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Pilsner pursuit

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My favorite shelfies right now are Pivo, Cans of Urquell, and Ninkasi Lux. As far as best overall, my favorite pilsner is easily the German Style Pils made by Chuckanut Brewing in Bellingham, WA.

Edited for a nod to Prima Pils.

Chuckanut is absolutely amazing.



I live in Bellingham now, walking distance from Chuckanut. Their Vienna Lager is ****** unreal as well. People up here ask me what my favorite brewery in town is and when I tell them that Chuckanut is by far not only my favorite brewery in Bellingham, but also one of my favorites in the entire state, 9 times out of 10 the response I get is "What? Really? They only make lagers, how is that your favorite brewery??"



Damn fools don't know what they're missing.
 
I live in Bellingham now, walking distance from Chuckanut. Their Vienna Lager is ****** unreal as well. People up here ask me what my favorite brewery in town is and when I tell them that Chuckanut is by far not only my favorite brewery in Bellingham, but also one of my favorites in the entire state, 9 times out of 10 the response I get is "What? Really? They only make lagers, how is that your favorite brewery??"



Damn fools don't know what they're missing.

Chuckanut is legit. For the best PNW lagers, it's them and Heater Allen in McMinnville.
 
I live in Bellingham now, walking distance from Chuckanut. Their Vienna Lager is ****** unreal as well. People up here ask me what my favorite brewery in town is and when I tell them that Chuckanut is by far not only my favorite brewery in Bellingham, but also one of my favorites in the entire state, 9 times out of 10 the response I get is "What? Really? They only make lagers, how is that your favorite brewery??"



Damn fools don't know what they're missing.
Just drank a Vienna Lager last night with my mexican food! Agreed that beer is amazing. I totally understand what you mean when people give you the o_O face when you talk about Chuckanut being one of your favorite breweries. When I head back up that way, we should grab a beer at the brewery! I may be there around the holidays but it is still in the air.
 
Chuckanut is legit. For the best PNW lagers, it's them and Heater Allen in McMinnville.
Heater Allen totally slipped my mind! Love the lagers they have over that way, the pils is great as is the Bobtoberfest. I believe they have a female brewer as well, which is pretty cool as there seem to be so few of them.
 
Heater Allen totally slipped my mind! Love the lagers they have over that way, the pils is great as is the Bobtoberfest. I believe they have a female brewer as well, which is pretty cool as there seem to be so few of them.

They do have a female brewer, it's the owners daughter. Met them both at Zwiklemania last year.
 
Finally found a good local pils. Highland Park brewery just put out their rebrew of a "German" pilsner with Tettanger, Saaz and Saphir hops. Super dry, complex aromatics, not as crackery as other great pilsners...kind of a West Coast/German pils. If only this was a year round beer and not DONG a lot of the time...

Also excited about trading for some Live Oak pilz in a can.
 
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Solid as ****
 
Finally found a good local pils. Highland Park brewery just put out their rebrew of a "German" pilsner with Tettanger, Saaz and Saphir hops. Super dry, complex aromatics, not as crackery as other great pilsners...kind of a West Coast/German pils. If only this was a year round beer and not DONG a lot of the time...

Also excited about trading for some Live Oak pilz in a can.
ISO. ;)
 
I'm just gonna pop in and repeat what's already been said.

Kulmbacher and Staropramen are damn good, and those Pilsner Urquel cans are hitting the mark.

But yeah, Rothaus is the best.

Gonna bang this point home. Also shouts out to warsteiner.
 
I'm sure it is and I'd love to try it. How attainable is it out there? A great thing about pils is the lack of .rarity
I was at the brewery on saturday and had just missed out on bottles to go. Nearly always available there as a growler fill. So while not a shelf beer, it shouldn't be hard for someone from the bay area to acquire.
 
Most of the best locally available ones seem to have been mentioned, but one to add: Two Roads Ol Factory is pretty good and readily available in NJ as well, at least around these parts.
 
As I stated in the "Welcome" thread, this particular discussion actually brought me to this site and encouraged me to join, so naturally this is the first thread I had to weigh in on. I've only recently begun the journey into the fine world of pilsner, so my knowledge/experience pales in comparison to most on here, but I'm excited to contribute and learn a few things in the process. Here are a few pilsners I've had so far...

Jever: Finally found some fresh bottles over the weekend (Best by 12/2016). I absolutely love the combination of the dryness and snappy bitterness from this one. I'm really looking forward to having this on hand this Summer, as it would be a perfect refreshing brew to drink on a hot Summer's day up at the pool. I really think this would pair well with seafood too, especially some steamed shrimp and crabs!

Sierra Nevada Nooner Pilsner: Somewhat similar to Jever, although not quite as dry, and I definitely get distinct notes of spice. It is probably one of the best pilsners I've had made in the US, especially when fresh.

Bitburger: I found it quite refreshing, although it tended towards the malty side, almost reminding me more of a helles style than a pilsner.

Victory Prima Pils: Quite hoppy, with a lot of snappiness on the finish, as Garrett Oliver would say "clipped". I like this one quite a lot, and since PA is a neighboring state to MD, we get this pretty fresh, which is a huge selling point. A shop nearby is doing a Victory tap takeover this Friday and will have their Braumeister Pils on, which is one I've really wanted to try!

Weihenstephaner Pils: This is a really well made pilsner and at least for me, definitely allows one to distinguish the difference between a "northern German" pils versus a "southern German" pils. It is more towards the malty side than something like a Jever, but has it's own distinct characteristics that I enjoy. It's probably the easiest and most cost effective German pilsner for me to find locally and most of the bottles I've seen are reasonably fresh.

Brooklyn Pilsner: Probably the most underrated of the US made pilsners. I'm not really sure why it often gets such a low rating compared to other US made pilsners. Garrett Oliver is such a student of the craft beer world and this is obviously his tribute to all of the great German pilsners that inspired him. For me, it's the perfect balance of malt, spicy hops, and a nice dry finish. I just wish they would can this one so I could take a bunch camping or to the pool!

Looking forward to hearing more from folks on here about favorite pilsners so I can add more to my list to try.

-Scott
 
No mention of Mahr's Pilsner? Easily my favorite. Solidly hopped and just a beautiful pilsen malt profile.
 
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