Pros: Full flavor, extra hop and a couple of fearless brewers.
Cons: Too good for mainstream drinkers. Beyond NorthEast, only available in California
The Bottom Line: For years US-brewers have been trying to fool us into thinking we're drinking a pilsner. At last a brewer not afraid to tell us what a pilsner should taste like.
A few weeks ago, I was quoted as saying that the USA is not particularly known for its lagers. Lew Bryson argued that I should spend a weekend on the east coast. A couple of nights ago, I said that I would drink ales out of season but not lighter beers such as lagers.
Well I managed to get a hold of one of those lagers that was formerly the reserve of north east drinkers, and am now forced to take back both of those previous statements. Victory Prima Pils may not have the water so revered in the classic original pilsners of Bohemia. But what it does have is a couple of masterful and fearless brewers known simply as “Bill and Ron”.
Prima Pils is what many beers claim to be, a pilsner. It’s common practice for popular US producers of pilsners to make their beers more appealing to the mainstream, by lowering the hop content and making a beer lighter in flavor. I’m actually reading the story of the Coors dynasty at the moment, “Citizen Coors”, and at one time Adolph Coors Jr. (the brewery’s second generation) was quoted as saying:
“You take a young person. He wants to drink beer but he doesn’t really like the taste very much because of the bitterness of the hops. We strive for lower bitterness units in part to attract that young beer drinker. Because when he then tastes one of our competitors, it will taste too bitter and he’ll come back to us. We make it less unpleasant so our beer will be easy to get on and hard to get off.”
I was so intrigued by this quote that I had to write it down. It’s an ethos that Bud and Miller also subscribe to, and something that is only too well known among those who have actually ventured out, away from their usual beer and tried something else.
It’s also something that Bill and Ron obviously know all too well, as they obviously didn’t hold back in Prima Pils. What results is one of the most delicious pilsners I think I’ve ever tasted. But more of that in the conclusion, let me get to a few more specifics.
The Corporate Version
From the website, there’s a longer version on the bottle.
“Heaps o' hops are hiding under the full, frothy head of this elegant Pils. All German malt subtleties linger beneath a long dry finish of this classy quencher”
The beer uses 2 –row German pilsner malt, and the hops are German and Czech whole flowers. I didn’t read any specific hops but it would seem that they use the same Saaz as Pilsner Urquell, and maybe Hallertauer and Tettnang (just a guess, from what I’ve picked up in other beers). The alcohol is 5.3% ABV.
Tasting Notes
Prima Pils pours to a pale yellowy golden color, while the body has a surprising light cloudiness. There’s some good initial foam, and a profusion of small, precise, pinprick sized, bubbles.
It has a wonderfully flowery aromatic nose, infused with herbs, a little minty, piney and suggestions of citrus. There’s some mild fruitiness, and a pale, almost toasty malt.
This may not be brewed in the Czech Republic, but the palate is nicely soft, light bodied, with a smoothness and delicately tempered carbonation.
There’s a hop flower on the label and this indeed is what makes the initial taste impression, tingling and challenging the taste buds, leaving bitter hop notes right across the palate. What makes this especially pleasing is that the front of the palate is usually more sensitive to sweeter flavors, but it’s telling me about the hops right away. In fact it’s stronger at the front than most US lagers are in the finish.
But it’s not all hop. There’s some sweeter malt, that I struggled to define satisfactorily, but do provide an excellent balance, as they swim just below the more hoppy surface. The sweetness does materialize a little more as the beer warms, a subtle sugary lemon, while mid-palate there’s a tropical fruitiness, maybe pineapple juice, maybe pink grapefruit, but not quite full enough for me to define with too much certainty. However, I enjoyed this beer cold, with the tangy hop bitterness and the knowledge the malts were there, quietly balancing things out.
The bitterness develops yet more noticeably in a tangy and exquisitely dry finish, lingering well into the aftertaste, while slowly and gradually, the sweeter lemony flavors come back to put out the flames.
Verdict
Very refreshing, exceptionally crisp, deliciously bold and flavorful.
This is a pilsner that dares to say what many shy away from. I encourage all mainstream lager drinkers to try one of these alongside their regular 6-pack, and even if they don’t like the flavor at least recognize that some of our brewers go to great lengths to make their beer not taste like a beer should. This will certainly be a little too bitter for some, but it’s a pilsner that is not afraid to be brewed like it should be.
I think this one is better than Pilsner Urquell itself, and in my present mind, may be the best pilsner I’ve ever tasted. Ideally suited to warm weather, I don’t think I could deny myself an occasional Prima Pils even in those freezing 70 degree winters we get out here. Pilsners are not my drink of choice, but this beer most likely will make it into my fridge again.
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