Fat Ma American Style Pilsner

 Looking like a true classic—clear and modestly carbonated under a fluffy white head—Fat Ma American Style Pilsner is a 5.8% lager from Birds Fly South Ale Project in Greenville, South Carolina. The beer comes in 473mL cans, according to which some of the proceeds “go directly to help our neighbors in need.” Cheers!

The beer has a honey sweet nose backed with an assertive grain bill and a healthy suggestion of hops (Sterling and Topaz). The flavour is initially sweet and grassy, but gradually builds to a hoppy and floral back end.

I’d have liked Fat Ma to be a bit more effervescent, but otherwise she was firing on all cylinders, delivering crisp refreshment and a flavourful bouquet.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Folly Rice Lager

Been a while since I’ve seen something new from Folly Brewing in my local liquor store, but I spotted their Rice Lager the other day and needed to bring a 473mL can home with me. The cans that house the 5% brew pay homage to the rice lager’s roots in Japan. The Torontonian beer is pale gold, clear, well-carbonated, and topped with a thin white head.

Folly’s Rice Lager has a slightly sweet, grainy aroma, with a little touch of perfume. The beer is light, but decently flavourful, with a sweet to bitter progression and faint floral and citrus notes that really come out at the finish.

This is a pretty interesting little lager—crisp and refreshing; flavourful, yet subtle. This’d be a great post-chore beer for a summer afternoon.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Trellis Pilsner

A pilsner? From Toronto? How simply delightful! Trellis Pilsner comes from Amsterdam Brewery. It’s a 5.3% pale lager brewed with Mandarina Bavaria hops that comes in 473mL cans with a slightly unfortunate font. The beer is an entry in Amsterdam’s Adventure Brews series.

Trellis is a crystal clear beer—highly carbonated with a fluffy white head and a nice golden colour. The pilsner has a dry, floral aroma with a slight orange subtext. The flavour is crisp, dry, and agreeable, with  a considerable bitterness and just a touch of citrus.

Trellis would be a delight at the end of a hot summer’s day, but it’s not too shabby on a wintery Saturday afternoon either.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Tchèque Mon Bike

 A Czech-style pilsner from La Belle Province, Tchèque Mon Bike is a 5.3% lager from Siboire out of Sherbrooke. The beer came my way via the always generous WFM. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer pours with lots of carbonation and a white head atop a sunny golden lager.

TMB has a bright grainy aroma with just a touch of lemongrass. The flavour is built around crisp graininess with initial citrus notes that swings to a dry and floral finish, thanks to Quebec-grown Saaz hops.

Perhaps not as bitter or crisp as the best pilsners, but TMB delivers a delicate, floral flavour. I’d have liked the finish to pack a bit more punch, but the 5.3% alcohol offered a nice little boost.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Normopathy

 

A crisp little pilsner from the gang at Rorschach Brewing Co. in Toronto, Normopathy is a 4.9% pale lager. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer is crystal clear and straw gold under a sudsy white head.

Normopathy has a grainy aroma with a floral accent. The flavour is quite assertive for a sub-five percent pilsner, with a big grain and cracker opening note and a floral, slightly spicy finish. Almost no sweetness.

This little pilsner got me amped up (or maybe it was the fact that I was watching my Raiders open up their 2021 season on Monday Night Football). But whatever the cause of my good mood, the beer was undeniably tasty. Crisp, refreshing, and flavourful.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Absacker Helles Lager

 Apparently Absacker is the German word for a nightcap, but despite that late night etymology, I enjoyed an early evening can of Absacker Helles Lager. Brewed in Toronto at Great Lakes Brewery, Absacker is a 5% pale lager brewed in conjunction with Brauerei Rittmayer in Hallendorf, Germany. The beer is sold in 355mL cans. It possesses a clear, straw gold colour and pours with a thin layer of bright white suds.

Absacker has a lovely grain and malt aroma reminiscent of baking bread. The flavour kicks off sweet and malty, and those elements remain throughout, though the back end is accented with a lilt of floral hops.

Light and sweet, with subtle a flavour, Absacker is a well-executed helles. I bought eight and I’m glad I did, because they kept me happy during a late-summer heatwave. Just too sweet, but otherwise grand.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Figo

Figo is another Italian pilsner out of Toronto, this one is a 5.5% number from Henderson Brewing Co. The beer pours a honey-gold with a slim covering of off-white head. 

Sold in 473mL cans, the beer has a sweet, grainy aromatic profile with a decidedly floral, dry-hopped bent. The flavour kicks off with big grain sweetness, and transitions into a flowery, slightly soapy place. The back end has some noble hop vibes, but it ain’t overly bitter.

