Krombacher Pils
Krombacher Brauerei

BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

3.39/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Taste: some crisp, semi sharp hops, grains, citrus, light malts, clean finish. Ferment grain slight hop nose. Golden hue, clear, tall white head some stick lattice. Medium to med/light body. Some bite, pair well with Seafood. 24 IBUs

Yesterday at 11:39 PM

Alexc11 from Canada (QC)

4.1/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a straw gold colour accompanied with a lovely thick head with good retention. Toasty, malt, cereal aroma and flavour. Light bitterness and carbonation. Pretty straight forward. Like this review. Very good.

Dec 19, 2020

ATL6245 from Georgia

4.04/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Appearance: Brilliant, clear straw gold. White frothy head with great retention. Slow rising bubbles.

Aroma: Light floral noble hops and grainy/cracker-like malt notes

Flavor & Aftertaste: Grainy & spicy. Restrained bitterness. Medium sweet.

Mouth-feel: Medium bodied. Moderately carbonated. Medium length finish. Crisp & clean start to finish.

Overall: Typical German quality. Crystal clear, moderately carbonated. Accents noble hops. Easy to drink. Less bitter than most German Pils. Overall an easy drinking pilsner that should go with most foods. Great for sessioning .

Oct 13, 2020

Roguer from Georgia

3.71/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Excellent head production and fantastic retention. Clumpy lacing. Body is light yellow, lively, and crystal clear. An absolutely beautiful beer.

Slightly sweet on the nose: honey, clove, pepper, white bread, cracker, grass, pine. Balanced aroma. Nothing off, but nothing jumps out, either.

A touch too sweet on the palate, as well; could use more balancing bitterness. Overall flavor is pleasant. A touch peppery and a touch pungent. Grassy. White bread and cracker, light herbs.

Smooth and lively; a touch oily. Very quaffable.

Aug 16, 2020

HalfFull from California

4.09/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Half liter can poured into large snifter. Pours is clear and bright with a half inch of white foam. Decent retention.

Nose is classic noble hops and the grainy character of pils malt. Taste is fruity hop forward followed by the crackery malt . Well balanced Pils, nicely done. So simple to make a good pils, yet nobody in the US seems to be able to do it. Stick to the basics. Nice finish, good carbonation. Better than my go to Bitburger with a more aggressive hop aroma. Solid.

Aug 12, 2020

bushbeer75 from Michigan

3.47/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

poured from a 11.2 oz brown bottle best by 9/18/20

Krombacher Pils poured out a clear yellow color producing a 3/4-finger white head. Big carbonation bubbles were visible. The head reduced to a ring of foam with no lacing to speak of. The nose picked up an aroma of grain [corn] and very faint hops. The taste matches the nose with a stronger hop presences although still light. Mouth feel is light, crisp and clean.

Overall, an easy drinking Pilsner although nothing special.

Jun 09, 2020

Spike from England

4.03/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

500ml bottle.
L: Clear, rich gold colour with lots of micro bubbles. Thick, foaming, long-lasting head leaves sheets of lacing. Looks exactly how you want a pilsener to look.
S: Sweet pilsener malt & noble hops.
T: Cracker with a hefty backdrop of lemon. Very sweet with a dry, leafy aftertaste.
F: Smooth, soft and oily. Moderate carbonation.
O: Nothing wrong with this pils. Sweeter than I prefer but it’s got bags of hop flavour and a solid level of bitterness. A case on ice is a crowd pleaser in bbq season.

May 13, 2020

woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.04/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Wow! Where did yesterday Gose?!? I set off on what I envisioned as a short exCANsion back to The CANQuest (tm) to drink some Goses & Pilsners, both towards Leveling up for badges on sister (?) site, Untappd. Once again, it was like tugging on a loose thread on a sweater & having everything unravel! The entire day was spent drinking seven (7) Goses & one (1) whole Pilsner. 8=( Every time that I moved a sixer around, CANother Gose appeared! Well, today, I am starting out by taking my Pils, lemme tell ya! At last, this one marks my last CANned Pils in my backlog (that I could find, anyway)!

From the CAN: "Since 1803"; "No. 1 Premium Beer Brand in Germany"; "Bier * Beer * Birra * Pivo * Класическа, Светла * Филтрирана Бира, Пастьориэирана * Premium Világos Sör".

