American Pilsner - Grand Canyon Brewery

RoyalT

Ohio

3.03/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance - This is a nice-looking beer with a light orange body and pretty, pure white lasting head.

Smell - The grain is delicate at the nose but the hops are lacking. The overall aroma is pleasing just not balanced for a Pils.

Taste - Again this beer has some nice, pleasant grain but the "hint of Saaz" mentioned on the brewery website is nowhere to be found.

Mouthfeel - I enjoyed the light, tingly feel of this lager in between the cheeks although it could have been smoother.

Drinkability - This is not a bad beer but is "style-awkward". It lacks the smoothness one expects from a lager and most certainly is not a Pilsner of any kind. The style classification here on BA, American Pale Lager, is much more appropriate than the one on the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 23:05:11 | More by RoyalT

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-07-2013 00:03:57 | More by bsuedekum

Sturmthis

Ohio

3/5  rDev -0.3%

05-02-2013 16:32:08 | More by Sturmthis

LXIXME

New Mexico

2.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Small to maybe medium white head settles into a nice lacing above a clear rich straw golden colored beer.

Light aroma of grasses, light grains, a little bit of hops, and it's just slightly floral.

A slight hops bite in the taste that goes along with some lesser grains maybe grasses in here that I taste.

A light dry aftertaste with a very slight hops taste lingering around with this light bodied beer.

This beer might do the trick on a really hot summers day or night and since it's from Arizona I guess their playing to the right audience, or hopefully so.

Serving type: can

04-18-2013 22:54:59 | More by LXIXME

Sakimurano

2.5/5  rDev -16.9%

11-24-2012 05:58:44 | More by Sakimurano

smo

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -0.3%

11-20-2012 13:58:54 | More by smo

duceswild

Maryland

3/5  rDev -0.3%

08-29-2012 02:07:37 | More by duceswild

soupermirl

Mississippi

3.5/5  rDev +16.3%

08-27-2012 14:46:35 | More by soupermirl

UncleAddie

Arizona

3/5  rDev -0.3%

08-03-2012 21:07:51 | More by UncleAddie

evilkorova

Washington

2.5/5  rDev -16.9%

05-20-2012 22:50:15 | More by evilkorova

Bockrules

New Mexico

3.43/5  rDev +14%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

poured from the bottle into a pilsner glass

A - Pours a pretty hazy orangish-gold with a fair amount of carbonation rising to the two-finger, white head. Head is reduced to a ring of bubbles about halfway down the glass. Leaves a nice web of lacing splotches on the top three-fourths of the glass.

S - A tiny hint of clean grains and orange cream-sickle.

T - A little bit of orange and clean grain upfront. The body is a solid balance of clean malt and spicy Saaz hops with a large dose of musty orange flavor in the background. Flash of Saaz hop spiciness as the beer passes over the back of the tongue that quickly shuts off to reveal a slighter bitter orange and grain finish.

M - On the lighter side of medium bodied with plenty of lively carbonation.

Why is this pilsner hazy? Why does it have orange notes? A lot of questions could be asked regarding how well this beer conforms to the Pale Lager Style, yet it is one of the better ones. The taste is complex enough to hold my interest through more than one bottle and I would be mildly tempted to pick this up again at the Grand Canyon. All in all, it reminds me Full Sale LTD #2 which I had years ago and they have since quit brewing. Hopefully all of those foreign tourists that visit the Grand Canyon will purchase this instead of the big three for their "American Pilsner" experience.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 04:22:40 | More by Bockrules

JasonB

2/5  rDev -33.6%

05-02-2012 16:33:14 | More by JasonB

MarkyMOD

Colorado

2.5/5  rDev -16.9%

04-05-2012 07:22:29 | More by MarkyMOD

Kopfschuss

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev +16.3%

03-31-2012 16:46:52 | More by Kopfschuss

tjsdomer2

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Standard golden pilsener with decent foam and ok carbonation.

Smell: Nice sweet floral notes, and that's about it. Not terribly hoppy overal.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Nice floral hoppy notes with caramel malt background. Nice balance, but gets a bit flat.

Overall Drinkability: Nice subtlety for a pilsener. Probably one of the better American pilsener's that doesn't overwhelm with hops.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 22:40:49 | More by tjsdomer2

Unchi

Arizona

4/5  rDev +32.9%

12-15-2011 15:37:29 | More by Unchi

WickedMonkey

Arizona

3/5  rDev -0.3%

12-11-2011 19:34:52 | More by WickedMonkey

Jinholic

Arizona

3.18/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I lived in this dust bowl for years and never heard of this place.

Appearance - Clear gold straw body with a bright white head only a half finger tall.

Smell - Grainy notes with malts and hops basic pils.

Taste - Better than the smell everything is fairly balanced with the hops and malts it doesn't lean to either at all with that grainy taste backing it up.

Mouthfeel - A bit fizzy with the carbonation and a little dry.

Overall - Not a bad beer but not much good about it though it is the first pils I've though didn't suck. That said go grab one and see for yourself.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2011 02:54:02 | More by Jinholic

joecast

Australia

2.05/5  rDev -31.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Clear golden color, maybe a shade darker than expected. Light carbonation. Thin unstable head disappears after a few minutes.

