Pilsner by Founders

Founders always puts out good beer, but lately they have been putting out some bangers.

Here’s what the brewery is saying about this Pilsner.

Always brewing to taste and rarely to style, Pilsner is the culmination of our love of American hops and appreciation of easy-drinking styles. Where traditional Pilsners typically feature European Noble hops, our version celebrates some of our favorite American varieties: Chinook, Centennial, Cascade and Crystal. Crisp and bright, with notes of citrus, this Pilsner is refreshingly untraditional.

I think this speaks volumes to their brewing mentality and how they can appreciate the simplistic styles. I’ve been gravitating to lighter beers as the weather has heated up so I’m glad that breweries are experimenting with more traditional beers by putting their own spin on them.

The Pilsner pours a clear golden-amber color with billowy white head. The head has a good level of retention which slowly fades over time. This leave a good sum of foamy lace on the sides of the glass which reminds you are drinking a pils.

The aroma of this beer is a mix of grainy and herbal hops. The smell is mixed with some other aromas of caramel and malt. Along with these bolder aromas there’s a touch of a hay/wheat that gives this beer a bread like quality.

The taste starts with an earthy grain and lightly caramel sweetened flavor. As the taste advances, the caramel gets faint and some herbal hop tastes begins developing. With the herbal hops comes a little bit of bittersweet and mouth drying as well. For a pile it’s produce a more herbal-dank taste which has a classier complexity. I get some of hay and grassy wheat that come at the finish. The aftertaste is malty but, not sweet. It has that nice hopped taste that lingers on the tongue.

The body of the brew is average to slightly thin. It’s pretty typical of a pile. It has that higher level of carbonation that makes it light. For the mix of dank, grain and hop and a lower sweetness level the feel is smooth and refreshing which makes for a very easy drinker.

Overall, this is a solid summer beer that’s a great alternative to traditional ‘big’ Marco beer. It has enough flavor to keep you interested while still being light enough the crush all day.