Love Me A Good Pilsner - Sly Fox Pikeland Pils

With the 2008 Great American Beer Festival starting at the end of this week I was lucky to have a new beer sitting in my fridge which won gold last year in the category of German Style Pilsener. That beer is brewed in Pennsylvania by Sly Fox Brewing Company and is called Pikeland Pils. As I think is the case with most craft beer fanatics, the various lagers get overlooked as there are so many types of ales out there. I was guilty of this for a while, the only lager I would really ever have would be a Marzen in the fall. However, on a trip to San Francisco this summer I was able to try for the first time Moonlight's Reality Czech Pilsner, which I absolutely loved. I had to get my hands on a Pikeland Pils to compare. And in honor of Pennsylvania I decided to eat a Philly cheesesteak sandwich for lunch with this, and also maybe in the hopes that the Phillies will beat the Dodgers in the NLCS.

This pilsner starts off great before it's even opened. Why? Because it's in a can! Cans are awesome and you know at least this wasn't subjected to any light that could cause degredation of the alpha acids. It pours a very nice pale yellow, with an easily forming white head that leaves great lacing. The aroma has that nice dose of hops I am looking for. They come through as mostly leafy, like dried leaves off a tree. The taste has some light malt which comes through sweet, but is much overridden by the hops which give off a nice spicy bitterness and an aftertaste of forage (I imagine). It's just really crisp, refreshing, and easy drinking. This is what I love about these pilsners that have a nice distinct hoppiness to them as the Reality Czech and Pikeland Pils do. Pikeland Pils earns a well deserved 4.7/5 from me.