Kaiser Pils - Pennsylvania Brewing Company

Gavage

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: pours a clear golden yellow color with a big fluffy two finger head.

Smell: grassy tones dominate the nose.

Taste: nice balance of malt and grassiness. Bitterness is quite noticeable. Some light fruit tones arrive late.

Mouthfeel: light-medium bodied beer. Very crisp throughout with a dryness arriving at the finish. Nicely refreshing.

Overall: a very tasty pils that would quench anyone's thirst.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 23:51:26 | More by Gavage

deltatauhobbit

Maine

4.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear looking golden color with a thin white head, fades quickly, leaves some patchy lacing on the glass though.

Smell has a good deal of hops on the nose, citrusy with a good amount of grassy notes.

Taste starts out with a hint of sweet malt but that is soon overshadowed by the grassy hop presence, the bitterness is just the right amount for the style since it doesn't overwhelm, finishes clean and dry.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2012 01:09:22 | More by deltatauhobbit

Ryan011235

Ohio

2.55/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an A-B flute on 3/6/12

The color is a dainty, golden rod and straw; looks watered down, but is pretty much clear. Three finger head of fluffy foam collapses slowly scattered trails of raised lace that really starts to collect halfway down the glass. Thin retention.

Noble hops are all over the aroma - grassy and herbal/floral with spicy and soapy undertones. Hints of lemon peel zestiness. The malts offer a slightly grainy, biscuit note. Clean enough.

Kaiser Pils tastes ok, if a little one dimensional. Moderate hops kick and an accompanying spicy twinge are mainly relegated to the front with toasted grain in the center. From there it flavor falls off quickly to a slow, tapered decay.

The feel is the weakest aspect, being too light and watery; at times it seems lifeless. Same thing with the carbonation; half-hearted and lacking brilliance. The finish has a stale lingering and vapid feel. I'm not too impressed.

Though I remember this fondly from on tap a few years ago, this just isn't living up to my admittedly unlikely-to-be-attained recollections. Ah well.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 05:33:36 | More by Ryan011235

keeganfrank

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bright yellow beer with a thin, sudsy head. A few bits of lacing are left behind as the glass is drained. Aroma is a little faint and consists of grass and citrus. Has a tart, earthy flavor with notes of lemon rind and sweet dough. Very dry, and a little rough around the edges.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 20:05:44 | More by keeganfrank

frenchblood21

Ohio

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance- Very pale yellow color. Looks like sparkling lemonade. Small paper white head that goes away quickly.

Smell- Hops, orange and fresh cut grass, in that order.

Taste- Very hoppy, lemon and grapefruit and straw

Mouthfeel- Buttery is the best way to describe this beer. Coats the whole mouth and throat when swallowed. Great texture

Overall- Not a game changer, but what pils really is. A slightly above average beer from a good brewery. If you find it on tap its worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 00:28:55 | More by frenchblood21

hustlesworth

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- ultra clear pale golden with a loose soapy white head and spotty lacing.

S- bright and hoppy, hallertau grassy floral and lemony aroma. a bit of cracker like pale malt tartness.

T- a wonderfully hoppy and zesty pils, clean malt flavor and bitterness with notes of lemon, apple, grape skin, prosecco, and white bread.

MF- crisp and dry, but not sahara dry. bitterness lingers in the throat and on the cheeks. light body with lively carbonation.

D- this one is a well rounded true to style hoppy pils. i could easily drink it on the reg.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 04:17:16 | More by hustlesworth

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pilsner glass.

4.5 A: Clear pale yellow color. Two fingers of frothy white head. Good retention and a tall ring of lacing is left.

4.0 S: Huge aroma for the style. Plentiful grassy and earthy hop aromas. Neutral malt sweetness accompanied by graininess and a light biscuity component.

4.0 T: A hefty bitterness for the style, but well within the desirable range. Noble hop earthiness and grassiness. Biscuity malts with balancing sweetness.

4.0 M: Light, crisp body. Good moderate carbonation. Super smooth. Appropriate for style.

4.0 D: Good beer. I'm glad to see that not everything in the Penn lineup has taken a dive in quality.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 04:20:25 | More by DavoleBomb

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thick, lasting head despite the bar pour. Leaves plenty of blanketing and chunky lace. Straw color with a very mild chill haze.

Has a bit of a stale brewery aroma.

Starts with a grainy pale malt flavor that is quickly overtaken by a "green" hop bite of paprika. Long lasting hop-pellet aftertaste. Creamy body for the style but the higher carbonation counters this nicely. Perhaps too bitter for the style; it comes across harshly. Still, I very much like this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2011 16:32:19 | More by smcolw

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.38/5  rDev +15%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I got this beer from cosmo4u. Thanks Chad!

12oz bottle served in a pilsner glass.

L - semi-hazed bright yellow color with a white head that left some trails of lacing as the beer went down.

S - bitter Euro-hop aroma.

T - bitter blast of Hallertau hops from start to finish.

F - light/medium bodied with a crisp feel.

