breadyness with a slight honey sweetness.

M: Smooth, almost creamy, moderate body has a crisp finish.

D: Great stuff.

This a Pils for the beer lover, not the general public.

Above average mouthfeel. on the rerate, a different day, a different glass, it is an inetresting beer. Good malting, Surprising tastes emit from this pilsner. Light colour, and it is lacey. Cross between a fest,and a pils. Aroma is slightly maltly, slightly hoppy.

On tap at the brewpub.

Pours a lightly hazed light yellow, very thick white head forms, settles to a solid ring and layer, good lace chunks stick, looks like a pils.

Smell is nice, clean and malty, some honey and biscuit, floral, real nice herbal Hallertau character, pretty hoppy for an Ontario made pils, simple but effective.

Taste is similar, really clean, honey sweetness, biscuit and toasty malts, herbal hopping, some floral, real killer bitterness, but still balanced, real nice hop character.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium carbonation. Finally a great pilsner in Toronto, this stuff is hoppy and delicious.

Half at the brewpub on opening night... I will be back for more!

Pours a hazy gold with a nicely lacing white cap that lasts for the duration of the drink. The aroma is simply fantastic - extremely floral and bursting with hallertau goodness. While it goes a long way to living up to the nose, the flavour falls just short, although I'd easily class this as the second best pils in the province behing King (though this is German in style and not Czech). Floral flavours throughout with a modest hop bite. Some nice pale malts provide a creaminess and some balance, but I'd like to see a touch more presence to boost this up to the top level. Body and carb is exactly where it should be for the style.

Very drinkable, and another hit from this new brewery.