Favorite Colorado Lagers!

Finished my alottment of Nail Knot earlier today and definitely a fan. Yes, it has some sweetness to it but I grew to appreciate it. Lagers have become my preferred session beer and this one would be a staple in my rotation if Odell allowed it. I would be very happy rotating between this and Marble's Pilsner as my go to everydray drinking beer.

 

I haven't had one in a while (it isn't that common), but Coors Extra Gold is probably my favorite macro lager. It's a slightly nudged up Banquet.

 

No quite a Colorado lager, but there are fresh cans of La Cumbre's Beer on the shelves.

 

Anybody had River North's Pils? Thoughts? I have seen reps of theirs promoting it at multiple stores, but still haven't gave it a shot.

 

I had it back when it first came out - it's good. I had no expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. I had it with a group of people who would definitely be honest about it and I think everyone enjoyed it.

 

Picked up a sixer this past weekend, my 2nd time buying it since they started canning it. I think it hits all the marks for a Pilsner, and as solid as a local option you'll find in cans.

 

Among the best in the state, IMO. Supremely underappreciated.

 

I hope some more breweries end up making south German style pilsners. Just about all of them are bone dry northern versions patterned after Jever or even Prima Pils. I like the rounder ones from Franconia or like Tannenzapfle in the SW. As far as I know Zwei's is the only one claiming to be along those lines.

 

Just had a big lineup of CO pils over the long holiday weekend, and River North Pils is definitely a solid one and worth checking out. IMO I'd place it just outside of my top 3 for packaged CO options right now, with 4 Noses Perfect Drift, Post Howdy, and Prost Pils in front.

We've got some good options locally and at least when tasted together they aren't all completely "bone dry," but the hops and mineral character seems to be what most are chasing right now. I do agree that I'd love to see some more canned/bottled examples with a softer malt emphasis like @Domingo referenced, or even for variety some more that are trying to hew to a Bohemian style.

 

Crooked Stave submitted labels for their Von Pilsner in cans. Had it on draft a couple times and would put it just outside the top tier. I remember the minerality feeling like it was cranked to 11. The labels call it a Keller. Excited to see how it translates to cans.

 

I'm game for canned Von Pilsner if the price is right. Not my favorite pilsner, but it's certainly good. I don't recall the versions I'd had being anything less than crystal clear, but I suppose the canned version could be slightly different.

I think there are more beers calling themselves a Keller Pils in the US than Germany. You'd think someone would go all-in and just make a full on Franconian kellerbier. Two Women, Yokel, and Dovetail Lager seem to do pretty well in Il and Wi.

 

Pretty pumped that Von Pilsner will continue to be regularly available. They've continued to dial in that recipe over the last year and the recent batch is pretty great. It'll be interesting to see how quality holds up in cans though. They're an unpasteurized sour brewery for crying out loud. The dry hopping treatment may help keep bacteria dormant in kegs for a short term but those cans are destined for a lot longer shelf-life.

Anyone know if they're going the Sleeping Giant route?

 

Anyone have any input on Weldwerks vienna lager?

 

I think it's definitely worth the purchase. Really easy drinking beer and good especially for summer. If you're comparing it to some of their big stuff like Juicy Bits and Medianoche it's obviously not in the same league but for a 6 pack of lager I think it's one of the better options around regularly distributed.

 

Weldwerks Puesta Del Sol has probably been my favorite CO lager this year, so I'd recommend it very highly. In fact, I like it more than Juicy Bits but then again I really love the vienna lager style in general so YMMV.

I think it's nearly as good as the one Sierra Nevada put out in their mixed pack 2 years ago, if you ever got to try that one.

 

I'm a huge fan. Was more of a winter/fall lager for me. Kinda chewy, but delicious.

 

Bierstadt is tapping their Vienna Lager in the first week of August. It's tasting damn good out of the lagering tank. Bierstadt also brewed a double batch of Oktoberfest yesterday.

 

If the Bierstadt Vienna is even 1/2 as good as the one from Zwei (I imagine it will be similar), we're in for a treat. I'll be in the land of lagers and pork when they tap it so I'll have some good reference points for comparison when I return.