The Growler MN Pilsner Blind Tasting

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by Sconnie, Mar 5, 2018.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Sconnie

    Sconnie Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Wisconsin

    Saw this in the growler over the weekend:
    https://growlermag.com/the-taste-test-blind-tasting-25-minnesota-pilsners/
    Top Pilsner went to Fair State, best of show round was 612, Bad Weather, Beaver Island, Birch's, Fulton, Indeed, Lake Monster and Utepils.
    Some interesting omissions from the top. Neither Schell nor Summit. That surprised me.
    Food for though, only 4 breweries made the top of this list as well as their previous IPA tasting: Fulton, Fair State, Indeed and Lake Monster. Obviously not all breweries submitted beers (I was surprised not to see Bauhaus in the list of entries), but do these 4 mark a new top level of quality in the Twin Cities scene?
     
    #1 Sconnie, Mar 5, 2018
    DNW620 likes this.
  2. KarlHungus

    KarlHungus Grand Pooh-Bah (3,315) Feb 19, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Perhaps, the folks at The Growler feel those breweries aren't spending enough money advertising in The Growler to include them in the tasting.

    Take everything The Growler says with a large grain of salt. It's nearly all sponsored content.
     
    #2 KarlHungus, Mar 5, 2018
    pmccallum86 likes this.
  3. sean_mpls

    sean_mpls Initiate (0) Sep 11, 2012 Minnesota

    They were in the tasting.

    Schell’s Pils
    Summit Dakota Soul
    Summit Keller Pils
     
    #3 sean_mpls, Mar 5, 2018
  4. maximum12

    maximum12 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,686) Jan 21, 2008 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Interesting. Has anyone had the 612 pils recently?

    I gave up on them a long time ago (18 month or more) after not having a clean beer at 612 in three visits. I find it a touch hard to believe that the folks who couldn't make an IPA or rye without off flavors have advanced to the point they can make an excellent pils. If so, I may have to revisit the brewery. Eventually.
     
    #4 maximum12, Mar 5, 2018
    LittleGus likes this.
  5. dbhammel

    dbhammel Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2016 Minnesota

    Our homebrew club did a similar blind tasting with a bunch of local pilsners a couple years ago. Schell's and Summit finished first and second respectively and Lake Monster finished last. As always YMMV.
     
    #5 dbhammel, Mar 5, 2018
  6. Bighuge

    Bighuge Pooh-Bah (2,356) Dec 8, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Biggest Surprise to me was that Waldman's did not make the top 9 in that tasting. That is one of the best pilsners I've had in a long time.
     
    #6 Bighuge, Mar 5, 2018
    ZAP, surfninja, HammsMeASAP and 1 other person like this.
  7. gatornation

    gatornation Grand High Pooh-Bah (10,388) Apr 18, 2007 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Schells Pils for me , its the one i pull from the rack. Utepils & FS right behind.
     
    #7 gatornation, Mar 5, 2018
    JMN44 likes this.
  8. HammsMeASAP

    HammsMeASAP Pundit (931) Jun 14, 2012 Minnesota

    Who on here was the big fan of Birch's pilsner? Is that the same one?

    Quite a few good choices on that list.
     
    #8 HammsMeASAP, Mar 5, 2018
    DNW620 likes this.
  9. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    It was a blind test, so presumably it is straight up and not biased by economics or sponsors.
     
    #9 MNAle, Mar 6, 2018
    eggsurplus and ZAP like this.
  10. muck1979

    muck1979 Zealot (555) Jul 3, 2005 Minnesota

    612 apparently entered their "52" beer they brewed for the Super Bowl, which was not a pilsner unless one also considers Miller Lite a pilsner.

    They had a few kegs of "52" that they left unflitered and sold in the taproom as a zwickel. I really enjoyed that one. But alas is long gone.
     
    #10 muck1979, Mar 6, 2018
    maximum12 likes this.
  11. hhughes2008

    hhughes2008 Devotee (306) Oct 25, 2016 Minnesota
    Trader

    I was also a bit surprised that Bauhaus Wonderstuff wasn't even an entry. Maybe it doesn't adhere to the style close enough?
     
    #11 hhughes2008, Mar 6, 2018
  12. KiddVideo

    KiddVideo Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2015 Minnesota

    Schell's Pilsner would be my first choice I also like Bent Paddle Venture Pilsner.
     
    #12 KiddVideo, Mar 6, 2018
  13. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not surprised with Fair State, Beaver Island, Birch's and Utepils. Indeed is also good and I have not had Fulton, Bad Weather or Lake monster recently enough but would have no issue with those..612 is a surprise as is the omission of Waldmann, and Summit Keller and to a lesser extent Schell Pils.
     
    #13 ZAP, Mar 6, 2018
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.