I suspect that purists would decry Figo is too sweet and too strong for style, but I actually liked it more than a lot of the T.O. Italian pilsners I’ve tried so far. The heft is agreeable to me, though I’d have liked a bit more crispness.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Ten Mile Point Pilsner

I was the first of five to arrive for a cottage weekend on Georgian Bay, so after unpacking the rental car and getting the groceries put away, I took the opportunity to sneak in a beer review. Ten Mile Point Pilsner is a 4.5% lager from Little Current, on Manitoulin Island, where it’s fashioned by the Manitoulin Brewing Co. The beer was straw gold and clear, with a healthy helping of bright white foam.

TMP’s aroma leaned hard into noble hops, with some pepperiness on hand, and a decent measure of fresh grain. The flavour moves from grain sweet to floral bitter, and it’s a little less assertive than the nose. The texture isn’t quite crisp, which is a shame, but the beer is smooth and quite refreshing.

Ten Mile Point is a fine enough Czech-style pilsner, but it would benefit from a bit more crackle and a crisper texture. Still, for a first beer at a cottage on a sweltering July day, it left me feeling sated and swell.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Dave’s Affordable Dortmunder

 Dave’s Affordable Dortmunder is a 5.5%, 35 IBU German-style Dortmund export lager built in Gravenhurst, Ontario by the Sawdust City Brewing Co. The beer, DAD, is clearly a winking acknowledgment of the world’s most popular Dortmunder, DAB. It’s sold in 473mL cans and is built with a pair of hops (Perle and Saaz) and a pair of malts (Raven Floor Malted Pilsner and Munton’s Northern Spring Pale).

DAD is a clear golden lager with a shock of white suds. It has a sweet, cereal aroma. The flavour delivers grassy sweetness, a slash of metallic notes, and a floral, noble hop that introduces a little bit of pepperiness to the back end.

I always enjoy a good Dortmunder, and DAD is certainly that. A cheeky little lager executed nicely.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Old Muddee Beer

Old Muddee Beer, from Muddy York Brewing Co., comes in some truly excellent 355mL cans with an "Geriatric Wisconsin" vibe. The Torontonian beer weighs in at an even 5% and 25 IBUs. It’s an American-style pale lager and, accordingly, it’s a clear yellow-gold colour with a thin cover of white foam.

Old Muddee has a sweet, grainy aroma, accented with corn and grass elements. The flavour is a little over-sweet on the front end, with sweet corn and malt notes. The back end is faintly bitter, floral, and has some crispness.

Old Muddee is a highly drinkable lager. It’s not as crisp as I wanted, due to the sweetness, but it’s certainly an agreeable hot day beer.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Sklepník V Oceli

 

Sklepník V Oceli is a Czech-style lager from Godspeed Brewery’s Pivovar Godspeed series. The pilsner clocks in at 4.4% alcohol and according to the copy on Godspeed’s website, this “Stainless Edition” is “fermented then cold conditioned in stainless fermentation tanks for 7 weeks.” The Torontonian lager is clear, golden, and lovely to look at beneath a white foam.

Crisp and classic, the nose has a lot of grain elements, as well as a healthy measure of noble hop aromatics. The flavour is fresh and, for a low-alcohol offering, quite robust. It balances grain, metallic notes, and a floral, lightly spicy bitterness.

Godspeed is, in my opinion, Ontario’s lager master, and Slepník V Oceli is well up to my expectations. A good, clean pilsner is a great joy, and this one delivers. I’d have liked it to reach 5%, but otherwise, my complaints barely register.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Sidepart Dry-Hopped Lager

 Town Brewery’s Sidepart Dry-Hopped Lager is a 5% beer from Whitby, Ontario. The 473mL can features the logo of the Pink Boots Society. The beer is pale gold and hazy, with a fluffy white head.

Sidepart has a dry, yeasty, and floral aroma. The little lager has a crisp texture and a flavour that comprises floral and slightly spicy notes, culminating in a short, dry finish.

This dry-hopped lager has some saison qualities—dry, yeasty, and a little spicy. It’s a pretty enjoyable little beer, though I’d have liked a bit more robust hoppiness.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Good Clean Fun

 Good Clean Fun, from Toronto’s Indie Alehouse, is a 4.8% helles lager. Sold in 355mL cans emblazoned with a slingshot, GCF is a slightly hazy golden lager with a disc of white suds.

The beer has fresh, grainy aromatics with some sweet grassiness and a dry hops. GCF has a mild, but pleasant flavour—sweet, initially, with a faint floral bitterness around back. Grassy, with a soft texture, GCF is definitely session-friendly.

Not a bad little helles, Good Clean Fun is light and tasty, but I’d have liked a bit less sweetness.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Sklepník Ve Dřevě

 The lager lineup at Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery is, based on my experience, the very best in Ontario. Another excellent offering is Pivovar Godspeed--Sklepník Ve Dřevě . The copy on the 355mL can is mostly in Czech (?), but I was able to glean that the beer is 4.4%. It’s a rich golden lager with a touch of cloudiness and a thin layer of off-white suds.