Not what is expected from a pilsener. Smell (and taste for hat matter) reminds me of a low abv Belgian tripel. Sort of a yeast twang which I may be confusing with corn adjunct sweetness. Not enjoyable.

Taste again has a strong adjunct character. It really dominates the taste with a corn and yeast influence.

Struggled to finish the glass. The bad points way outweighed the good here. Disappointing.

Serving type: on-tap

04-19-2011 05:44:28 | More by joecast

Phelps

Arizona

3.35/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Enjoyed during a tasting of pilsners, this was poured from the bottle into a small tasting glass.

Light honey in color, and just a bit hazy. A white, silky layer sits thinly atop, leaving a tiny bit of spotty lace as it moves.

The nose: a balance of lightly spicy Saaz hops, apples and pale cracker malt.

The flavor expands nicely upon the nose. Lots of pilsner malt reminds of lightly toasted bread. The hops have receded a bit, but impart some of spice and a small amount of bitterness before the nice crisp finish.

The body, interestingly, is a heavy medium, velvety and in contrast of the light, prickly carbonation.

This was the favorite of the tasting but it's a bit too heavy and not carbonated enough to be a true pilsner to me. Still, I wouldn't turn down another bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2011 22:46:02 | More by Phelps

yemenmocha

Arizona

2.9/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy golden color with contrasting white head. Not sure if they intended a cloudy pilsener. Nose has some base grain aromas that is reminiscent of a BMC product. Cereal grain sweetness on the palate too with some prickly hops towards the end. Has a dryness on aftertaste. Light bodied but not outright watery. No good features.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2010 02:44:09 | More by yemenmocha

nickfl

Florida

3.2/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a clear, golden body. The head settles at a moderate pace and leaves decent lace.

S - LIght, grainy pilsner malt sweetness with some herbal hops.

T - Husky malt up front with light sweetness and some honey flavor. More malt flavor in the middle with earthy hop flavors. The beer finishes with dry, but rich malt flavor and moderate bitterness.

M - Medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - Not bad, the malt character is pleasant enough but it isn't on par with really high quality examples of the style. The hops are a bit on the sour side and there is a hint of astringent, husky flavor in the finish. An enjoyable beer, but the selection would have to be pretty meagre for me to buy a full six pack of this.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2010 06:02:04 | More by nickfl

ocelot2500

Arizona

3.03/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear straw color with a fast rising white head that leaves little chunks of lacing.

Smells of grainy sweetness.

Tastes of the grain with some grassy hops. Grain notes are accompanied by honey like sweetness. Hops have some light earthy notes as well. Fairly balanced, but it seems a little watery/weak overall.

Mouthfeel is light with an effervescent amount of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2010 00:24:58 | More by ocelot2500

Lucklys

Arizona

3.73/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Being inspired by the falls, the color of this brew is a light golden color with honey-yellow accents. Once poured, it formed a nice thick, bright head fed by the early explosion of carbonation in the form of large bubbles that seemed to expand as the seconds ticked on. They reminded me of soap bubbles, swirling with colors. There was no haze to cloud the liquid, rather it was more clear and watery-thin.

There were a few different scents in this one, all of which worked very well together to form a crisp aroma. First was a delicious sweetness followed by a malty caramel, then an infusion of light spicy hops and a twang of saccharine yeast. Mostly simple, but still quite delicious in my nose. I'm trying to get back to embracing the candidness of the brew, rather than the clutter.

I gulped the first bottle (poured into the snifter) down fairly quickly without registering how easy it was to drink. The tastes that lingered on my tongue were very reminiscent of the fragrance, powered by the same sweetness, which turned out to be more grain-like in my mouth (not to be confused by grainy as it was actually quite smooth). Along with the sweet grain, there were also notes of honey, caramel, and spicy hops that were further exacerbated by the fabulous carbonation. The same carbonation also heavily contributed to the light body, keeping it from tasting watered-down or as thin as it looked in the glass. The biggest difference between the smell and the taste was that with the smell being so crisp and spring-like, I expected the mouth feel to be the same; instead, it only felt like it wanted to be crisp, but was holding on to something that kept it from being more quick and refreshing.

Of course, that's not to say that this American Pilsner wasn't refreshing, because it absolutely was and by the end of my second and last bottle, I wished that I had bought a few more. This is a beer best enjoyed with chicken or fish, nothing too heavy, although I'm sure it would work just as well washing a juicy medium-rare steak down as it would a thick fillet of whitefish on a bed of butter pasta. I would consider this a spring beer, but again, as I am really fond of it, I might consider this a spring to fall beer, just to keep me cool all summer.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2010 06:19:34 | More by Lucklys

humuluslupulus8

Arizona

2.7/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: The beer was a transparent, golden yellow color. There was a white bubbly head that faded fairly quickly; it wasn't "creamy dense" as stated on the bottle.

S: I mainly just smelled the saaz hops and malt. Neither was particularly memorable.

T: The taste was fairly balanced like most pilsners I've tried, and it kind of had a biscuity tone. There was also some background flavor that made the beer seem not as pure or crisp as it could have tasted.

M: There wasn't really anything special about the mouthfeel. I would have preferred that the specific gravity were a little higher.

D: Overall, this was a pretty mediocre pilsner. I don't know if I would buy this beer again, but I would drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2010 01:14:51 | More by humuluslupulus8