Pilsner and Lager Beers

I love Boulevard's Pilsner and Reverb Imperial Pilsner. I like to share them with bmc'ers to show them what their beer style was meant to taste like.

 

Interestingly, the pub closest to my home has the phrase "Ales and Porters" on its big sign out front. Everymtime I drive by it I think "oh how cutesy British of you" ...ironically the place is called the "Patriot Tavern"

 

I'm not sure what part of NJ you are in but AlcahueteJ has some great suggestions and pretty much covered what I would recommend as well, and I am sure you'd be able to find all of them in your area. I'd also throw in Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold and their Wright Pils too.

And while I have tried many, many times, Victory's Prima Pils is not one of my favorites. I love Victory, I love Pilsners, but there is just something a bit off about that beer to me and it tastes like a flower (Dandelion?) or something to me. I can drink it and don't hate it by any means, but usually one is enough for me and I would choose many other Pilsners over it.

 

Aldi and Trader Joe's are the same company. You will find TJ's peanuts and other American goodies in European Aldi stores. How come TJ's and Aldi do not carry the same beer (in states where they are allowed to carry beer)?

 

Am I imagining that some Baltic porters are brewed as lagers? If you said IPAs (more obvious, I suppose) or stouts, that would make a better analogy, no?

 

Speaking of cage-rattling... Should we be distinguishing between Pilsner and Pils? Or is this a distinction that only makes sense to Germans? (Germans don't generally use "Pilsener" for German beers, only for Czech ones and the styles are somewhat different, plus there's the question of hops...)

 

The Germans tend to use Pilsener often on their labels. Less often is Pilsner, as that is what the Czechs use. Pils works fine when ordering.

 

Ack! How did that extra "e" creep into my post?/// Yes, I meant "Pilsner" for Czech, not "Pilsener". "Pilsener" is what Budwiser claims to be...

 

New Glarus Bohemian Lager is the shit, but I don't know the last time that was available. They make a ton of good lagers, especially their Bock beers. I also have to mention that Anchor Bock is very tasty. Can I also add we need more Dortmunders? Damn this thread is making me thirsty for lagers!

 

Boulevard Pils. Summerfest. Sam Noble. Trumers. Marshall Old Pavillion. Yeah, I love good quality Pilsners.

 

Not just the English , it was in North America until a few homebrewers decided unilaterally to define beers as either ales or stouts according to the yeasts.Checking the facts or backgrounds was dispensed with;apparently they thought they knew better than the British who invented porter (which includes stout) and ale or the Germans who invented lager.

 

I have to agree with a fellow nitpicker.

 

It tastes a bit off because it's way overhopped for the style. Victory's Braumeister Pils series, on draught only, is much better.

 

Here we go again! The entire beer world, except for the English, knows that porters and stouts are part of the ale kingdom of beers. We also know that the beverage known globally as beer is divided into two broad kingdoms called Lagers and Ales, just as all life is catagorised as plant or animal.

The English persist in their quaint habit of referring to ales AND beer, as if they are separate things. We foresaw the many problems this could eventually create, and kicked them out before their terminology could take root.

 

This is a Canadian sign , not British.
The notion of which you speak was pulled out of the air by a group of people who didn't check their facts.The result is that some beers are wrongly placed or simply not understood.Like Kolsch and Baltic Porter.
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/look-will-you-all-stop-misusing-the-word-ale-thank-you/
and worth repeating;
http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/is-klsch-ale.html

 

Sorry my friend to rain on the parade, but Radeberger and König are the German equivalent of Bud and Coors, excessively bland, using cheaper ingredients and… well boring.

Please read this thread in the German forum for more info. In Germany, the 2 above and others like Bitburger, Krombacher, etc. are derisively called Fernsehbiere, or "TV-beers" for advertising on TV, which means they're mass-market swill. It's really too bad that's what's sold in the USA, but they have the distribution muscle that comes with being a conglomerate.

I suggest Rothaus Tannenzäpfle if it's distributed in your area, or anything from Munich. Unfortunately, you really have to travel in Germany, especially in Bavaria, to get the feeling of what a real Pils tastes like. Radeberger, König, Bitburger, et. al, are poor examples of the style.