PG has a crisp, grainy/floral aroma. The beer is bright and refreshing. It’s got sweet grain and metallic notes out front, and it’s backed with peppery, floral hops.

Pivovar Godspeed has a distinctly European feel and flavour. I bought six and I was really glad to have ‘em and wouldn’t have been angry with a couple more in the fridge. It’s not really my idea of a February beer, but I’d take it year round.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Glorioso Italian Pilsner

 According to the 355mL can, the Glorioso Italian Pilsner that showed up by delivery on December 16th was canned just two days earlier, on December 14th—talk about fresh! The 5.5% beer comes from Toronto’s Left Field Brewery. It’s a crystalline gold lager with a thin white head.

Glorioso has a spritely floral hop aroma, accented with some cereal sweetness. The flavour, too, is quite floral, with a bit of soapiness and a metallic clink. The structure of the beer also features some sweet graininess. The mouthfeel is a little soft for a pilsner, but not wildly so.

I’m not totally sold on the Italian pilsner sub-type—I find they tend towards soap or perfume, though I do like the robustness of their flavour. That said, Glorioso was a pretty enjoyable pale lager.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Classic Munich Style Lager

Rainhard Brewing in Toronto is the proud parent of Classic Munich Style Lager, a 5.1% pale lager. The beer, which comes in 473mL cans, is crystal clear gold, with little carbonation and almost no head.

Classic has an earthy, malty perfume with an emphasis on cereals and cracker. The flavour travels sweet to bitter and touches on grain, cracker, and an enjoyable floral finish.

I thought Rainhard’s take on the Munich lager was pretty well executed, though I’d have liked more carbonation.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Umarell Dry Hopped Pilsner

 Umarell Dry Hopped Pilsner is born at the Toronto outpost of Goose Island—the Goose Island Brewhouse Toronto. It’s a 5% pale lager sold in 473mL cans. I’d class this little fella as an Italian pilsner. It’s a reasonably clear pale gold brew that pours with a thin layer of white suds.

Umarell has a mellow sweet and grainy aroma, with a slight floral hop lilt. The beer has a crispy texture and a pretty enjoyable flavour—it moves from sweet cereals to floral bitterness, with a whisper of soap.

I quite enjoyed Goose Island’s take on the Italian Pilsner. It was crisp and refreshing, with ample flavour.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Marco Polo Italian Pilsner

Marco Polo Italian Pilsner is produced in Toronto by Indie Alehouse. It’s a 5% brew sold in very slick 355mL cans done up in black and gold. The beer itself is fairly clear and nicely carbonated, with a fluff of white foam.

MP has a floral hop aroma—crisp and a bit sweet. The flavour is extremely flowery, to the point that it actually has a soapy quality that isn’t entirely agreeable (to me at least). I initially suspected dish soap in my pilsner glass, but all four 355mL cans had the same vibe. The beer, though, is undeniably crisp and refreshing, with evident dry-hopping.

I wanted to love Marco Polo. It’s a great style made by a brewery that I really respect, but I found it disappointingly soapy and that was tough to look past. It is definitely thirst-quenching, and the flavour is unique, but it wasn’t to my taste at all.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Frühschoppen

 Frühschoppen is both a German-style pilsner from Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery and, apparently (according to the copy on the 473mL cans), the “German tradition of meeting for brunch with friends, often on Sunday, to share beer and food ... .”

The 5% pale lager is clear, straw-gold, and amply carbonated. It pours with a loose white head and has an aroma that combines sweet, slightly toasted malt elements with some graininess and a bit of floral hops. The flavour is primarily sweet, with grain and toast notes, initially. Where I’d expect crisp bitterness to close things out, the beer delivers only modest noble hops, while the sweetness persists.

Frühschoppen is a decent beer from an excellent brewery—in a way, it suffers from the expectations created by GLB’s high quality offerings. Too sweet and insufficiently crisp, but otherwise enjoyable beer.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Ibushi Godspeed Style Helles Lagerbier

 A clean pale lager from Toronto, Ibushi Godspeed Style Helles Lagerbier is a 4.5% brew that comes in 355mL cans. Created by the team at Godspeed Brewery, Ibushi is a clear and effervescent golden lager with durable white suds.

The beer has a fairly spicy noble hop nose, with lots of graininess and a slight metallic quality. For a low alcohol lager, Ibushi has a pretty robust flavour—dry and grainy with a bit of sweetness and respectable noble hop bitterness, alongside a notable touch of wood smoke. My complaint with this lager is its thinness—the texture is not as crisp or crispy as I’d have liked it to be.

Ibushi has great flavour, but it’s hampered by the wispy texture. A nice enough little lager, but not up to the standard of a brewery responsible for other magnificent lagers.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.