Honey Pilsner
Sailor Hägar's Brewpub

 

Pint on tap at Sailor Hagar's in North Vancouver.

Beer is brewed by Howe Sound Brewing and is Howe Sound Pilsner Plunge under a sudonym.

Appearance: Orangey gold and slightly opaque, with a vibrant bubbly white head that quickly recedes to a gentle ring, but leaves lots of lacing.

Aroma: Not overpowering, but inviting. Subtle honey, and the kind of crisp hop aroma you can only get from a good quality pilsner.

Taste: Crisp and refreshing, with subtle honey and a big hop flavour. Lots of bitterness and some tart citrus flavours from the hops. This beer shows how both a honey lager and a pilsner should be made, unlike many others in the Pacific northwest. Pilsners in the PNW tend to be a little sweet for the style, but this beer from Howe Sound only has subtle sweetness from the honey, with no other unfortunate sweetness. It is very tempered with the hops, so the overall flavour is bitter, not sweet, with the honey adding complexity and flavour rather than rich sweetness. The finish is very long and bitter, only slightly dry, with hints of honey and subtle grassiness from the Saaz hops, and is intensely rewarding. One of the nicest pilsners anywhere in the world.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and faintly silky from the honey.

Drinkability: Very moreish. Simply not possible to only have one of these exceptional pilsners.

It appears that Sailor Hagar's is doing their own beers again although I'm not sure where their brewing facility is located.

The pilsner pours out nice, like a true German or Czech lager. There is not much scent to it: barely detectable hops and slightly sweet honey scent.

The taste is a bit bitter, providing a nice hoppy crispness that is complimented well by floral hints provided by the honey. Very slight hint of malts in it.

Overall, this is fairly well done as far as the many "honey" beers I've had, but it does come off as a bit dry at times.

I'm a little sad, as I taste my last Hagar's Honey Pilsner. I'm told that Hagar's won't be brewing any more. Here's hoping that the beers will continue on, one way or another.

Anyhow, through the tears in my eyes, I can make out a slightly hazy golden-yellow beer, with a lovely creamy head that leaves a nice lacing on my glass as it slowly shrinks.

Between sniffles, I detect a bright hoppy aroma, with hints of grain and something vaguely floral that -could- be the hops, but I'll choose to call it the honey.

Amidst sobs, I sip it and taste a firmly bittered pilsner. The flavour is hoppy, clean and dry. There is an interesting earthy and floral complexity in the middle and finish that I attribute to the honey, and it complements the bitterness very well. It's quite elegant though -- no cloying sweetness or icky overly-strong honey flavours. It is nicely carbonated, and smooth-drinking.

Overall, a very good beer that lends itself to much drinking! It fits my interpretation of the BJCP "Northern German Pilsner (2B)" extremely well.

The B.C. beer landscape is littered with honey flavoured
ales and lagers . The key denominator is the drinkability of
these beers but often flavour and complexity suffers as these
brews are aimed towards the casual drinker instead of the
beer expert. This offering from Sailor Hagars is indicative
of this style.

The colour is blond and the head is substantial which complements the fresh nose of this beer. Where the trouble
starts is that is very little taste to match up with the way
the beer looks. The honey added a slight sweetness which
added to the drinkability but I wanted more of a assertive lager
to go along with the quaffibility. Try their nut brown instead.