Having transcribed all of that, I was ready for a beer so I beCAN with a Crack! of the vent. I followed this with a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into my awaiting favorite Pilsner glass. This resulted in the formation of two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with excellent retention. Color was Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity. The visual was once again that of a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream in a cone or of meringue atop lemon pie filling. Nose had a pronounced bready maltiness, like proofing dough, underlain with the hay-like grassiness of Noble hops. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but after yesterday's Gose excursion, it CANparatively felt like it had some heft! The taste closely followed the nose with the malt(s) leading the way with the hops along for the ride.

It put me in mind of youthful Summers spent at my maternal grandparents' house, whose property abutted a working farm. PapPap would mow the lawn, Grummy would bake biscuits & put them on the sill to cool & I would laze around, reading comic books. Today is a chilly day in early-May & tomorrow is predicted to be ~ 30 degrees below normal for this time of year! I CAN use something to remind me of warm Summer days at this point.

Previous reviewers have remarked on how smooth & easy-drinking it is & I CANnot agree more! Mine was a 500-ml CAN & a large part of it had disappeared during my typing & transcription. Finish was semi-dry, right at the cusp of semi-sweet without going over the line. Man, this could be crushable under the right circumstances! I'd love to have this in my Summer cooler. YMMV.

May 09, 2020

Argylemon from Canada (BC)

4.56/5  rDev +32.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Great go to for a German pils. Smooth water-cracker malt. Lightly sweet. Low hopping, very much balanced with the malt. No interfering off flavors, which I find too often in lagers. So far, my favorite of this style. I finished it in just a few minutes!

Apr 24, 2020

DahBadger

5/5  rDev +45.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I agree with Rich from t see how anyone could rate any of the American micros ahead of this, or DAB, or any other decent euro pils. The USA does not lager well. I've had myriad micros from all over the US. Nothing even comes close to Krom, in terms of lager, let alone pils style. 5s for what it is - a German session pils. Not complex; but good malt quality (which we very sadly lack in the US). I love some US mircos; but have to expect the fact we'll never be able to produce a pils as good as this and a zillion others across the pond. I'm drinking one right now and loves the malt, nice use of different hops and smooth, slightly dry, finish. Half done, so nice lace on glass and the full flavor of the good malt used. If we could produce anything near this in the US, I'd make the switch. I'll be waiting a long time, I fear. I used to buy this for about $11 a twelve of 11.2 ouncers. reduced to $6 because you micro nuts are buying very weak versions of this bier style. Thank you! Saved me some cash. Got my nose in the glass right now. Lovely.

Apr 15, 2020

Jsteez from Utah

4.05/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I like the dry/ somewhat bitter backend. It's peppery, too. I tried pouring it the "slow pour" way, but from a can. It really does highlight the floral notes and cracker crispness. The head sticks around a long time, as well as the sticky lacing. The body is on the light side of medium, not heavy, but quite crisp and smooth. Smells grainy, grassy, and a touch of dank. A super clean and drinkable German pils. It'd be easy to drink several in a few hours.

Apr 12, 2020

Sabtos from Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Clear gold with an airy white foam that dies to a short white head.

This has a good bite to it that is grassy and mildly oniony, even a little spicy and dank, over a dried corn malt background.

The feel is crisp and medium bodied with a dry finish.

Jan 21, 2020

Redrover from Wisconsin

3.27/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

16.9 oz can poured into a perfect pint glass, the beer is a crystal clear light gold with a massive and fluffy white head. It leaves really nice lacing.

The best before date is 2/07/20. Guessing it was brewed on 2/07/19 as that is the first date on the can. Beer could be getting a little long in the tooth.

The nose is light. A bit grain and some floral notes.

The taste is slightly sweet with a bit or astringency. There are some cracker notes and that floral aroma carrier over into the taste. The beer would be super easy to pair with non-spicy food but anything with a lot of flavor will overwhelm it.

The mouth is medium to thin and could use a bit more carbonation.

Super easy to drink but not a ton going on here.

I have had this on tap and it was much superior to the canned version.

Dec 15, 2019

RichE

5/5  rDev +45.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

It's really funny how all you beer experts rate these mickey mouse, johnny come lately, american craft pils beers ahead of Krombacher? There is something to be said about companies that have been around long enough to perfect their craft! In another 100 years, I may feel differently! FYI: This has been the most popular beer at the Racine, WI German Club for 50 years!