O - a very good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2011 23:57:32 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

russwbeck

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A golden yellow pour with a small, wispy, white head and nice lacing. The smell was very light and slightly hoppy, more grassy hops than piney ones. I must say that my ability to accurately describe the smell was hindered a bit by the fact that I was sitting around a nice campfire when it was consumed, I’d say it was a win/win regardless. My taste buds, however, were in perfect working order. Following the smell, the taste was light, refreshing, and hoppy, very much like a pilsner should taste. It was very nicely carbonated and crisp, you could hardly taste any alcohol. Wonderful drinking beer, whether you’re at a campfire, a ballgame, on the lake, wherever, you can’t go wrong here!

Serving type: growler

07-25-2011 01:03:51 | More by russwbeck

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Tedwarhc for this bottle. Served in a COAST tall pint.

Pours a moderate golden-yellow color with a two-finger white head that is quite fluffy. Good retention and lacing. The nose is a bit odd in that there's some strong grain and a bit of tannin, but also smells a bit skunked, even though it's in a brown bottle. The flavor is better, but doesn't quite hit the level I'm looking for in a German Pilsener. Mostly grain in the front followed by a pronounced bitterness on the back-end. A bit too grainy and slightly skunkish. Light body and high carbonation with a good bitter finish. Drinks well enough, but doesn't rival the best versions of the style.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 23:44:56 | More by Thorpe429

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Has a very hazy colored pure yellow with a half inch of foam that turns to a very impressive ring with sticky lace.

S - Smells of pilsner malt, slight grassy malt, and a bit of grain.

T - Pretty sweet actually, at first but then turns to a mild bit of grain and a pretty impressive hop bitterness.

M - Light to medium pretty drinkable.

Overall I think this is the best thing they have but I just grabbed this for the tick. Still a very solid brew but couldn't see much session ability.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 04:34:58 | More by DrDemento456

metter98

New York

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is clear straw yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high bright white head that died down but consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of bready and grainy malts in the nose along with some notes of floral and grassy hops.
T: Flavors of bready malts stand out in the overall taste; hints of sweetness are present in the initial taste while the finish has notes of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink and is rather sessionable, especially on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 02:51:17 | More by metter98

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I enjoyed multiple servings of this at PA Flavor

A very clear golden straw color with visible carbonation and thick snowy creamy looking cap w/ tight bead. The head retention is good and lace sticks well. The aroma contains a good amount of noble hop aroma -very floral and herbal scented with mild pils malt accent and mild fruit from the yeast. The feel is good with some spice notes and mild sweetness with a high carbonation and rather dry finish.

The taste is excellent - loaded with hop flavor and only a mild level of astringency is noted, plenty of herb notes in the taste with fresh quality and gentle spice with the light toasted elements of the pils malt backing up the light acidic quality of the hops. The carbonation keeps the flavor fresh and the yeast is very clean overall with slight accent in the dry finish. I am very impressed with this pils, one of the best PA has to offer in a state where the bar for pilsners is very high already.

Serving type: on-tap

04-11-2011 22:13:44 | More by Slatetank

rousee

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

These guys arent available in MA -or at least I think they're not. Picked up these in NYC. They are definitely contract brewed and it sure inspired a lot of commentary here when I asked the pa locals about it. I know no other than these from this brewery so that is my only opinion of them.

Nice gold color, frothy white soap like head. Excellent fresh german/czech hops on the nose. The breadiness that I like is front and center. Quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2011 01:41:38 | More by rousee

IronCitySteve

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Penn Brewery.

A: Pours a bright clear yellow color with a thick pillow of white foam head. There is plenty of lacing.

S: A nice amount of buttery crackers, grassy hops and some white toast. Smells very clean.

T: The taste is quite balanced throughout. Lightly toasted white bread, crackers and some grassy hos all blend well.

M: Extremely crisp and clean taste on the palate. A very nice light body.

D: This is an easy to drink, nicely balanced beer. A really enjoyable Pils!

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2011 16:02:59 | More by IronCitySteve

nukem5

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Pale golden coloration with little or no head.

S: Light scent of hops just picked this beer up yesterday and still tastes fresh and crisp.

T: Light metallic flavor with a nice hoppy citrus backing.

M: Slightly alkylyne with a light body.

D: Could drink a few of these but will ration them in ,my growler for the next 2 days.

Serving type: growler

10-15-2010 05:56:41 | More by nukem5

crossovert

Wisconsin

4.28/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12 oz twist-off bottle.

It pours a somewhat bland gold, the head is very nice however forming a round white globe around the rim of my pokal.

There is a nice noble hop smell up front, it has a subtle fruitiness and a bakery like malt scent.

The taste is well balanced. It has a noticeable hop character, very nicely done, along with a leveling maltiness. It still seems a bit more hop-forward but it is pretty balanced overall. There is some metallic flavor at the beginning but it fades after the second quaff.

The mouthfeel was pretty spot on for the style, rich in body, but also with a persistent carbonation.

This pilsener is one of the few american examples that isn't a butchery of the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2010 23:00:56 | More by crossovert

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a light bronze color, also could be termed a light gold. Nary a spot of foam to be found. No lacing.