 

This guy is arrogant and more annoying than the "homebrewer twats" he mocks. He's an English beer blog twat and his condescending attitude is insufferable.

 

Of course the Canadians used English beer terms in those days - they were under English rule. You can't convince us by using a fellow English beer blogger's opinion as "proof" that your terminology is correct.

 

A few weeks ago, I returned for a few weeks vacation to the U.S. I've been living in Germany for the last 5 years and even though Pils isn't my favorite style, have come to really appreciate the style and have found some transcendent versions that made me re-evaluate my former disdain for the style. I visited Philadelphia and NYC and made it goal of mine to drink as many craft beer version of German styles as I could lay my hands on (as well as drink my weight in IPAs, something that's really rare in Germany.)

I posted these in a thread in the German forum ("Re-IPAtriation," or "How an American comes home from 5 years to evaluate IPAs and American Pils"), but I would like to hear what a wider audience thinks of my comments. Now, when I was drinking these American Pils in their native habitat, I was comparing them to the best I had drunk in Germany, not to BMC beers, and definitely not to the Fernsehbiere you get in the USA.

Pils and Helles
Soudt's Pilsner (on tap)- I was disappointed. I thought it was hoppy enough with Noble hops but the mouthfeel was not nearly up to par with even an Oettinger. It was "weak" and thin. The Pils malts also lacked something. I didn't take notes, so this is the morning after. Basically, a weak imitation of a German Pils.

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils (can): virtually no aroma, decent bitterness up front, doesn't taste like any Pils malts were used, not much Pils malt sweetness, needs maltier aftertaste. Decent thickness but could be thicker. VERY disappointing.

Sly Fox Helles (can): malty aroma, some noble hops. This could be a German-brewed beer, but it's too thin for that. it has a sweet Pils malt aftertaste, and bitterness up front of Tettnanger, but if it were sold in Germany, it'd be on par with Oettinger, a REALLY cheap beer sold in Germany and usually seen in the hands of street people, and that's not good.

Tröegs Brothers' Sunshine Pils (can): virtually no aroma, maybe some Pils malt smell. Flavor is closest to a good Pils in Germany of all the one's I've tried. Pils malts are well present in flavor, giving it some sweet, Pils malt but not overpowering. Slightly dry… not digging that… yet very good flavor, close to a Jever, but lacking the aroma that should correspond with the taste.

Brooklyn Brewery's Pre-Prohibition Style Brooklyn Lager (bottle): Wonderfully süffig ("drinkable, goes down easily/quickly") but light on Pils malts, which were only evident after warming it up. I can't remember if there were much malts, but it went down great on a hot and sunny day. [I had hoped to visit their brewery, but alas… 6 days are not enough time with a g/f who had a list of things a mile long to do in NYC before we even arrived.]

Southampton Brewery's Keller Pils (on tap): Decent bitterness up front with Noble hops, nice amount of Pils malt flavor with a nice sweet malt aftertaste. Very süffig! I think…wait…yes.. it's the best Pils in the USA for this trip. Not as good as the best Pils I ever had from Kneitinger's Pils, but it can stand as an equal to Rothaus Tannenzäpfle Pils easily. To call it a Kellerimplies it's both unfiltered and maybe still contains live yeast. Unfortunately, there was no evidence of cloudiness or live yeast wither in aroma,flavor or in the pint glass. Nonetheless, I really shouldn't hold them up to "German" standards when it comes to nomenclature, should I? Still… WOW!

Weizen & Rauchbier
Tröeg's Dreamweaver (Hefeweizen) (on tap): very citrusy, up front, pils and wheat malts and luckily little bubblegum. Good beer, but this style is relatively easy to get right, IMO.

Victory Scarlet Fire (Rauchbier) (on tap): could be a Schenkerla clone, but almost too much bacon/rauch malt that overpowers. Very good.

Victory St. Victorious (Doppelbock): lots of smoke, sweet but not enough to balance the beer out.

Finally, my conclusions, as posted in the same forum as mentioned above.

I wish I'd had a chance to try all the Pils others mentioned in this thread, but with so little time and sobriety, and having to weigh the interests of a g/f who wanted to do more than slosh beer all day, I had to make compromises.

 

And not just Canadian breweries in North America, but US breweries as well

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