Natural Blonde Organic Pilsener
Wild Rose Brewery & Taproom

Big thanx to IronDjinn to make me discover that beer while I was in Calgary.

A clear golden beer, with an immense head, actually a head so big big it could be the ego of many pro athletes. A great carbonisation of bubbles, its like there billions of them.

Her smell is hoppish and a bit fruity.

her taste the hops hits you right in the face with a bitter taste following, a great bitterness is present, actually that the only thing I can perceive unfortunately. But, there are some fruity aromas of banana, very very shy are they, even too shy.

even after 20 min, the head is till 2' thick...

Quite nice one-liter bomber with 50's style label.
Poors a golden straw colour, with MASSIVE head, a good two and a half inch meringue in my Maudite glass that eventually died down enough for me to drink through. Slight wheaty smell and taste, with shy dry hop finish. Very light mouthfeel, typical of the style.
Easy to drink and an excellent choice for a warm and humid summer evening of discussing Beerfly strategy!

Many thanks to Beersignal, my Beerfly partner for Montreal, for sharing this one with me.

Possibly Wild Rose’s best brew. A true pilsner taste from a Canadian brewer. Astounding! Poured a light straw color with a white frothy 2 finger cap that took a while to go down to a surface covering lace. Low carbonation. smells of saaz hops and light wheat malts...very nice. Starts with a wonderful tart taste punctuated by the hops then that familiar Czech Pilsner bitter-dryness is unleashed upon a background of wonderful wheat and barley malts in a smooth as silk mouth feel...the finish is dry, metallic and then has a wonderful biscuit malt after taste which is the signature of this brewer. Avery decent pilsner and I’m a pils head....I like this beer very much.

I tip my hat off to Wild Rose for this one. In a time where Big Rock isn't producing a Spring Maibock or new limited edition run because their effin' low-carb beer is selling so well, Wild Rose has the creative integrity to put out this Natural Blonde Organic Pilsener as a Spring/Summer seasonal offering.

It comes in a tall brown 1L swing-top bottle, with a 50's cheesecake pin-up girl on the label (bordered by the quotes, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Blondes Are More Fun"). Points there for the kitsch factor. It pours out an incredibly clear pale straw colour, with a MASSIVE chunky white head, I had Duvel flashbacks from it. Impressive presentation so far, I'm not the biggest fan of this style, but this has definitely caught my attention.

The nose on this is rather mild, slight grain and floral hop, a bit of fresh cut grass, no real presence at all of that "metallic" characteristic that usually accompanies this style. Although the flavour itself seems light, it is not very mild, in fact it is quite robust for the style. Clean taste of grain balanced out almost ideally with a herbal/bitter hop finish, it tastes like a sunny prairie day, to wax poetic. There are no off or unwarranted aftertastes, which goes to show the care that went in to making this, and highlights the organic ingredients. It possesses a fuller mouthfeel than I was expecting from the appearance, although it is still light and smooth, but not watery (like their Wraspberry). A hoppy aftertaste, but still a clean finish, and a clean flavour all the way through.

Let's talk local micro economics here for a moment. A litre of this stuff goes for roughly around the same as a 6 pack of low-carb Jack Rabbit (of which I was eagerly awaiting a rather fine Maibock in its stead). I will definitely be dropping more of my hard earned cash on future bottles of this Organic Pilsener instead, even though I never was much of a pilsener/lager drinker before. Why? Because Wild Rose has done a mighty fine job here with the quality of their beer, and made me rethink my stance on the style, and their capabilities. I hope they keep heading in this direction with new future offerings.

A summer seasonal beer from Wild Rose, which I believe is BRAND new for 2004--I have never seen it before. This is their most basic style: a natural blonde pilsener, with "organic hops from New Zealand and organic malt from the Canadian prairies," as the bottle label states(which, I suppose, is not even that BASIC is it?) The beer is incredible in appearance, with one of the best heads that I have yet seen: brilliant cloud-white, chunky, meringue-like, and plenty of it. It does not go away either, but stays thick and creamy, like a good German hefe or with the consistency of a good stout. What can I say? Wild Rose seems to excel in creating magnificent heads on their beers. The beer colour itself is quite pale, typically lager-like; a very light apple juice shade, but still very attractive. To me, this beer has a magnificent appearance. The aroma, initially, seemed very basic and unexciting, but after a few minutes and several good smells this beer exudes a clean, appetising aroma. It is not unique or full of character. For its style, though, it is better than average. Slight vanilla, some yeasty malt, lightly detectable hop, vague citrus, and the slight, not unenjoyable tart/sour malt. There is slight disappointment in the taste: the appearance seemed to promise so much more! Light malt notes, but with a good deal of bitterness. Nice bready aftertaste. I suppose, as a pilsener, it is exactly what it ought to be: light, refreshing, and highly drinkable. Thus, as far as style is concerned, this is a decent purchase, but, for me personally, it lacks character. It simply does not surprise or excite the senses. However, as I said, this IS their most BASIC-style offering. This would be great for camping, and I can still see myself buying this in the summer...but right now, it tastes like a "low-carb" offering. I desperately hope they did not jump on THAT bandwagon(just like another...AHEM....microbrewery in Calgary).
Perhaps it is simply a matter of reacquainting myself with the beers of summer again; I grew far too accustomed to the heavy rich beers over the winter. I will try it again in the blazing heat of summer. I need to try it on draught before I pass any more judgement--their bottled offerings have been charged with wateriness.

(Note: I need to try this again. Several times. I tried this bottle on a cold, dismal night when my appetite was not exceptionally piquant.)