Nov 27, 2019

DrBeergood from Ohio

4/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Refreshing. It's good that you can open up a fine bottle of beer. You think it's going to leave something, then it washes away nicely. It spells beer 4 different ways, take that how you will, and has 4 ingredients: Water, barley malt, hops, hops extract. What more does a beer need? Easily a 4 star beer.

Nov 14, 2019

Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Tasted in a Krombacher pilsner glass from draft at The Vine on July 22, 2019. The local mountain spring water used to brew this beer is soft and low in minerals, ideal for brewing a Pilsner. Taste is a wonderful balance of hops and malt with a distinct crispness on the finish.

Sep 25, 2019

spcrain from Kentucky

3.33/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It’s ok. A good bear for dinner but a little to cream soda like flavor (vanilla) for me. Warm is worse, prefer a little cold. Light bear ABV content. It’s ok.

Sep 12, 2019

Nass from Florida

2.83/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

I agree with this beer being dry. I'm tasting a lemon note that is rather distinguishable with this style along with a white cracker note. The carbonation could look more lively & the head seems considerably flat for the style. This is not one of the better German Pilsners that I've had the pleasure of drinking but it's not terrible either. Cheers! C

Sep 02, 2019

schavuytje from Netherlands

2.2/5  rDev -36%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2

on the terrace of Café Extrablatt
are there still beers on the menu that I have not yet tasted; 1 piece
very dry and yet a soft, chapped malt feeling, not the first choice to do

Jul 26, 2019

FBarber from Illinois

3.8/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a clear, effervescent golden color. Thin velvety white head looks weak initially but displays excellent retention of what it pours with.

Aroma has notes of toasted bready malts, a slight nuttiness, light grassy hops, a hint of light honey-like sweetness.

Taste follows the nose with that toasted bready malt backbone with a nice melanoidin character. Ever so slight hint of honey with some grassy hops. As the beer warms the hops do show through a bit more with an increased grassy bitterness.

Feel is light to medium bodied. Moderate carbonation. Neutral finish.

Overall this one definitely sticks out as somewhat different than the usual Bavarian examples to its toasted nutty character.

Jun 30, 2019

Vetbidder from Pennsylvania

3.54/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Normal look from this brew. Has that saz or noble hops nose of a euro pale ale. Taste follows through as a tamer mineral type flavored pils. Good on point feel with good carbonation on this brew.

Jun 29, 2019

willcull78 from Ohio

3.23/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

It is a very good pilsner. The amber look is fine. The head is minimal. It was also somewhat flavorful and crisp; however, it was not exceptional. While it is a good summer-sessions brew to have I may not go out of my way to get some more when there are so many other options available; however, it is worth an adventure at least once, if not twice.

Jun 16, 2019

REVZEB from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Out and about, asked if this one is good, I said solid. Went back to look what I had written and discovered, I hadn't had it? Awkward. Guess I forgot to record, so I had it again on tap! Solid still applies, pours pretty and effervescent gold with a big white and fluffy head. Smell is the spot that is tougher, with grassy and herbal hops, pilsner malt, all good, but then macro euro corn aftersmell that is hard to ignore. Taste is more refined however, with the cracker like malts, crisp grains, and some floral and grassy notes at the end, very classical tasting. Feel is crisp, bubbly, and stereotypical for a pilsner. Soild

Apr 16, 2019

Tucquan from Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on 2019-04-14 in Bolingbrook, IL from a 16.9oz can with a best by of 2019-08-24

A - Clear straw gold with a 1-finger white head and moderate lace

S - Mild grain and noble hops

T - A bready Pils with noble hops and mildish bitterness.

M - Medium body and carbonation.

O - Very tasty. Want this again.

Apr 15, 2019

MerryTapster from Pennsylvania

3.84/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Honestly for me this beer is very underated. The look is a typcial pilsner. Golden, nice longer lasting head. The smell is the downfall of this one. Unlike other Pilsners this lacks the biscuity, grainy, sliighlty hopping nose that I crave in a pilsner. Taste is on point as far as a german pilsner goes. It actually might be closer to a Czech Pilsner on a hoppiness scale. Feel is nice and refeshing. Crisp, malty with a dryish finish.

I will say that I am biased to the draft version of this beer. For me the draft is a completely different beer than the packaged version and tastes much better.

Apr 10, 2019