As you know, I am not a lager lover. But since asking the question of myself about pilsner, like Donavan, I have been wondering more about this half of the beer world and particularly this style so I picked up two more to consider as well as another lager I should trust as a comparator.

• Victory Prima: this beer pours a very light with a slight hint of a grassy green hue under white foam and rim. The aroma is classic and for many North Americans would be immediately recognizable as "beer smell." What yeast there is to be tasted is milky and combines richly behind the hops with the French bread crust malt. But that is a supporting role as this beer is all about the hops. One aspect is an astringent drying effect. Another is both green and acidic as opposed to what is often simply steeliness. It is somewhat metallic but not overly so. The finish is bone dry. Overall with is a complex and balanced lager, yet for me not inviting. If there is fruit it is gooseberry or unripe green apple. An austere logical beer. The brewer says this and the BAers say this.
• Brooklyn Pilsner: in picture at the left, this one is more deeply golden than Victory Prima, right, also with white foam and rim. Less clinical on the nose by half a notch with a hint of seville orange. In the mouth, stoney pebbles and hints of pear juice and honey. This lager is also astringent but less so. The hops are more minerally than metallic with some juiciness in the finish. For what it is worth, if Victory Prima is sauvignon blanc, Brooklyn Pilsner is grand cru chablis. But I don't think that means much. The brewer says this and the BAers say this.
• Brooklyn Lager: this beer is smoked amber brew under an light tan rim and foam. The yeast is slightly sour in that way that Creemore Springs lager is unappealingly more so. What makes that less an issue is that the beer has at its core sweetish malt, raisin and honey notes, and the twiggy grapefruity hops are quite recessed compared to the pilsners. More of a big round hug of a lager and much easier than the others. Should a beer be easy? Can one be too much work? The brewer says this and the BAers say this.

I am still perterbed. What made pilsner the king of styles in North America? In addition to the German settlers of the 1800s, likely it was returning soldier after WWII that wanted the style after learning about it after liberating casks in Germany. Was it an easy style to make a macro out of with less and less malt? And where does it go from here? Do any craft brewers make a double pilsner with even more stomach souring steely hop? [Apparently yes.]

So many questions from just one style.


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