Then came the day I popped the question;
"What's that taste like Fred?"
He, being the obliging, yet trouble making old man he was and still is figured why the hell not. That red tinged can was the king of beers, Budweiser, Bud diesels, Bud heavy, whatever you want to call them; I called it terrible. Not because it was Budweiser mind you but I bet if he gave me a sip of a Belgian Trippel at 7 years old I would have thought the same thing.
Beer is something you embrace and learn to love, you have to keep trying. Keep tasting, keep re-visiting and be constantly willing to take a dive. It took me over a year to discover the the beauty of a barleywine, even longer for an IPA and this is by far my favorite style of beer. I never gave up and eventually the flavors made sense, in some odd way. What did it for me was Magic Hat #9, and I never looked back...ok that's a lie, you always look back.
What makes me comfortable, what brings me back to reality, is a basic beer with a strong flavor. I am an avid supporter and fan of the High Life or the PBR's and to deny that these two beers lack anything worthwhile is to deny American beer itself. One thing craft beer and it's followers have done more often or not is just that. These beers have their place and we should respect that but what gives me hope for the craft beer world is when breweries realize this and throw us a curve ball or two but there's a few change-ups involved.
Colorado based Oskar Blues Brewery has unlocked the Pandora's box on the subject and as a result have given us something truly special. It's not your average pilsner, it's your Mama's little yella pils and it's big.
The pilsner style has unfortunately become locked into the category of your average joe's beer as far as the public is concerned. When the word comes up all that is brought to mind are stale, flavorless, bitter beers that don't cost much and everyone enjoys them. Only one part of this is true when it comes to pilsners done right.
Mama's Little Yella Pils follows the Czech tradition of a light yet flavorful beer that focuses on that classic beer flavor rather than trying to change the game, hence why everyone can like it. Pilsners are a basic, floral, bitter beer, but how each one differentiates itself from the rest is in how basic it remains. Sometimes a brewery will try and advance the pilsner, and this is where they fail.
Little Yella Pils does no such thing and this drinker couldn't be happier. They created a big, floral, hoppy and basic beer that has enough flavor to remind me that I am drinking a craft beer rather than a mass produced statistic.
Not enough good can be said about not only this particular beer but all of the small craft breweries paying serious homage to the style. It shows respect for beer in its most basic and celebrated form and it also shows life within the craft beer scene because when a small brewery can take a celebrated style so basic and with such an expected outcome and make it their own, then something must be going right.
I love basic beer. It's comforting, refreshing and simple. There are no frills attached, no high expectations, no strong tasting notes, just straight beer and sometimes, that's all we can ask for and should expect.
So don't forget, even if you're in the school of thought that craft beer is beyond your taste buds, or that the rest might be below yours, there is always a good middle ground in the pilsner.
The pilsner style has unfortunately become locked into the category of your average joe's beer as far as the public is concerned. When the word comes up all that is brought to mind are stale, flavorless, bitter beers that don't cost much and everyone enjoys them. Only one part of this is true when it comes to pilsners done right.
Mama's Little Yella Pils follows the Czech tradition of a light yet flavorful beer that focuses on that classic beer flavor rather than trying to change the game, hence why everyone can like it. Pilsners are a basic, floral, bitter beer, but how each one differentiates itself from the rest is in how basic it remains. Sometimes a brewery will try and advance the pilsner, and this is where they fail.
Little Yella Pils does no such thing and this drinker couldn't be happier. They created a big, floral, hoppy and basic beer that has enough flavor to remind me that I am drinking a craft beer rather than a mass produced statistic.
Not enough good can be said about not only this particular beer but all of the small craft breweries paying serious homage to the style. It shows respect for beer in its most basic and celebrated form and it also shows life within the craft beer scene because when a small brewery can take a celebrated style so basic and with such an expected outcome and make it their own, then something must be going right.
I love basic beer. It's comforting, refreshing and simple. There are no frills attached, no high expectations, no strong tasting notes, just straight beer and sometimes, that's all we can ask for and should expect.
So don't forget, even if you're in the school of thought that craft beer is beyond your taste buds, or that the rest might be below yours, there is always a good middle ground in the pilsner.
