König Pilsener | König-Brauerei GmbH
Brewed by:
König-Brauerei GmbH
Germany
koenig.de
Style: German Pilsener
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.90%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by BeerAdvocate on 04-24-2002
Ratings: 656 | Reviews: 302
5/5 rDev +33%
camhack, Jun 14, 2012
5/5 rDev +33%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I agree with the Brothers. After drinking Pils in Germany for 7 years, this is Very Good.
89 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I agree with the Brothers. After drinking Pils in Germany for 7 years, this is Very Good.
89 characters
5/5 rDev +33%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Reach for the King of Pilsener!
31 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Reach for the King of Pilsener!
31 characters
4.88/5 rDev +29.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
4.8/5 rDev +27.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
The King! I wonder if mwa423 has had this yet ... I sprechen ein kleiner du Deutch, so I CAN understand some of what is printed on the CAN.
From the CAN: "Das Konig der Biere (the King of Beer); Purum Laudatur (Purest [Highest] Praise); Gebraut nach dem Reinheitzgebot von 1516 (Brewed According to the Reinheitsgebot [Purity Law] of 1516)".
My glugging pour, following a loud Crack!, produced a finger of fluffy, bone-white head floating atop the beer like clouds drifting overhead. Color was a pale lemon-yellow color with NE-plus clarity that would make any BMC drinker weep for this level of clarity. No boostin'! Nose was Saaz hops to the max! GER Pilsener?!? Not by my reckoning! Bohemian/Czech Pils, more like. I could weep for what Prohibition resulted in for us. AALs are the worst! Mouthfeel was silky with a big, soft hops flavor, like spearmint, on the tongue. Shazam, but this was fantastic! I got some maltiness, but hops were king here. Finish was literally breathtaking. If you have ever smoked a menthol cigarette, you will understand. This was clean, minty, slightly malty, but very dry. Wow! Finish lingered with a minty hoppiness. There was no question that this was hop-driven, but I wonder how well they would have held up in a bottle. This is one instance where I CAN encourage CANphobic drinkers to give a King a chance. I am pushing things around in my cooler to make room even as we speak. See you on the beach!
1,440 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
The King! I wonder if mwa423 has had this yet ... I sprechen ein kleiner du Deutch, so I CAN understand some of what is printed on the CAN.
From the CAN: "Das Konig der Biere (the King of Beer); Purum Laudatur (Purest [Highest] Praise); Gebraut nach dem Reinheitzgebot von 1516 (Brewed According to the Reinheitsgebot [Purity Law] of 1516)".
My glugging pour, following a loud Crack!, produced a finger of fluffy, bone-white head floating atop the beer like clouds drifting overhead. Color was a pale lemon-yellow color with NE-plus clarity that would make any BMC drinker weep for this level of clarity. No boostin'! Nose was Saaz hops to the max! GER Pilsener?!? Not by my reckoning! Bohemian/Czech Pils, more like. I could weep for what Prohibition resulted in for us. AALs are the worst! Mouthfeel was silky with a big, soft hops flavor, like spearmint, on the tongue. Shazam, but this was fantastic! I got some maltiness, but hops were king here. Finish was literally breathtaking. If you have ever smoked a menthol cigarette, you will understand. This was clean, minty, slightly malty, but very dry. Wow! Finish lingered with a minty hoppiness. There was no question that this was hop-driven, but I wonder how well they would have held up in a bottle. This is one instance where I CAN encourage CANphobic drinkers to give a King a chance. I am pushing things around in my cooler to make room even as we speak. See you on the beach!
1,440 characters
4.71/5 rDev +25.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Crisp, clear, mouth feel.
Not overly carbonated.
Excellent permeation of pils flavor and good to last dreg.
Typically I find this beer on sale at the Piggly Wiggly, in 4 packs.
I consider an excellent pils like this a highly underated beer in a land flowing with mediocre to horrible lagers, and overpriced over ABV'd microbrews. This is the beer you need when you want a beer that goes right down the middle in excellent form.
