Pilsner decline in 2019?

NY is awash in great pils. Jacks Abby, Von Trapp and Prima Pils are everywhere you go. Our good beers bars get plenty of Suarez Pils. We get a lot of Mahr's, Rothaus and other imports fresh too.

 

I should of added a smiley face, I was being super sarcastic.

Also was trying to add inuendo that maybe another style of beer NEIsomething or other may be responsible for the lack of distributed pilsners. It seems everyone has one on draft but no one will distribute a pilsner these days.

 

Really? I live in the NYC suburbs and work in Manhattan but have seen only old Rothaus Pils on the shelves (in only a couple spots in NYC) and don't recall ever seeing anything from Mahr's anywhere.

 

How well do you know the owners/managers of you local beer retailers? If the beers are available at the local Wholesale Distributor then your retailer(s) can obtain it from them if you request it. Your retailer may require that you purchase the entire case though.

Below is a list of the Wholesale Distributors that Sly Fox works with for New York:

“NY

Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse

Rhino Beverage Distributing

175 Clay Road

Rochester, NY 14623

585-424-2266 | https://www.facebook.com/RhinoBeverage/


Hudson Valley/Catskill Region

Gasko & Meyer Inc.

6636 State Rt. 52

Lake Huntington, NY 12752

845-932-8424 | www.gasko-meyer.com


NYC Area

Manhattan Beer

955 East 149th Street

Bronx, NY 10455

718-292-9300 | www.manhattanbeer.com


Cheers!

 

I am sad to report that is the situation in my local area of SEPA too. I am thinking that at the price point of $16+ a 6-pack people are unwilling to buy this product so it just sits and collects dust.

Cheers!

 

I'd be willing to give it a shot (even at that price) if it was at least 6 months away from the best before date. But the little I've found on the shelves has been 2 months or less away. Nope.

 

Yup, seen it on draft up in MA as well (it's rare, but I've seen it).

Good luck finding it 6 months from the best before date.

They're bottled 6 months prior to the best before date.

 

Mahr’s definitely pops up now and again. Bierkraft (when it was still open) used to get stuff somewhat regularly. I’ve had their stuff at Owl Farm (also Park Slope) multiple times. BM shows ungespundet is available at a couple places

https://www.beermenus.com/beers/1069-mahrs-ungespundet-lager

 

Thanks, but I looked at BeerMenus earlier and the closest places are in Brooklyn, which is totally inconvenient for me from either work (mid-town Manhattan) or home (Suffolk). And I very rarely go to bars these days.

 

Didn't know that. Thought most imports had 12-15 month best by dates.

 

This discussion on Mahrs got me thinking: it has been quite some time since I drank a Mahrs beer (e.g., Mahrs “U”). I used to drink this beer fairly often in the past with one of my local beer bars having it available several times per year (I even had it on cask a few times).

I clicked on the above Beer Menus link to find that the closest place to me that has Mahrs “U” available is over 75 miles away (in Staten Island, NY).

I guess Mahrs did not sell well in the Philly area beer market and therefore is no longer available for sale?

It seems to me that there is a real ‘chicken and the egg’ problem as regards imported German beer. Theses beers do not sell briskly and consequently there is a plethora of old German beer brands on the shelves and then beer age sensitive beer shoppers (like me) refuse to purchase the old products on the shelves and then they just sit for what seem like forever and…

Cheers!

 

And most do. For example Jever uses a 15 month best by date but fortunately they now list the bottling date; I had a bottle of Jever in my hand yesterday that was bottle in February (about 5 months old now). I decided to purchase fresh Victory Prima Pils (bottled 7/10/19) instead.

The only European lagers that use a best by duration less than 12 months that I am aware of are Rothaus and Pilsner Urquell (they use 9 months). I have been able to purchase Pilsner Urquell beers that are only a few months old (e.g., less than 3 months old) a few times. In contrast the Rothaus has always seemed to be > 6 months old.

Cheers!

 

To several people who said Victory Prima is too hoppy, Victory recently dropped the IBUs slightly, but they didn't make a big announcement about it. It's a subtle change, but it might be worth revisiting.

This is a long shot but.... While you were in Stowe did you stop by Lost Nation in neighboring Morrisville and try their Vermont Pilsner? According to their website, "Our golden lager is a crisp, clean, easy drinking beer that has a full, balanced hop finish. This Franconian style Pils is perfect for any occasion." I really enjoyed it, but I have no experience with Franconian pilsners to compare it to. I was hoping maybe you also tried it and have experience with Franconian pilsners?

 

Do Silver Branch beers make it up your way?

In the Mid-Atlantic forum @pavsci2003 recently posted (with emphasis in bold by me):

“I just moved to Montgomery County (MD) from Southern California so just exploring the brewery scene out here. Too much mediocre haze and Kettle sours pitches with chobani for my palate. I’ve been pretty impressed by Silver Branch’s lagers...glass house for continental style pils, gold line for that American/Midwest profile, and even their Kölsch for a lager adjacent. Elder Pines pils was also solid but maybe on the hoppier side but I like that. Thank for the link to the lager thread, will check it out.”

Cheers!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/oliver-brewing-social-lager.619021/

 

I have a pretty decent relationship with the guys at my beer store and I've placed orders through them before, in fact I'm splitting a case of .5l Schlenkerla Helles they ordered at my request and haven't carried in the past.

The problem is that I have to either talk them into carrying a new beer or ordering a case without every having a taste. The only reason I didn't have to go for a full case of the Schlenkerla is that their 10 bottles will replace other Germans that haven't sold.

 

I 'feel your pain' here since I have gone through this many times with my local beer retailer guys. I am able to get a smaller quantity than a case (e.g., a 6-pack) due to my established relationship with them (e.g., I periodically give them 6-packs of my homebrewed beer to maintain our friendship).

You need to decide how you want to proceed here. On more than one occasion I left it as: "If you decide to order a case of beer brand A for the store please send me an e-mail since I would like to purchase a 6-pack of it".

Cheers!

 

Yeah we've gotten fresh Mahr's Pils and Helles recently (both tap and bottles) and while I can't always find fresh Rothaus but I can at least a handful of times a year.

 

I didn't get much out of Stowe.

I've had a few Pilsners in Franconia. Keesmann Herren Pils is excellent, lots of stone and refreshing bitterness.