Von Raven Pilsener
Holsten-Brauerei

A - Clear, translucent, light golden in color.

S - Caramel, orange, suger, malt.

T - Slightly bitter, crisp, thin, malty.

F - Refreshing; smooth feel.

O - Average pilsner...in Germany...and, an average pilsener in Germany blows away an average American pilsner. Light, refreshing, simple, crisp, not bold or complex...good on a hot day I'm sure.

500ml can from Thomas Philippe store. Mediocre lager with stinging dry finish. Medium dark golden color with thin head, light malty aroma. Taste is malt, bread, crackers. Palate is tingly with semi-watery mouthfeel. Label looked cool, but wasn't expecting much from this discount chain store.

[Note: there is a beer called Von Raven Birra Scura in the BA database with a similar design as this can, but it's listed under a different brewery--Mecklenburgische Brauerei--and is a schwarzbier, while this is very clearly a pilsener and very clearly brewed by Hanseatische Getraenke-Industrie.]

Another souvenir brought back from Germany. Poured from the can into a Pilsner Urquell glass and got a huge fluffy bone-white head on top of a well-filtered sunflower yellow/gold.

Super-clean aroma, with breezy whiffs of corn, steamed veggies, super-crispy hops, bleached-flour white bread and straw.

Flavor is simple: clean, with a sweet-corn maltiness, slightly fruity hops, and a crisp, thin texture. A young, green, grassy finish linger. Lacks depth and personality, but it's certainly solid enough.

In Germany, you needn't have any fear when going into some nondescript bar and simply ordering "ein bier." The average there is far above the average you'll get doing the same thing in any nondescript American bar. What you'll usually get in Germany, if you don't specify what type of beer you're liking for, is a solid pils that tastes just like Von Raven. This isn't one of the finest examples of that style, but it is clearly well-made; a serviceable, likable pils. Just don't expect it to blow your head off.