Very mild smell, maybe a hint of fruit but nothing else. Empty.

Solid German pils taste with malt start and familiar bitter close. That bitter finish is maybe a touch firmer than others.

Well balanced carbonation good mouthfeel.

Tasty, smooth pils, quite drinkable. Another nice offering from PBC.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 15:17:35 | More by KTCamm

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clean yellow color with a white head. In the aroma, a dryer malt and a small hop, very clean. In the taste, dry and refreshing malt and a nice hop, again really clean. A smooth and light bodied mouthfeel, with a dryer saaz/ pils hop in the aftertaste. Clean, fresh, and damn tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2010 13:21:12 | More by OWSLEY069

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This one is old school before the sale of the brewery. Probably 2008ish. Traditional Penn brewery labeling for Kaiser - an upside down Penn Pils label for the front, a Weizen label in back, and a neck label that is just a blank piece of white paper!

A: straw-colored, crisp and clean
S: not a huge amount of nose, but definite German maltiness and nice balance of hops
T: for a 5% ABV this beer held up very well, no noticeable oxidation or aging in any way, great malt with good smack of bitter hop finish -- one of the best pilsners in America, a bit more bitter hops than a high-end German pils but still very good
M & D: lively and very easy drinking, extremely smooth

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2010 22:53:05 | More by wisrarebeer

Stigs

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

on tap at Fathead's last Friday...reviewed from notes. 16oz pour into a standard pint glass.

A - very light gold/straw colored body. hoists about half an inch of lightly frothy slightly off-white foam. leaves some mild spotty lacing behind. a bit pale for the style - someone actually came up to me and asked me if i was drinking a ML.

S - subtle mostly grassy hops...bits of grain and a light crackery malt bed. floral with just a tiny speck of spice near the end.

T - the majority of the flavor comes from a somewhat bland (yet eerily pleasant) grain profile, the hops are definitely present (grassy, slight pine) yet struggle to really take hold.

M - lightish body, good active and present yet not overwhelming carbonation. leaves mouth feeling a bit prickly, refreshed.

D - highly drinkable, almost to a fault. a little "lame" for the style but still not all that bad. would be a good intro beer to show off a lightly-hopped, light body.

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2010 16:11:17 | More by Stigs

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.13/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A standard American-brewed Pilsner with a grain/malt mix and timid hop spice.

The standard straw colored beer gives a highly carbonated activity. Somewhat fizzy, the beer gives a formitable head that displays light lacing. Bright clarity. It's the standard pilsner look.

Aromas show mostly pilsner malt notes but a grain scent does show through. Bready and sweet, the nose is tempered by a lightly spicy noble hop balance.

Flavors fare much the same, with the emphasis of the malt complex based on the pilsner maltiness. But the grain character shows just a bit too much. Sulfur character gives a slightly harsh match-stick flavor and is quite minerally. Hop flavor isn't as prevailant as in the nose but the bitterness offsets the sweetness without bring undue attention to itself.

Still, a bit too grainy in the mouthfeel for my liking and the sulfurs create a rough texture to accompany the crispness of the malts, astringency of the grains, and dryness of the hops.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2010 03:50:24 | More by BEERchitect

DerekP

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A few notes on Penn Pilsner's Kaiser Pils:

I bought a case in California, PA for $28.59 before tax.

Drank some homemade elderberry wine in celebration of my grandfather-in-law's 91st birthday before I tasted this brew, which unfortunately threw off my taste buds.

I didn't much care for it last night, so I opened up a bottle today to give it another chance and let it breathe in a nonic pint glass. The result was in the positive direction.

There's no freshness date on the bottle, so who knows if the age of the brew is effecting the quality. The head has disappeared, 3/4's of the way in.

The look is yellow-golden; typical pilsner. The taste offers very oily, bitter hops. The smell is a little grassy, pretty refreshing, with a hint of barley.

Medium body, decent mouthfeel, but personally a brew I'll drink less of. I prefer Penn Dark, Penn Gold, & Penn Pilsner over Kaiser Pils from the brewery in the north side of Pittsburgh, PA.

UPDATE 3/19/12: I've had this brew a few times since I bought the first case. Once on-tap, another out the bottle, and just yesterday I bought another case. Long story short, my palate now favors Kaiser Pils. Hoppy, bready and ultimately tasty, with a floral/citrus hops and cracker-like aroma. It's a definite go-to, when it's around (rotated).

UPDATE 5/21/12: One of the best beers Penn makes (Penn Gold is damn good)! Such a better brew than Penn Pilsner; wish it was more readily available than its more common brewery mate.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2010 01:31:23 | More by DerekP

Naugled

New York

3.08/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in pils glass
Mostly yellow color with a slight orange hue, very clear but barely carbonated with absolutely no head
Corn sweet smell
Ok malt flavor and good balance, but has a bit of a chemical or medicinal note
Medium to light mouth feel with some richness
Drinkable but lacks style and carbonation, somewhat of a disappointment.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2009 21:30:49 | More by Naugled