Beer Review: Victory Prima Pils

Victory's Prima Pils

At long last, this week’s beer review is Victory’s Prima Pils, a Pennsylvania-brewed pilsner that I decided to try for a couple of reasons.  First, there are a lot of beer review sites that focus on beer from California and other places out west, and while I think that makes sense given that the craft beer movement really started out there, I’m personally still a guy living in New England who’s trying to support local and regional brewers.  And so while I wouldn’t argue that Pennsylvania is right around the corner, I can read a map well enough to know that it’s a lot closer than Denver or San Diego.  And then, too, I’ve had a couple of requests for some recommendations on lighter beers, and I think pilsners ought to fill the bill.

Victory’s website describes their Prima Pils thusly:

Heaps of hops give this pale lager a bracing, herbal bite over layers of soft and smooth malt flavor. This refreshing combination of tastes makes Prima a classy quencher in the tradition of the great pilsners of Europe.

For this taste test, I called over my wife and her friend Gretchen, and we gave it a go.

Appearance

As I noted, Prima Pils is a very different beer than some of the others we’ve tried lately.  The appearance here is light and crystal clear.  The beer looks almost like apple juice.  I poured carefully and came up with some small bubbles but no head to speak of.  That’s pretty much about what you’d expect out of a pilsner, save that it might be worth noting that Victory’s obviously not trying to hide the flavor here behind a bunch of unnecessary carbonation.

Aroma

Sally said she thought she smelled a hickory earthy smell.  Personally, I didn’t get that much, but truth to tell, she might have the better nose.  To me, I thought the Prima Pils smelled fresh, with just a hint of hoppy goodness.  In general, I didn’t think it was a particularly strong-smelling beer, but I suppose that’s about what you’d expect from a pilsner.  Still, it contrasted nicely with some of the other stuff we’ve tried lately.

Taste and Mouthfeel

The Prima Pils is very smooth and thankfully very dry as well.  Not at all fruity.  It has a very nice balance of malt and hops, giving it a strongly drinkable feel.  On second tasting, and… yes, maybe it’s a little heavier on the hops than on the malt, but what comes out more than anything is that the beer itself is carefully balanced.  I love it!

Yup, this is an awesome, very well-balanced pilsner that is insanely drinkable.  In fact, I think I could sit down and polish off a little collection of these babies without even trying.  A very nice, very flavorful experience that’s just what the doctor ordered for those times that you’re not looking for a heavy or “big” beer.

Almost crystal clear, with very little head.

Final Verdict

The Prima Pils is the best pilsner I’ve had in a great long while.  It reminds me strongly of when I first had drinkable pilsners back in Germany or Belgium.  The balance of that strong hop flavor mixed with the malt smoothness and a bit of carbonation…  That’s a winner.  I’m very happy with the Prima Pils and plan to add it to my regular rotation. 

What can I say?  Making discoveries like this is a big part of why I started reviewing beer in the first place.