Victory Brewing Company - Prima Pils

I hate stating the obvious, but one of the greatest things about going to Germany is having the chance to try real German beer. Not that Beck's business you see on sale at the entrance to your local grocery store. Real German beer. Here's the problem- at some point, you're going to leave and not be able to have the beer whenever you want it. Ever since my last trip to the country a few years ago, I've been dying for a good German style pilsner. I had tried a fair amount of pilsners from American breweries, but none of them seemed to come close to that clean pilsner taste that true German pilsners have. Until I met Victory's Prima Pils.

I happened upon this beer a few weeks back while I was perusing the massive beer selection at Carlsbad's Texas Wine & Spirits. Normally, I would have gone for a different style, but I had seen some good reviews for Prima Pils, so I decided to give yet another American brewed pilsner a shot before I gave up hope for good.

Prima Pils pours a clear, golden color with a thin white head and some spotty lacing down the glass. The smell of the beer gave me some hope. It had a nice grassy hop aroma along with some light citrus, pale malt and a bit of barnyard funk. Already, this was the best American pilsner I had come across. All that was left was the taste.

I took a sip and...Eureka! It's nearly dead on. There's a nice snap of grassy hops upfront followed by some slightly bready malts in the middle. The finish brings back another touch of the grassy hop taste accompanied by a bit of white pepper and some lemon. The finish is as clean as a nun's criminal record and the mouthfeel is absolutely perfect. Finally! Now, if I could just find a decent place to get some schnitzel mit pommes...

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 21