434 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Crisp, clear, mouth feel.
Not overly carbonated.
Excellent permeation of pils flavor and good to last dreg.
Typically I find this beer on sale at the Piggly Wiggly, in 4 packs.
I consider an excellent pils like this a highly underated beer in a land flowing with mediocre to horrible lagers, and overpriced over ABV'd microbrews. This is the beer you need when you want a beer that goes right down the middle in excellent form.
434 characters
4.7/5 rDev +25%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.7/5 rDev +25%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I love this beer - and I'm not just saying that because it was being sold at my local grocer in 500ML can four-packs (that's two liters of actual european pilsner beer people!) for the princely sum of $4.57. Let me try to explain why this beer rocks: it rocks because it has something other lesser beers typically lack. It has staying power. By that I mean it goes down extremely well on the first luscious gulp, but continues to go down just like that throughout the whole half-liter can. Very few beers manage to achieve that. And for me, it has one of the best combinations of taste and "refrenshing-ness" (if I can coin a term) that I have ever experienced in a pilsner. So, to summarize: go out and get this beer and see for yourself if it isn't really pleasing. I'm pretty confident you'll agree.
802 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I love this beer - and I'm not just saying that because it was being sold at my local grocer in 500ML can four-packs (that's two liters of actual european pilsner beer people!) for the princely sum of $4.57. Let me try to explain why this beer rocks: it rocks because it has something other lesser beers typically lack. It has staying power. By that I mean it goes down extremely well on the first luscious gulp, but continues to go down just like that throughout the whole half-liter can. Very few beers manage to achieve that. And for me, it has one of the best combinations of taste and "refrenshing-ness" (if I can coin a term) that I have ever experienced in a pilsner. So, to summarize: go out and get this beer and see for yourself if it isn't really pleasing. I'm pretty confident you'll agree.
802 characters
4.69/5 rDev +24.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
One of the best German Pils brought into the U.S., both on draft and when fresh in bottles. Pours straw/golden with virtually no haze into my 0.5L mug. Glorious carbonation and good size and retention of contrasting white head. Nose is clean, light, lemony, with a whiff of herbal elements. Palate has a great combination of rather clean malty flavors and delightful herbal hoppy flavors to balance things nicely. No skunk. Zero. Finish is more of the herbal hops. Incredibly easy drinking and a great example of the style as far as what we have for options here in the U.S.
574 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
One of the best German Pils brought into the U.S., both on draft and when fresh in bottles. Pours straw/golden with virtually no haze into my 0.5L mug. Glorious carbonation and good size and retention of contrasting white head. Nose is clean, light, lemony, with a whiff of herbal elements. Palate has a great combination of rather clean malty flavors and delightful herbal hoppy flavors to balance things nicely. No skunk. Zero. Finish is more of the herbal hops. Incredibly easy drinking and a great example of the style as far as what we have for options here in the U.S.
574 characters
4.66/5 rDev +23.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
A: Clear light golden in color.
S: Soft smell of bready sweet malts.
T: Taste is the star of this beer. The smell carries through in the taste although magnified, bready with an outstanding malts note.
M: Mouthfeel is a tad heavy. Still on the light body, although I'd prefer just a little lower gravity.
O: This is one of the best, perhaps best pils I've ever had. It will certainly become a benchmark for future reference.
431 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
A: Clear light golden in color.
S: Soft smell of bready sweet malts.
T: Taste is the star of this beer. The smell carries through in the taste although magnified, bready with an outstanding malts note.
M: Mouthfeel is a tad heavy. Still on the light body, although I'd prefer just a little lower gravity.
O: This is one of the best, perhaps best pils I've ever had. It will certainly become a benchmark for future reference.
