Pilly
Mascot Brewery

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Apr 11 2023 and served slightly chilled. Untappd seems to see this beer as a re-labelled Mascot Pilsner, which is believable because I haven't seen that beer in quite some time. Other than that, I can't find anything definitive.

Pours pale straw yellow, with more than two fingers of billowing, foamy white head erupting from the surface. It drops off at a casual pace, eventually reduced to a half-inch cap of lumpy, soapy suds, with gobs of delicate, spidery lace left in its wake. Lemon peel and grainy, crackery malts on the nose, with suggestions of grassy, floral hops and pineapple.

Hoppier than your average pils: I'm getting grainy, crackery pale malts and some doughy sweetness initially, with plenty of citrusy hop flavours developing on the tail end. Lemon peel and pithiness is most prominent, but I'm also getting hints of grapefruit, as well as a spicy, herbal hop bitterness at the finish; citrus zest dissipates into the aftertaste, which is dry. Light-bodied, with active carbonation that lends a spritzy, crisp feel to this lager's texture; crushable and quite refreshing.

Final Grade: 3.95, a B+. Mascot's Pilly is subtitled "flavourful pilsner", and I really can't argue with that. I didn't grade this as a Czech pils, mostly because it drinks more like an Italian pils, i.e. a dry-hopped, North American interpretation of a German pilsner. I haven't had Mascot Pilsner in years, but going back and reading my original review for that beer, and comparing it to tonight's notes, I'm fairly certain that this is a very similar, if not identical recipe - although this can is unequivocally much fresher than the one I reviewed in 2018.

I bought some beer from the brewery
Poured into pilsner glass 1 finger head clear golden yellow color slow carbonation.
Crispy and hoppy with a hint of lemon
Low to medium bitterness level.
Flipping the script on the classic pilsner with a dry hop that adds tropical Citrus, floral notes The hops complement the graham cracker malt character with a lager clean crisp finish.
That's what it said on my can.
Overall a very enjoyable Pils with a crispy and sweet flavor.
Cheers

Aug 30 2025