It’s June, which means it’s very much summer for most of the country. While nobody is going to tell you to stop sipping on your favorite barrel-aged stouts (if that’s what you’re into), this really is the time of year to fill your fridge with craft-brewed IPAs, pale ales, wheat beers, sours, and fruity gose-style beers for sipping on those long, hazy summer afteroons. But while the aforementioned styles are all gems this time of year, the classic pilsner is the season’s true MVP.
Seriously, how can you deny the classic, crisp flavor of a refreshing pilsner? When done right, it’s all freshly mowed lawns and fields of wildflowers. It’s also just citrus-forward enough and a welcome reminder when the heat is on that beer can be thirst-quenching — a feature that many summer styles have deviated drastically from.
Since we’re in the business of helping you find the beer that best suits your palate, we figured it was time for a blind taste test. This is the best way to get down to the basics of aroma, flavor, and crushability without the possibility of being swayed by flashy labels, awards-circuit cred, or well-known brand names. For this round, we selected eight pilsners — some American craft beers and others from the pilsner havens of Germany and the Czech Republic — and judged them based on taste alone.
Part 1: The Taste
Each and every pilsner we selected is fairly easy to find at your local grocery store (or online retailer). We blindly tasted and ranked each one to determine which is the best. Here are the brews we put to the test:
- Pilsner Urquell
- Creature Comforts Bibo
- Bitburger Pils
- Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella
- Jack’s Abby Post Shift
- Firestone Walker Pivo
- Jever Pilsener
- Victory Prima Pils
Let’s dig in and see what shook out!
Taste 1:
Tasting Notes:
I spent a longer amount of time than usual nosing this beer. There wasn’t a lot going on. There was a little citrus and lightly sweet malts, but that was it. It didn’t leave me very hopeful for the first sip. I was surprised to find the palate had a little more going on, with notes of resinous, piney, floral hops, and caramel malts.
Sadly, while crisp and refreshing, it was lacking the citrus element I prefer in a well-made pilsner.
Taste 2:
Tasting Notes:
This beer has a different nose than most pilsners. I noticed hints of wildflowers, fresh-cut grass, and a lot more hops than I expected to find. The flavor was more of the same. While there are some sweet malt flavors in the background, aggressively bitter hops end up taking center stage.
This is definitely not a beer for classic pilsner fans.
Taste 3:
Tasting Notes:
At first nosing, it almost seemed like I was breathing in the aromas of an IPA as opposed to a pilsner. There was distinct wet grass, citrus peels, and a lot more pine than I’d expect. Taking a sip led me to notes of sweet malts, but I was once again hit with resinous, piney, bitter hops.
While not a bad flavor, it’s not really what I’m looking for in a crushable pilsner. This feels more like an IPA.
Taste 4:
Tasting Notes:
The aromas present in this beer are classic pilsner. I noticed hints of sweet malts, citrus peels, and Noble hops. Sipping revealed flavors of wet grass, resinous pine, and sweet malts that all seemed with work unison. It’s crisp, clean, and has just a hint of hop bitterness at the very end.
Taste 5:
Tasting Notes:
The aroma is all Noble hops, lemon zest, and a note of caramel malts. Sipping this beer is similar to nosing it, but with more dominant malt flavors. The flavors of fresh-baked bread, sweet malts, and subtle, citrus hops are prevalent. Overall, it was a pretty decent pilsner.
While not something to complain about, I would have preferred a better ratio of malt to the citrus flavor. It was just a little breadier than I’d like in a classic pilsner.
Taste 6:
Tasting Notes:
Right away, I was struck with the intense floral and citrus hops on the nose. This was followed by a strong caramel malt presence. While there is some bitterness on the palate, it’s muted by flavors like fresh-cut flowers, citrus zest, and a healthy dose of sweet malts.
From my notes: “A very well-rounded beer that I’ll definitely come back to again this summer.”
Taste 7:
Tasting Notes:
For such a light beer in appearance, a lot was going on with its nose. Slightly dank to the sniff, I noticed a great deal of bready, sweet malts, floral Noble hops, and just a hint of peppery spice. The flavor is similar to the aromas, with a load of floral notes paired with citrus zest and a nice backbone of sweet malts.
Overall, this is a very well-rounded, highly drinkable beer.
Taste 8:
Tasting Notes:
Right off the bat, I noticed a symphony of smells emanating from this beer. Fresh wildflowers, subtle herbs, sweet malts, and a load of Noble hops. The palate is heavy on fresh citrus, floral hops and wet grass, with just a hint of bitterness at the very end.
