Hans’ Pils - Real Ale Review
Some beers are made for all seasons and everyday drinking. One of those beers is a pilsner. Normally light in ABV, body, and spirit, the pilsner is a fun to drink and fun to session beer, and that’s why we always try one when we see one. It’s like judging a restaurant on how good their hamburger is, because if you can’t get the hamburger right, I ain’t paying for a steak.
Back to the beer, and two problems that arise with pilsners: too far from tradition and too commonplace as to fall through the cracks. We’ve had both, and then we’ve had the sweet, balanced, slightly bitter, and dry pilsners that make us smile.
Hans’ Pils from Real Ale brewing has us a bit nervous. Coming in at 5.3% ABV, it’s the high 50 IBU that has us concerned. That’s higher than many pale ales, and some IPAs. Will that wreck the balance of this beer? Will it make it less sessionable? Will it remind us more of a cold IPA, and not in a good way? Only one way to find out.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Light gold (almost straw), clear with a tint of pilsner green (always a curious thing to see), and topped with a persistent cream-colored head.
On the Nose--Crisp and malty with a hop spice. It smells like a pilsner and not an IPA, so that’s a relief. True to style but expecting a hop boom.
On the Palate--A very hoppy pilsner, no doubt about it. The hops (Tettnang) are traditional to the style—floral and slightly spicy—and the aggressiveness with which they were added is balanced by the creaminess of the pilsner malt. Hans’ Pils is bready, crisp, hoppy, and creamy through the medium body to a dry finish that coats the mouth. Very little lingering flavor, proving the balance and prepping the drinker for another chug.
Food Pairings: Real Ale suggests pairing Hans’ Pils with a Reuben or bacon-wrapped shrimp, but the beauty of a good pilsner is that it goes great with just about everything, possibly even pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Who knows?
Final Thoughts:
A pilsner is not always my favorite beer. Why? Well, it’s because I’ve tried the American versions that often lighten the beer in color, flavor, and body by adding rice or corn to the malt. These beers can sometimes make the drinker feel as if they’re drinking a mass market p.o.s., and they can even force humble beer reviewers like myself to form prejudices. It’s probably why it has taken me so long to review a popular beer like Hans’ Pils.
Thankfully, the popularity isn’t unwarranted. Real Ale has ramped up their pilsner by combining the best parts of the Czech pilsner (richer malt) with the best part of the German pilsner (higher bitterness). This results in a hoppy, intensified pilsner fit to please the modern beer drinker. One key to its success is the use of more traditional Tettnang hops to make the beer bitter but not fruity or overly complex in ways we might think of when the words hoppy or high IBU are used.
This pilsner has backbone, but doesn’t compromise on balance, and it exemplifies one of my favorite characteristics of a pilsner: the malt creaminess, while adding an extra kick of hops in a fuller body. It has tradition, and it also has character to help it stand tall in the world of pilsner let-downs.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
Looking for a traditional Czech-style pilsner from a Texas brewer? Check out Pilz from Live Oak out of Austin.
And if you’re looking for something outside of Texas, try Stone Brewing’s American Pilsner.