Isar Pilsner

According to my 473mL can of Isar Pilsner, this pale lager was packaged on February 26, 2020, making it a gloriously fresh, pre-social distancing brew. I consumed mine late in the evening on March 21—thinking about the good ol’ days of bars and restaurants aplenty, and it gave me some joy. Isar is a 5.2% lager. It’s a clear gold grog, modestly carbonated, and covered in a layer of white head. The beer is produced by Toronto’s outstanding Bellwoods Brewery.

Isar has a fresh and grainy nose, built around a Czech-style waft of gritty hops. The flavour is large and bold for an Ontario pilsner, with a rowdy amount of dry bitterness that dominates a measure of malty grain-itude.

Bellwoods’ Isar Pilsner is a crisp and clean effort, but one that has, for the style, an extremely bitter body. I’m sure that this would be a brilliant hot weather patio guzzler, but late night on a chilly March evening, it still got the job done admirably. It’s not an easy-drinking pils—it is big and bold. Guys, this is a truly solid, born-in-Ontario pilsner. You should try it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.