Pilsner

When it rains, it pours. It seems like New Glarus beers were nearly impossible for me to get a year ago but today I'm awash in Spotted Cow, Fat Squirrel, Moon Man and Stone Soup. These beers have come to me as gifts from friends who visited Wisconsin, friends who live in Wisconsin and even my neighbor (who also has family in Wisconsin). Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one who doesn't spend a few days in Wisconsin over the summer. This bottle of Two Women is a new one to me, I hadn't heard of this beer before this summer and I've been holding on to it for a few weeks because it has the word LAGER printed on the label. It might sound prejudicial, but when you've got your pick of the New Glarus litter, the Lager is going to be the beer that's left over at the end.

When I first head about Victory Brewing Company it was in reference to this beer. Prima Pils is a German style Pilsner beer with a big hop bud on the label. Everyone I know who's had Victory's Prima Pils before has spoken very highly of it so I figured the least I could do was pick up a bottle and try it out. The Pilsner style is one I find exceptionally boring. If I were a brewer I'm sure I'd appreciate the style more for the level of difficulty involved in mastering it. As a consumer however, I generally just tune these beers out and look for something with a bit more flavor and texture. Who knows, maybe this bottle of Prima Pils is the key to unlocking the mystery of why people like this style of beer...

Pilsners are beers I generally keep my distance from. It's not because I don't like them, they just aren't as interesting as other styles of beer. Lately I've been trying to get more Pilsner malt in my diet, so tonight I find myself sitting here drinking a glass of Kulmbacher Edelherb Premium Pils. This bottle doesn't exactly scream "Premium" when you first look at it... for starters, it looks like its missing half it's label. I know this is the Kulmbacher branding, but it looks a little silly. When you pour this Pils into a glass you're underwhelmed with it's run of the mill aroma.

Pilsners aren't my favorite style of beer but I've learned to appreciate them for what they are, which is crisp and light refreshing lagers. My main gripe with Pilsner beer is that it doesn't have any of the flavors I'm looking for. I'm setting my reservations aside today as I try a bottle of König Pilsener from Duisburg. I've always liked German Pilsners a bit more than their American counterparts but they're still Pilsners... just brewed a little better. When I poured the König Pilsener into my glass I could tell right away that this was spot on stylistically.

The Boulevard Pilsner is Boulevard Brewing's newest beer release. Actually, at the time I'm writing this the Pilsner has been on sale to the public for about three days. I first had a taste of the Pilsner back in February after a tour of the Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City. At the time I thought to myself, "Pilsner? Really? If there is one style of beer that I absolutely do NOT associate with the craft beer industry it's the Pilsner." That doesn't mean Boulevard couldn't make a good Pilsner, it just seems like they'd be fighting an uphill battle considering the "competition." Pilsner, to most craft beer drinkers, is synonymous with Budweiser, Miller and Coors' flagship beers. These light colored, light bodied and light in taste beers have left a bad taste (pun definitely intended) in mouths of many beer drinkers. So with a stigma like that, why put a whole lot of effort into a beer that will surely be compared to Budweiser, Miller or Coors by everyone who try it? Well, if you can beat the big three at their own game maybe you can expand your base and get the Pilsner drinkers to try some of your craft beers.