Let's talk Pilsners

That is what I call the "Tragedy of US brewing".

 

Local only to Charlotte, but Old Mecklenberg Pils is fantastic and true to style. Actually well worth trading for if your a Pils fan. IMO much better than Prima or Noble, and you get 3 500 ml bottles for $10.

 

lol

 

Montana has a Czech Style Pilsner from Red Lodge Ales, soooo good, a little lighter and less bodied than some Pils. Also had a Great Divide Nomad that was excellent, full bodied and balanced.

 

Wanna be the Laverne and Shirley of Narragansett Brewery ?

 

In my experience, a lot of the domestic Pilsners mentioned here - Scrimshaw, Polestar, Noble, Two Roads, Lagunitas, Crisp - are mediocre at best...however, I have been impressed by Trumer and HUB Lager on draft.

 

Trumer in the US is owned by Gambrinus, which also owns Bridgeport and Spoetzl (Shiner brand), as well as the defunct Pete's. I'd imagine that when they move a brand into a new territory, they use the same distributor they do for Shiner, their most widely distributed beer - pretty close to national by now.

 

Although i do not agree with term *beer authority," The quoted authority in your aforementioned post disagreed with you.

Michael Jackson wrote this in 1998;
"It is probably the world's best Pilsner, as well as being the original, but it is not as great a beer as it was.

Where you called PU crap, MJ said it was probably the World's best pilsner. I think he is actually agreeing with me then. No need to comment further, we understand that you are from Germany and you have a exceptional palate and we should all take what you say as holy scripture.

Just to be clear so that you don't reply and then say i said something: I am not saying that PU was not better 25 years ago (though I think a 25 year old memory can by tainted by idealism and fatigue). I never said that. I am saying that it is not crap, and MJ agrees with me.

I don't have to drink PU all the time, I don't. Mostly cause its better in Pilzn, in the brewery cellars, unfiltered. There are truly great breweries in the PNW that make world class pilsners - so i choose to drink those.

 

I'm pretty sure the Ratskrone I had a few times in Freiburg (Brsg) was the worst swill I've ever tasted in my life, even compared to Natty Light. At least Natty Light tasted like clean water.

What more can you expect from a generic beer brewed for EDEKA that isn't even listed on the brewery's website. It's literally that bad.

Thankfully I had a steady supply of Rothaus Tannenzäpfle down there to fulfill my Pils needs. I miss that stuff. Crisp, bready, with a nice hop presence too.

 

Plenty of Shiner and Bridgeport around, but no Trumer. I suppose the local pieces of that distribution network have simply failed to take advantage of the availability. In my days in the business, I could have sold lots of Trumer, but maybe that amount is too small for the bigger distributors- in their minds- to mess with. Thanks for the info and cheers.

 

No, pretty sure it's that Gambrinus doesn't distribute Trumer as extensively as they do Shiner and BridgePort. I don't think it gets past the center of the country. My point was that IF they were to move into a state, they'd no doubt use the same distributor as they do for Shiner and the other beers.

 

Truth! And there are perhaps thousands of lager-loving Americans who would gladly make the switch -- not all of us are as enamored of the constant stylistic experimentation within the Craft Beer niche as the more active hobbyists tend to be.

 

NG- Hometown Blonde is a great pils!

 

And even here in the middle the Trumer seems to be only at select retailers. Not sure if that's a distro or retailer thing… or both.

 

Some have named them "thrill seekers."

 

As a BA that recently had many liters of Urquell in Prague (where it is much cheaper than water BTW) I can tell you that's a false assertion. While I did think it was better than what you can get on tap in the US, I found it only marginally better. But hey, I'm not a huge fan of the style.

What I did find interesting is that there were bars than had some crazy setups where you could order it several different ways (varied creaminess of the head - Creme, Slice, Sweet, Neat).

 

Yeah, I always think "Trumer = west of the Mississippi" but then remember you get it in Chicago...thus the more vague "middle of the country".

 

"Hop Heads" beget "Sour Heads" and "Funk Heads", but eventually their palates fatique to where they are mere Pils Freaks --or worse-- crave the subtle, Melanoidan tones of a Dunkel.

 

Agreed. However, if they don't open in RI I will be pretty bummed.

 

Not quite, I don't care for Sours and or Funk. Probably never will, but I did have a Brett IPA that wasn't disgusting. Kinda of a left handed compliment at best I suppose, but I could have taken a full pour without throwing it out. Still love my hoppy IPA's and such, and Jack Abby was a new find this year.