I like Pilsners.
A lot.
Okay, some other styles of lager too.
But Pilsners...oh baby.
The last few years have found me growing as a beer drinker, exploring new and different styles and the myriad of off shoots our craft brewers have come up with. From the evolution of the West to East IPA to Saisons and Sours, I have fallen in love with the variety and options available every time I crack open a beer. Little in the way of a regular or go-to beer is in my fridge now as I just have too many choices to be made on a daily basis. But something is changing and evolving as I grow a little older and feel a little more like indulging in a forward looking nostalgia that is a finely crafted lager, pilsners to be precise.
Seeking out the latest Hazy IPA or tart puckeringly sour is not without it's joy. I love to see new releases and returning favourites from Double IPA to Barrel Aged beauties, but I feel the tug of a clean and crisp pils more now than ever before and I think it is a good thing to be in the mix of what I drink. A beer that tastes like a beer is probably a little simplistic but at the end of the day, all the adjuncts, dry hopping and kettle additions in the world cannot compete with the dry and bitter grassy, floral and lightly fruited lagers I find drawing me back to where I began.
But those beers from my past are but mere shadows in comparisons to the delights being brewed right here in Ontario. Flavourless and lacking depth, while technically and efficiently brewed, the ABInBev and Molson/Coors offerings have little to give us in the way of enjoyment outside of being served cold and consumed quickly. The pilsners and lagers I drink now have a whole other level of complexity to them and while it is still advisable to consume them cool, the rush to finish them and pound another isn't what it once was. Their is something in their flavour and texture that belies my memories of what was and has created a whole new level of what is. I drink them to enjoy them but also to release myself from trying to explore the deeper nuances of the more flamboyant of our options.
Where as not so long ago I would have told you to drink a brewery's IPA if you wanted to know them, I now understand the technical prowess and sheer patience and dedication to brewing a clean, flawlessly crisp and refreshing pilsner with body and depth. There is no where to hide a flaw or a shortcut from start to finish and only true commitment from the very beginning will result in a divine product cascading into my glass. Much respect is given to those who understand the process, love and time involved in creating something so delicate, yet robust in so many ways. To crack through the haze-craze and tart puckers of today is to have crafted something so beautiful that it is a marvel in it's simplicity.
Pour me a golden hued, fluffy white headed, crisp and clean homage to the German and Czech fore bearers of today's tributes and I am yours for the afternoon. On a patio, in a pub or in the quiet of the evening after all my labours are complete, I will indulge myself with more than one and look to a future where my palate can continue to grow and evolve while appreciating the true classic pints of our times, now, then and forever.
Cheers!
Polk
What's in my dream Pilsner/Lager fridge right now? Well, a lot of it has to do with availability, so here is what is happening at the moment here in The Grotto...
Fairweather Brewing Donna Pils (Brewery only)
Anderson Craft Ales Summer German style Pilsner
Great Lakes Brewery Over My Dad Body Pilsner
Steamwhistle
Merit Brewing No Limit Lager (Brewery Only)
Clifford Brewing East Hamilton Lager (Brewery only)
Muddy York Brewing Gaslight Helles Lager
Beau's All Natural Helles Lager
Mascot Brewing Pilsner
No comments:
Post a Comment