Tasty Fever!

I don’t often drink pilsner beers. Normally I opt for a pale ale or a wheat beer if I want something lighter, but in the name of beer sampling, I thought I’d try something that’s a little different from what I normally go for.

The Lagunitas Brewing Company is out of Petaluma, California, making this the first California beer I’ve tried for the blog. I’ve had Lagunitas beer previously, but I couldn’t remember anything about what beer I had tried from the brewery as it’s been a couple of years, and chances are my old roommate or old neighbour at the time drank all the beer before I could really develop an opinion on it.

The Lagunitas Pils, their pilsner offering, was a good refresher for me of the Lagunitas brand. It was clean, light and ideal for a hot day, as many days in Florida have been lately. It’s very nice and crisp–much better than the brands normally associated with American lager beers.

I had this beer at Stardust, where I’ve been drinking most of the beers for this project, and it’s been a brand we’ve had on hand for as long as I’ve worked here this past December. The pilsner is available all year from what I can tell on their website, which is good for those of you whose perception of lager beer is that of Budweiser, Stella Artois or Carlsberg. Pilsners can be beautiful, people!

• Beer: Czech Style Pilsner/Pils
• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
• From: Petaluma, California
• Purchased at: Stardust Video & Coffee, Orlando, Florida
• Notes: What an American pilsner should taste like–clean, smooth, tidy. Best when it’s ice-cold and served up at a backyard barbecue, pool party or after mowing a lawn in the hot-ass Florida sun. The Pils goes well with a variety of foods, as most good pilsners do: pizza, barbecue, tacos, sandwiches, dim sum, phad thai, sushi, fried chicken, etc.