Part 2: The Ranking
8. Jever Pilsner — Taste 2
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Jever Pilsner is known for its unique, slightly bitter flavor. The brewers claim this comes from the water used in the brewing process. Procured from the same well for more than 100 years, this soft water along with more hops than most pilsners utilize gives this an extra-crisp, surprisingly bitter flavor that not all pilsner fans are prepared for.
Bottom Line:
First, I’m going to say that I didn’t hate this beer. It’s just that it’s too bitter for a pilsner in my opinion. I understand that’s the point and it has history on its side, it’s just not for me.
7. Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella — Taste 1
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $9.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Made in the style of Bohemian and Bavarian pilsners, Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella is loaded with Saaz and Aramis hops as well as pilsner and honey malts. The result is a 4.7 percent ABV beer that was created for one reason alone: to be a refreshing break on a hot, sunny, hazy day.
Bottom Line:
Even though this finished almost in the last place, it’s not a bad beer. It’s just the kind of beer you’ll crush on a hot day because there aren’t too many flavors you’re going to spend any time savoring.
6. Victory Prima Pils — Taste 3
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Victory Prima Pils has the authentic taste of Europe in an American craft beer, making it feel like a classic. The pills is made using Tettnang, Hallertau, Saaz, and Spalt hops as well as European malts. Drinking this floral, crisp, hopper beer will transport you to a German beer garden on a hot, summery day.
Bottom Line:
This (and every other beer on this list) isn’t remotely bad. In fact, it’s a really good beer. It’s just that, after tasting it I felt like this beer would appeal more to IPA drinkers than classic pilsner fans.
5. Jack’s Abby Post Shift — Taste 5
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $10.50 (four-pack, 16-oz. cans)
The Beer:
Jack’s Abby Post Shift is a highly crushable, low-ABV beer that lives up to its name. Brewed with Bavarian malts and hops, this is the kind of beer you want to drink after a long day of working with your hands, sitting in a cubicle, or typing articles like this in your basement man cave.
Bottom Line:
As a fan of this beer, I expected it to land much higher on this list. But, upon returning to it again, I understood why it landed where it did. While I’d never want to change the recipe, it just doesn’t have as much citrus zing as it needed to fall higher on this list.
4. Creature Comforts Bibo — Taste 6
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $11 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts created Bibo to be a crushable, crisp, easy-to-drink pilsner and they definitely accomplished this. It’s brewed with a base of Czech Saaz and German Huell Melon hops bringing flavors of the two most well-known pilsner countries together in one American craft beer.
Bottom Line:
This was the first time I ever had this beer and I didn’t know where it would land on the list. I was pleasantly surprised by the balance and crushability on display. Fans of classic Czech-style pilsners will enjoy this one.
3. Bitburger Premium Pils — Taste 7
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $11 (six-pack)
The Beer:
One of the most popular beers in Germany, Bitburger Premium Pils is as classic as beer gets. Brewed for more than 200 years, it’s renowned for its crisp, clean flavor. Made with four simple ingredients (water, yeast, barley malt hops, and hop extract), it’s the kind of beer you’ll want to stock up on for the hot summer to come.
Bottom Line:
I recently began drinking this beer regularly and hoped it would land high on this list. I was happy to see it finish where it did. It’s perfectly balanced, light, and well-suited for summery weather.
2. Firestone Walker Pivo — Taste 4
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $10.49 (six-pack)
The Beer:
It might be a little unfair to add this beer to this list since it’s a little different from your usual pilsner, but I don’t care. Brewed with Pilsner and Carafoam malts as well as Spalter Select, Tradition, and Saphir hops, this beer gets an added kick by being dry-hopped with more Saphir hops.
Bottom Line:
I wasn’t surprised to find this hoppy pilsner so high on the list. While I don’t usually prefer overly hoppy pilsners, the bitterness is fairly low on this beer. This makes for a highly sippable spring and summer beer.
1. Pilsner Urquell — Taste 8
ABV: 4.4%
Average Price: $9.99 (six-pack)
The Beer:
When it comes to pilsner blind taste tests, you can’t leave off the most renowned (and beloved) version in the world. Pilsner Urquell was the first mass-produced pilsner, dating all the way back to 1842. Still brewed using traditional methods, this crisp, clean, crushable pilsner has stood the test of time.
Bottom Line:
It’s no surprise that this pilsner took the top spot. It’s clean, fresh, and utterly thirst-quenching. In fact, if I needed to grab a beer after an afternoon of lawn-mowing, I can’t think of a beer I’d rather sip on.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
