Philadelphia Philsner
General Lafayette Inn & Brewery

On-tap at Jose Pistolas in Philadelphia.

Pours a slightly hazy light copper color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of light pilsner malts with good amounts of floral and citrus hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though the malt flavors are more pronounced. Robust pilsner malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by moderate amounts of citrus and leafy hop flavors. Midway through the sip the hop flavors become more earthy, carrying through to a crisp and moderately bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with solid carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I had no problems finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall this wasn't a classic pilsner, rather the malt flavors were heavier, maybe an amber lager. Still, a tasty beer that's worth a shot.

A-Golden amber with a small white head that left decent lace.

S-Biscuit malt with a slight spicy hop zing and little else.

T-Toasted biscuit, light hop spice and a touch of caramel sweetness. Nothing extraordinary but it has a pleasant flavour.

M-Medium-light body, light lingering flavours and light spicy hop bite.

D-Red pilsner? OK fine, I get it for the Phils but....not sure what to take from this. Decent brew but nothing to get excited about. Nothing bad but...

I had this on tap at Brass Rail on 10/29- served chilled in a sampler glass.

A - An amber color w/ very good clarity, not quite red w/ a white cap and small bead. The beer makes good lace on the glass

S - Nutty, grainy nose w/ light hop scent and slight vegetal hint w/ mild citrus odor

M - A slight acidic note from the hops is hidden by mild caramel and moderate carbonation that creates a dry spiced finish

T - A mild toasted flavor w/ slight spice and light vegetal taste w/ a dry grainy and mild herbal flavor into the finish

D - This is more of a vienna lager than 'red pilsner' but a nice moderately hoppy abv amber lager - average drinkability for me.

This was on tap at Capone's around 10/25/2009. They didn't serve this beer in a standard pint glass, but a Lord Chesterfield Pilsener glass.

This Pilsener poured a cool looking semi hazy dark amber with quite a few honey yellow highlights at the bottom and along the sides. On top of this beer was a fluffy bone white 1/2 an inch head of foam. It had pretty good retention that left behind a skim of white foam and a few small blots of lace around the glass.

I thought the aroma was a little on the burnt malty side, but it wasn't overly burnt malts where it completely ruined the aroma. This beer had a simple lightly burnt aroma of malts and a touch of grassy hops in the background. If you swirl it around, you might break out a subtle whiff of fruits. If you don't, you just get malts and hops.

If you drink this beer, please don't be expecting a wealth of flavors to overwhelm your taste buds. The Pilsener had a straight up malty taste of toasted malt with a spatter of bitter grassy hops here and there and if you're lucky, maybe a fruit or two in the finish. In other words, it's just a standard malty Pilsener.

This was a light bodied beer with a decent level of carbonation and a plain and simple malty aftertaste of toasted malts and a touch of grassy hops.

The General did a nice job making a standard not over the top German Pilsener. It's so good and drinkable, that you can easily drink a few of theses while watching the Phillies in the playoffs. I think the Phillies would probably be happy that their team name is attached to a beer of this quality.

On tap at Brass Rail Deli on 10/29/09. Brewed to celebrate the Phillies going to the World Series again. For this pilsner, the brewer added amber malt to give it a reddish tint.

A - Pretty dark for a pilsner, although it's not red or pinkish, like I was expecting. Instead, it was displayed in a shaker pint as a hazy, copper/orange color with ample carbonation and half a finger of beige head.

S - Malty nose with hints of bread and sweet caramel. Scant traces of light noble hops are buried beneath the malt sweetness. A slight waft of alcohol also enters the mix as it warmed up a bit.

T - Initial flavor is quite malty with plenty of bready and caramel notes, as well as a hint of buttery diacetyl. A light herbal, grassy hop character develops in the middle, but is rather subtle overall. Finish is quite grainy with a minimal hop bite.

M - Medium bodied with a syrupy texture and moderate carbonation. Bitterness is mild at best. Finish is not very crisp or hoppy for a pils.

D - This doesn't really strike me as a pils at all, though it does make sense because I now know that amber malt was used in the recipe. Philsner is tasty, but ultimately this is pretty much a basic American Amber with very little pilsner character, if any.

Obligatory Phillies comment:
Go Phils! The Series is currently tied at 1-1 as I write this review.

I had this on on-tap with dinner the other night. This beer is their salute to the Phils while they are in the playoffs-a red pilsner. The beer was amber-red in color with a decent white head. The smell was a bit bready, a bit weak. The flavor and mouthfeel were typical for a pilsner, light, crisp and some bready hop bite. And with all pilsners it is easy drinking. This beer is a great value at only 3 bucks.