Save Versus Fire
North Park Beer Company

Average hoppy pils. On tap at North Park.

 

 

 

Canned 11 Dec. Thanks, Chris, Shane.

A clear light orange with a dense, white head with good retention and lacing. The nose is what you'd expect from a rye pils with Nelson. Fruity, grape and gooseberry like Nelson hops with a dry, grainy, spicy rye undercurrent. The palate had more of the fruitiness, bursting and bright with gooseberry, green grape, a touch of melon. The hops work well with the rye, the grain and the hops complementing each other quite well. Drying, fruity on the finish with a lingering rye character. Very good.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American Pilsner
Glass: Burgeon .5L pilsner glass
Price: $14.99 for a 4-pack
From: North Park Beer Company in North Park (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Oct. 10, 2020
Consumed: Oct. 10, 2020
Misc.: Canned on Sept. 23, 2020; Added this beer, but this was not a German pilsner. Really didn’t fit the other pilsners either.

Grabbed a 4-pack of this with a host of other stuff while picking up my Triple Vanilla Hazelnut Macaroon bottle. Was really looking forward to this one, mainly because I like Burgeon’s Clever Kiwi so much. North Park’s website called this, “Break out your Dungeon Master's Guide and roll a D20 if you want to slay this crispy little beast! We attacked this with a bolt of Nelson Sauvin hops to evoke a firey elixir that will delight your senses with its flavors of lemon zest, goldenberry, and subtle piney resins. Bright, crisp, refreshment to be enjoyed by wizards and warriors everywhere!”

Poured a pale-to-gold clear color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy-to-fizzy head. Lots of fast moving bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass like a pilsner should. Outstanding spotty watery lacing. Bad retention. (Sight - 3.75)

Smelled pretty damn good right away. Got that Nelson with characteristics of gooseberry, grass, viney berry, white grape, lemon zest, spicy rye, pine, tangerine rind and hints of passionfruit. Just as good from the can. Big Nelson, gooseberry, grass and pine. (Smell - 4.50)

Taste wasn’t quite as good as the nose, but still excellent. In order got Nelson, grass, viney berry, white grape, gooseberry, tangerine, lemon zest, spicy rye, pine and hints of passion fruit. (Taste - 4.25)

Light body. Thin texture. Lively carbonation. Clean, crisp finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Just a world-class pilsner. Not sure if I have it better than Burgeon’s Clever Kiwi, but it’s neck-and-neck. (Overall - 4.50)

4.36 | 97 | A

Sweet and peppery-spice rye, malty, and hint of white wine grape nose on this one! Taste follows with a peppery rye, subdued hoppy, and lemony crisp finish. This is clean, refreshing and tasty! 4.04 for the 2020 batch...

Canned 10/4/2022 batch! upping the rating a bit to reflect a much better batch than 2020. Sweet bready-biscuity malty, fresh rye bread, and Nelson-dank nose on this one! Taste follows with a honey-bread malty and balanced, Nelson hop bitter finish. Great use of Nelson here. This is dialed in and fantastic! Way better than the previous batch I had...this is cleaner, crisper, and uses the right amount of hops. Very good!

Pours a semi hazy golden color. 1 finger white head. The head was very fluffy, and soft looking. Retention is decent, A bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is, wow. There's a lot of hops here on this Pilsner. A nice citrus aroma, mellowed out by a sweet, bready malt aroma.
Taste - There's a hell of a lot of hops here. There's a nice orange flavor, mellowed out by a biscuit malt flavor.
Crisp clean feeling. Decent body. Some carbonation on my palate.
A Pilsner is considered by some to be a lowly beer. This isn't lowly at all. It's bursting with flavor and pleasure to enjoy.

All told, a lovely modern american take on a pilsner. Easy to drink. Clean flavors that reach toward the edges of what you expect from the style. Lovely

A beautiful golden straw pilsner with a dense white head
Nose is soft white flour and just a wisp of something dry and tart, a grape skin or unripe berry?
Taste delivers a light wine tannic character, with herbal edges, over top of a crisp crackery base
Body is light and refreshing

Thanks – again – to SkunkDrool for this 16 oz. can that has one of my favorite words in the English language on it: rye! Plus: fantastic can art & beer name. Brings me right back to gaming sessions that nobody wants to hear about.

The pour is clear brake fluid yellow with an island of razor-thin bubbles. Nose is distant: bit of crackling malt & rye. Very gentle.

Save Versus Fire fits precisely into expectations. There’s a nice lift of rye, light, sweet malts, & a soft wave of lemon zest. The finish brings white wine finish from the Nelson, mild bitterness. Crisp – I can almost taste a lovely fall day. Putting down these ounces won’t be a problem, Jonas.

Exactly what I hoped for, a lovely pilsner with great plot twists. Excellent beer.