Pilsner decline in 2019?

I sense your frustration here. FWIW the Pilsners from my local craft breweries are typically in 6-packs of 12 ounce bottles/cans for about 10 bucks. Frankly this is my personal limit for a Pilsner: a total of 72 ounces of beer in the neighborhood of 10 bucks. Luckily there are lots of options here.

Cheers!

 

Well that's great to hear. I'll give it a couple weeks and snag another sixer to evaluate. Cheers!

 

Can't speak for the rest of the country however a lot of German Pilsners are available in NE. Post Shift Pils from Jack's Abbey, Premium Pils from The Spencer Brewery, Two Roads' Ol' Factory Pils to name a few. Summer ain't over yet.

 

Yea but that’s not a Pilsner really, that’s an American hoppy lager or an IPL, in my opinion.

Sure, it’s fun for some people to see what a beer like that might taste like but most Pilsner fans don’t want a mosaic lager. Most would call that an affront to Pilsner.

 

Ehh, Sunny Ridge might be a bit long in the tooth at this point. Unless they did another canning run I didn't see. I recall it being canned in April. Still worth a shot to grab I suppose.

Their Oktoberfest is probably only a couple weeks away from being distributed (if that), and Sunny Ridge is their summer seasonal.

Pilsner Urquell has been distributed to MA since I first got into craft beer back in 2004 (I first recall buying it in 2005, so I'm making an assumption here). This is back when it was in green bottles.

Maybe you're just noticing it now because it has been in new packaging for the last few years due to their "freshness initiative"?

 

Yeah, I remember buying it with friends in the area in the early 2000s - local Boston Globe ads from 2000-2015 show it was sold by a number of retailers (Gary's, Macy's, Kappy's, Market Wine & Liq., Marty's).

In the 1990s, Guinness Imports in the US was the importer of Pilsner Urquell, and after SAB (PU's owner since 1999) bought Miller in 2002, Miller took over the import rights - so two large US-based importers with coast to coast distribution handled the beer - unlikely it would not have been carried by Boston area distributors of Guinness and then Miller/MillerCoors. (Although there are often conflicts re: local distribution rights when a brand changes owners or importers).

Well, the "Freshness Initiative" was announced in 2012 and included "...refrigerated, express shipping and fully enclosed packaging..." The use of brown bottles for the US market didn't start until around late 2014, so maybe it was a "continuation" of the FI?

 

Thanks for the info. I had some cans a few weeks ago that we’re packaged in May and was still drinking nicely. I thought there might be some June or July batches floating around. Oh well.

 

You're fortunate to live in a metro area with an active culture.
We have five breweries within 30 miles; I know about three of them only because I am on their streets on a regular basis and the other two due to a friend of a friend type thing. The local beer retailers have no interest in discussing locals (why talk about something that might lose you sales).
I'm looking forward to trying the Sly Fox you recommended, but TBH if it weren't for BA I would never have known that brewery (and several others) even existed since it has no retail presence here.

 

It’s certainly not traditional, and a hoppy lager using mosaic was very good. I don’t see why a Pils must be German hops only, and because they use more modern hops doesn’t necessarily make it an over hopped PA. Finesse can still apply regardless of the hops. But again that was labeled a hoppy lager.

 

Oh nice, maybe I'll buy some more (although I wouldn't be surprised if my local didn't have it anymore with Oktoberfest around the corner).

I also tend to buy something right when it comes out when it's at its freshest, then move on. There's so much beer these days I tend not to buy ANYTHING over three months old, and lately it's been anything over two months old.

Especially at the Boston prices for beer.

 

This is correct. I remember drinking Pilsner Urquell many nights at The Squealing Pig in Boston circa 2004.

P.S. Marty's in Allston was a great store!

 

and Penguin Pizza right down the street with Flann O'Briens on the corner! I never went to Marty's but used to get kegs @ Blanchard's all the time. I went to Wentworth '05-'09...great times.

 

Not saying, nor disagreeing, about IPAs and their time sensitivity. And this could 100% just be my pallet, but I think 3 to 4 weeks is my sweet spot for an IPA, whereas with a pilsner I want immediately.

For example, La Cumbre's Elevated...my favorite IPA. Always grab some at the taproom, 90% of the time its been canned within the past werk, the other 10% of the time the prior week. So I am always getting it super fresh. And it always tastes great to me then. But give it 2 to 4 weeks and I think it tastes even better. For me, that's its peak.

Meanwhile, take Marble's Pilsner. For me, the closer to its brew date the better. It'll remain good for a much longer window than any IPA, but its at its best on day one and only goes downhill from there.

 

I believe that you and I will agree on this: Pilsners are best enjoyed fresh.

For my example: I drink a lot of Sly Fox Pikeland Pils on draft at the brewpub and that beer is 'best' that way. In the past (many years ago) I would purchase cases (24 cans) of Pikeland Pils and drink it that way but it has been over 4-5 years since I have purchased cans of Pikeland Pils.

Cheers!

 

I've always felt that Pilsners are just as important as IPAs regarding freshness. Although I would agree with @JackHorzempa about newer styles of IPAs being more time sensitive, the way you look at it is a good point.

I've had many IPAs that tasted too "green" when first canned.

I want a Pilsner day of canning if possible.

That being said, I'll buy a month old Pilsner, I may not buy a month old New England IPA.

 

Nice! I'm an NU alum. Mission Hill was my stomping ground for a couple of years. Was there when Penguin opened and went too many times to count. Glad to see it's still alive and kicking.

 

Worth noting, I don't drink NE IPA's so my comments did not account for that specific style of IPA.

 

It is my understanding that brewer's put beer into cans in the precise condition in which they desire them to be drank. If they intend to have some sort of in-package "calming down" period, without notifying the purchaser/drinker, well, that seems pretty dicey.

I'm gonna stick with freshest is always best unless the can literally states otherwise, and if a brewer puts a green beer in a can, they are doing poorly at their job.

 

Yeah, this topic has been discussed within the context of 'NEIPA' beers several times on BA threads.

Some folks argue that it is OK/acceptable for breweries to provide 'green' beer to their customers since some may prefer it this way and if other customers don't they can take the step of 'aging' the beers to the proper date for their enjoyment.

Maybe it is not always easy for the breweries to properly judge when a beer is optimum given that they produce new brands on a weekly basis and each new brand may behave differently.

It is my preference that a brewery should package their beer when it is optimally ready for consumption. Having stated that it was my practice in the recent past (a couple of years ago) to age my cans of Tired Hands 'NEIPA' beers for a minimum of two weeks before consuming them; those beers (at that time) needed a 'calming down' process.

Cheers!