431 characters
4.65/5 rDev +23.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A classic golden pilsner with about 1 finger of head that settles quickly with a nice lacing. A distinct aroma of grains with a slight hint of citrus. This is a very good tasting beer for the style. I taste perfectly malted grains. None of the skunk that I normally get with the mass market German or Dutch lagers. Probably the best of the German Pilsners I've tried. I really appreciate the creamy texture which is rare for a pilsner style. This is my new go to Pilsner. I wish that I'd found it sooner.
504 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A classic golden pilsner with about 1 finger of head that settles quickly with a nice lacing. A distinct aroma of grains with a slight hint of citrus. This is a very good tasting beer for the style. I taste perfectly malted grains. None of the skunk that I normally get with the mass market German or Dutch lagers. Probably the best of the German Pilsners I've tried. I really appreciate the creamy texture which is rare for a pilsner style. This is my new go to Pilsner. I wish that I'd found it sooner.
504 characters
4.62/5 rDev +22.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Appearance - clear straw color with fluffy white head
Smell - grass, wheat, cracker, hint of black pepper
Taste - lemon zest, grassy flavor, wheat, cracker, malt, hint of black pepper
Mouthfeel - crisp, refreshing beer, light end of being medium bodied without being thin, medium carbonation, slightly sweet, hint of bitterness on the end to keep this balanced
Overall - this is an excellent pilsener, the best I've had thus far for consumption at home, I would suggest getting this in a can as this is probably the closest iteration to the true integrity of what this beer is supposed to taste like. Will make this a staple in my fridge
Price Point - $5.99/ 4pk 16.9 oz cans
680 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Appearance - clear straw color with fluffy white head
Smell - grass, wheat, cracker, hint of black pepper
Taste - lemon zest, grassy flavor, wheat, cracker, malt, hint of black pepper
Mouthfeel - crisp, refreshing beer, light end of being medium bodied without being thin, medium carbonation, slightly sweet, hint of bitterness on the end to keep this balanced
Overall - this is an excellent pilsener, the best I've had thus far for consumption at home, I would suggest getting this in a can as this is probably the closest iteration to the true integrity of what this beer is supposed to taste like. Will make this a staple in my fridge
Price Point - $5.99/ 4pk 16.9 oz cans
680 characters
4.6/5 rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Bought a 12 oz single for 89 cents at the local liquor mart. Cheaper than bottled water fercrissakes. Said "BIT 07" on the back, so I'm thinking less than a year old.
Appearance was perfectly golden, a nice frothy head with some lacing. A steady column of bubbles from the bottom of my mug. Just what a pilsener should look like.
The smell was of grass and earthiness .. right away I picked up those classic Saaz hop aromas. A little bit of citrus comes out with a few swirls.
The taste was that grass/earthiness of the Saaz, with a sweetness coming at the end from the malt. Nothing too fancy here. Towards the end, the bitterness from the hops came out. Very well-balanced.
I had this really cold and it's already hot here in Texas, so it went down in less than five minutes. Drinkability is off the charts and I'm getting a case tomorrow. A great everyday drinking beer ...
883 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Bought a 12 oz single for 89 cents at the local liquor mart. Cheaper than bottled water fercrissakes. Said "BIT 07" on the back, so I'm thinking less than a year old.
Appearance was perfectly golden, a nice frothy head with some lacing. A steady column of bubbles from the bottom of my mug. Just what a pilsener should look like.
The smell was of grass and earthiness .. right away I picked up those classic Saaz hop aromas. A little bit of citrus comes out with a few swirls.
The taste was that grass/earthiness of the Saaz, with a sweetness coming at the end from the malt. Nothing too fancy here. Towards the end, the bitterness from the hops came out. Very well-balanced.
I had this really cold and it's already hot here in Texas, so it went down in less than five minutes. Drinkability is off the charts and I'm getting a case tomorrow. A great everyday drinking beer ...
883 characters
König Pilsener from König-Brauerei GmbH
3.76
out of 5
based on 656 ratings.