San Miguel Pale Pilsen

As the website notes, San Miguel truly is the beer I think of whenever I come back to the Philippines… and so it was that during breakfast… that was really dinner since we work on US time, that I had my first of the trip… San Miguel Pale Pilsen. 

As always, this light, clean, refreshing brew hits the spot and makes me wonder why we can’t easily get it in the US.  It is tasty stuff, taking American Lagers where they should be with a more notable character and no funky aftertaste.  I am sure there is some sort of contextual filter that gets applied to beer drinking whenever folks travel… some beer can just not taste right if you are drinking it in the wrong place or circumstance, but San Miguel is very consistent with it being equally as tasty for breakfast or dinner… at least in the Philippines.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again (and again, and again while I am here)

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

I am a big fan of Oskar Blues… ever since my first experience with Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout.  So while I knew that this one was a long shot, in general, I still thought that these guys could pull it off… and they did… but just kind of meh…

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils is a pretty standard pilsner except this one had a bit of a bitterness to it that I wasn’t expecting (it is 35 IBU)… maybe a bit more hops than normal, me thinks.   The body was malty… nose was sweet and small. Overall not overwhelming and seemed to just try a little to hard.  Their take, for what it is worth:

“Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, Mama’s gentle hopping (about 35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) makes it a luxurious but low-dose beer. Look for our Gold Metal Winner on US shelves in March. Sadly, the Feds rejected our “Take Two and Call Us in the Morning” line on the can.”

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Silver City Pilsner

Another night by the fire in the cul-de-sac, another fine beer to taste.  This one by our good friends over at Silver City Brewing Co.  Hard to read on the side of their bottle (hoping they improve that), but this is their Silver City Pilsner.  I think it is the Gold Mt. Pilsner as noted on the page, but they have been changing things up a bit, so can’t be too sure… if you are in the know, shoot us a line in the comments, would you please!

As far as the tasting goes, this is a good, solid pilsner.  Light yellow with a small head, at its most pure, it is simply an easy to drink pilsner that isn’t trying to hard to be something it isn’t… from top of the tongue through the finish, there aren’t any hints of lagering in the brew… it is just smooth and easy… no rough edges.  Overall, this is a brew that can be enjoyed this summer without even thinking twice…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

JosephsBrau Brewing Hopfest Pilsner

This one is hard to find on the web… no real site for it but you can find info on the beeradvocate and ratebeer sites of the world.  Here is a link to the company that actually brews it… isn’t much help, though… JosephsBrau Brewing Hopfest Pilsner.

Nose = pilsner-ee… mini head… mild and clean finish… nothing remarkable but not bad at all… would be much better on a hot summer day, but I could see myself sitting back and drinking this… the taste is so nuetral that a good lemon wedge or lime wedge might really give it just that bit extra…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Left Hand Brewing Polestar Pilsner

It has been a while since I went down the pilsner and lager path, so the next few posts will be dedicated to some winter time pilsner drinking… First on the list is this pretty little number, Left Hand Brewing Polestar Pilsner.  Brought to us from the great beer state of Colorado, Left Hand has something special here. 

Polestar pours a very light yellow… almost urine colored, with a huge white head.  You can smell hops and lemon in the first whiff of the nose. Clean and refreshing in the body, this is an outstanding little pilsner… some really refreshing flavors in there.  While some pilsners are just mild and easy to drink, this one is feisty and easy to drink, making it a super good little beer to sit down and have your way with…

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Krombacher pils

Decent 0,4 of a litre of Pils with sausage at the Loreley airport cafe/bar at Dusseldorf airport after an hour and a half driving – yet again - across northern Germany. Not a bad way to spend your lunchtime, I must say, but I don’t really have a huge amount to say about it… if the Franziskaner weissbeer machine had been working I’d have chosen that forst off (and I’m still hoping it’ll come on…)

But anyway, this Krombacher beer was all that was on offer, and it provided a cheerfully refreshing pilsner to complent my plate of sausage, bread and mustard. Nothing outstanding, nothing to really write home about, but above average for an airpot joint, and something I’d drink again if I had the opportunity…

As there’s  at least another hour-and-a-half before the plane leaves, I’m sure this rating’s gonna come true:

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Radeberger pilsner

Desperate for something to cut through the pollution of the abominable Banana-flavoured Weizen I’d just consumed, my eye turned it’s eager gaze once more upon the Kruse Baimken biergarten’s menu, and settled rapidly on the name of Radeberger.

A fine pilsner would ease my troubled tongue, I hoped, and summoning the courage to place another order, I hoped the Radeberger wouldn’t let me down.

Served in a beautiful glass with a thick, creamy dollop of foam on top, this bright and lively golden liquid brought forth a resurgence of beer-love, with the hoppy fragrance twining round a boquet of floral notes and a finely-tuned hop-strong finish to leave me refreshed, re-energised, and definitely wanting more. Luckily I was in a biergarten, and help was but a salutation away…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Unfortunately, this is where I ran into “camera operator issues” and don’t have anything to show you – aside from this I stole found on the Internet. Hurray for the Internet!

Bayern Brewing Pilsener Lager

According to the Bayern Brewing website, it sounds like this is about as close as you can get to German beer without being in Germany… if you are on the western side of the United States (they are in Missoula, Montana), at least…   I bought a sampler 12 pack of their beer from Malt & Vine about a week ago and this is the first one to go on the blog.  After tonight, I am very much looking forward to tasting the other three varieties.

Bayern Brewing Pilsener Lager is a super solid beer.  I would seriously put it up there with some of the finer German beers that we have posted on this blog.  It has a great color, a good head if poured according to the instructions, and a strong but smooth flavor that provides a perfect aftertaste to remind you of that difference between American lager and German lager.

It was great for a relaxing after dinner beer and at 5% it relaxed me just right.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Squatters Provo Girl Pilsner

Second Utah Beer of the night brings us a funny name for a beer: Squatters Provo Girl Pilsner.  I wish the taste lived up to the name, but what can I say?  This came in a 12 pack that had 4 different types… Squatters Party in a Box.  A good way to sample the beer from this here brewery, but I hope that the rest come out better. 

Provo Girl is another watered down Utah beer that seems like they are trying too hard to hit the 4.0 ABV.  As my drinking buddy Ryan said tonight, it is kind of like taking your best friend to prom… it might look good on the surface, but you know you aren’t going to really get anything out of it at the end. 

JBB6 Rating: Just Not Right

Pinkus Organic Ur Pils

Ladies and gentlemen, we are 5 for 5… that’s right, 5 of our 5 German beers that we have rated have been Will Buy Again or better.  Tonights wonderful German beer comes to us from Munster, Germany.  A wonderful little town that I have actually been to.  I don’t remember if I had Pinkus beer there, but the food, people, and beer were all very good and I look forward to future return trips.

Pinkus Organic Ur Pils was on the table tonight and appears to be an American version of the Pinkus Original Pils both of which are brought to us by the Pinkus Müller Brewery.  The web site is completely in German, but if you futz around with it enough you can get an idea of what they are all about. 

As far as the beer is concerned, it poors very nice with tight head and milky-cloudy complexion.  The cloudiness comes from the fact that it is unfiltered and actually gives it a bit of a hefeweizen look.  In fact, the taste is hefeweizen-like, as well with fruity undertones.  I tasted a hint of citrus and apricot in my glass.  Overall, this was a super-easy-to-drink beer with clean, crisp, and deep flavor that didn’t dissapoint.  Next time I am in Munster, I have to stop by the brewery and congratulate them on such a fine beer.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win