Pilsner decline in 2019?

It's not quite as bad as I made it out.
I'll be in Philadelphia (Willow Grove) for three days in November (who the hell gets married the Saturday after Thanksgiving?) and I plan on sampling so I'll know what to order. My son lives in Pittsburgh so might have him pick up some before his next visit home.

The real problem is that, up here at least, if the brewery isn't on a shelf hardly anyone even knows it exists.

 

Victory's site says:

So I guess if you're fortunate enough to live near a "select location"...

 

You (and your son?) might be interested in knowing that Sly Fox will soon be opening two locations in Pittsburgh: a production brewery (and taproom) and a taproom:

“The first location will be a 6,000 square feet full brewing facility located in the old Terminal Building off of Carson street in the South Side neighborhood. The building dates back to 1907 and was originally conceived as a central point of connection between road, river, and rail transport. The facility was in active use for warehouse and transportation until 1963.”

“The second location will be at 300 Liberty Ave at the bottom of River Vue apartment complex. This space will be a 1,700 square foot location that will allow Sly Fox to expand their tap room presence while not taking away from the brewery space in the Terminal Building.”

https://www.breweriesinpa.com/sly-fox-is-expanding-to-pittsburgh/

I was at the Sly Fox Brewpub this past weekend and the bartender informed me that Sly Fox had set up a tent location at PNC Park (where the Pirates play baseball) already to get the locals ‘accustomed’ to Sly Fox beer.

Things are a bit different in the Philly area now. There seems to be more 'excitement' to purchase beer at local brewery taprooms vs. purchasing beer at beer retailers (e.g., Retail Beer Distributors). I am starting to wonder how my local beer stores are going to compete in this new business environment? There is a very local brewery that just opened last summer (Workhorse Brewing) and my local beer store has a dedicated shelf display in his store selling the Workhorse canned beers. Maybe a multiple retail outlet makes sense? Or maybe the store is just 'enabling' the local competitor? I am not sure what the 'right' answer is here?

Cheers!

P.S. Workhorse makes a good Pilsner. My favorite of their lagers is their Vienna Lager and Marzen (which I think is excellent).

 

Interesting topic with pilsners, freshness. While they might not go bad so quickly like a lager, I actually think freshness can be more important (to me, atleast) to a pilsner than an IPA. Super fresh pilsners are delicious.

As for original topic, I am fortunate enough to live in an area where pilsners have always been popular. It's what got me into them, so not sure the temperature towards the style is any different than at any other time.

 

I still think that IPAs which heavily rely on dry hopping for their flavor profile are the most time sensitive beer style I agree that Pilsners are also best consumed fresh - otherwise they may have an out of balance flavor profile.

I prefer to consume Pilsners sooner (e.g., less than 3-4 months from packaging) rather than later. Needless to say but how they are handled during distribution (e.g., are they constantly stored cold during shipping and at the Wholesale Distributors, etc.) is a critical aspect as well.

Cheers!

 

Lots Pilseners around here. Chuckanut, Pfriem, and Heater Allen all make great examples. Many, if not most, other breweries make them as well. No shortage around these parts.

 

I grabbed a sixer of pFriem's pilsner at my local grocery yesterday, and it was an interesting experience. I've had the same beer at their brewery, and these cans were really, really hoppy (and my previous experience at the brewery was not the same). The bitterness profile was on the bitey side, resinous and not at all crisp. Fairly elevated hop aroma as well.

As a "beer" without any style labels attached to it, it was fine. Good even. But it was in no way, shape, or form, a pilsner.

I know the pFriem guys make great beer, so this has me wondering if this was just an off-batch or an actual recipe/direction change for this beer. It drank like a pale ale (hell, it probably would have been an IPA 15 years ago).

There's nothing wrong with just making a high-quality pilsner and not trying to hop the jeezus out of everything.

 

If you can find it relatively fresh (not an easy task) go for it. Definitely one of the better ones in the region IMO (and that's saying a lot).

Also if you're ever up in PA keep an eye out for Jack's Abby Sunny Ridge. Tasty stuff.

 

Peter, I had pFreim Pilsner several times in June 2018 (both at the brewery in Hood River and also beer bars in Portland including Belmont Station) and what you are describing here is not consistent with those drinking experiences. FWIW none of those beers were canned.

Unless pFreim made a decision since June 2018 to 'tweak' their recipe for their Pilsner it sounds like some sort of batch variation.

What I am about to say may sound strange but I wonder if the beers you have will 'calm down' with additional aging time in the can. The sort of 'green' effect that some hoppy beers (e.g., NEIPA type beers) have with their canned beers?

Cheers!

P.S. Hopefully John can provide you with better feedback here since he is a Portlander.

 

I'll second that. I was happily surprised when I tried those two.

 

Great news, I'll pass it on to him. The taproom will only be about 1 1/2 miles from his house.

I'm curious about how your local breweries, especially new ones, get discovered if they aren't retailed. Up here the locals brewers only use Facebook & Instagram for advertising, if you aren't on either of those is unlikely you know they're around or what they offer.

 

I do not have a definitive answer here but I suspect it is via multiple ways. I will relate how I learn about these new breweries (which is likely different from how younger craft beer drinkers do):

Social Media
I am not a Facebook or Instagram user but I do learn about things via other electronic means. For example discussions in the BA Mid-Atlantic forum has been helpful to me.

'Old fashioned' Media
My local beer retailers still provide free copies of newspapers like Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. I read about new breweries that have opened (or are opening) and I will use this information to 'trigger' web searches to learn more (e.g., what beers are they producing, how are these beers rated on BA, etc.).

Another 'old fashioned' method: talking to people
While I am visiting my local beer retailers (owners & managers) I will ask broad questions like: what's new? And more pointed questions: have you heard anything about the Workhorse beers? Have you tried any and if so what do you think?

I also periodically get together with friends for beers and lunch/dinner (one of my friends has been a beer investor for decades from Victory to a brewery that opened last year) and chat about the local beer scene. I have you visited Locust Lane yet? Is it worth a visit.

I suspect that younger beer drinkers rely more on the Social Media spectrum while I rely more on the 'old fashioned' side of the spectrum.

Cheers!

P.S. There is even a locally produced TV show called What's Brewing (see link below). I have only watched 2-3 episodes so I am not conscientious in this regard.

https://www.phillybeerworld.com/whats-brewing/

 

I knew it would be a long shot.... If you go back someday I recommend checking out Lost Nation. They also make a nice traditional gose, which was the beer they were best known for [among beer nerds] when the brewery was starting.

 

I'm seeing an increase in Pilsners available but a lot of them don't hit my palate right.

Imports are very limited and often close to best before date. Veltins and Pilsner Urquell are the 2 I see most often.

 

We still have the same number of local pils out in my neck of the woods... Zero.
Although the newest brewery seems to be focused on lagers and i haven't made the trek out to their place so maybe they are doing one.
In which case we are experiencing a veritable boon in local pils.
We do seem to have lost pivo as well, apparently replaced by fw lager, at least taking over it's foot print.
Scrimshaw from north coast is still easy to find but over the years I've grown to find that beer a little sweet for me.
We have one solid local beer bar that almost always has pils on tap, and often nice European versions

 

For some reason, Pilsner Urquell is now available in the Boston area. That wasn’t the case a few years ago. Distributing,

 

Notch brewing and Jack Abby brew excellent lagers, including pilsners. In NE, we are fortunate to have a number of excellent Pilsners available.