When most people think of Dutch pilsner, most of them think of Heineken. At least those who know Heineken is Dutch and a pilsner do anyway. There’s much more to Dutch beer than Heineken, of course, including delicious Trappist ales like La Trappe, pilsners like Brand and of course, Grolsch Premium Lager.
Though I’ve been drinking craft beers for almost 20 years now, there are some that have a special place on my palate, and Grolsch is definitely one of them. The familiar swingtop bottle could be spotted in my refrigerator right at the beginning of my Beer Awakening, and it’s been an occupant on and off right up to the present day.
I have always liked Grolsch better than Heineken. It has always seemed to me to be a more hoppy beer, and I can usually get it in better condition. You have to love those swingtop bottles, too. The wonderful POP! sound they make when you open them is music to a beer drinker's ears. They’re loved by homebrewers everywhere, and appreciated aesthetically by your local Bruguru too. One important safety tip: don’t toss them in your trusty blue recycling bin. The caps are made of ceramic, and they will explode during the meltdown process that glass goes through during recycling.
Speaking of explosions, the Grolsch plant in Enschede, Holland, was severely damaged back in May 2000 by the explosion of a nearby fireworks factory. No one was killed in the brewery, and fortunately the company operated a second brewery not too far away in Groenlo. Still, the accident did put a major crimp in Grolsch’s production. The brewery is planning the construction of a completely new facility, which it hopes will be fully online by 2005. It has run into some red tape on the matter at its intended site for the new brewery, but vows, “We’ll build a new brewery no matter what happens.” Plans are to close down the Groenlo when the new facility is opened.
Grolsch Premium Lager pours to a deep golden color with a prodigious fizzy head of foam and a light malty nose. The palate is light bodied and crisp with a generous dose of fresh biscuity malt character. The finish is alive with an assertive hop bitterness that nicely punctuates this well-made Pilsner style beer. There is one thing missing though. That’s the skunkiness I usually get in Heineken, and indeed at times in this beer thanks to the green glass.
A great beer with many foods, tonight it washed down slow-cooked barbecue picnic shoulder on a poppy seed roll with pickles and onions, baked beans and cole slaw.
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