Prima Pils - Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown

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...

The opening of this beer went fairly quickly, there was no fanfare and no choir of angels descended from on high to herald the pouring of the Prima Pils. Not that I was expecting anything magnificent to happen, this is still a Pilsner, I almost expect it disappoint and leave me wanting a better beer. The Prima Pils looks about like what I thought it would, it's considerably more hazy than other Pilsners have been. Less clear usually means more flavor, so that warmed me to the prospect of having to drink 12 ounces of Pilsner...

This beer looked pretty good in my Pilsner flute, topped with tiny white suds. I took my first sip and realized why there has been so much chatter about this beer. That hop bud on the label, it's not just for show... This Pilsner came off as a mouthful of hops with a decently crisp finish. I wasn't exactly impressed. It's a nice twist, but I don't know if stuffing hops in a boring beer makes it any less boring.

In many ways this beer was not meant for me. It's a Pilsner, a style I really don't care for... at all. On top of that it's overly hopped. This doesn't taste like an IPA or anything, it's just that the Pilsner style is so delicate that the addition of the smallest amount of hops will be magnified on the drinker's tongue. In the end, I wasn't impressed by this beer. It's a hoppy Pilsner and I found it boring. The end.