Beer of the Week: Puna Pils

From the Beer Writer: I recently heard a familiar lament uttered from a few stools down at a brewery tasting room bar: If you’ve had one pilsner, you’ve had them all. Of course, that’s not true, but with pilsners of the Bohemian and Bavarian variety being tapped at so many breweries—much like West Coast IPAs in the earlier 2000s and hazy IPAs in the past half-decade, it’s almost as if they’ve been mandated (along with Mexican lagers, cold IPAs and kettle sours)—I can understand why a consumer would feel that way. Because of the variety of hops that can be added to IPAs, they can display a wide spectrum of flavors, with one being completely indiscernible from another. But with pilsners it’s all about tradition. Brewers often work for years to get their pilsners dialed in so that they are crystal clear, clean, properly carbonated and as identical to Old World archetypes as possible. They aren’t supposed to deviate or be disparate from their contemporaries…but this week’s featured beer, Puna Pils, is. Yes, Tipping Pint Brewing‘s founder and fermentationist uses classic ingredients and methods when making his German-style pilsner, but he also tops it off with New Zealand hops. The result is a beer that comes across like a classic pils—dry with a light crackery character—but ends with fresh-cut grassiness and a citrus character that’s almost soda-like thanks to the beer’s effervescence. It’s proof that good things can happen when one takes a teensy step outside the box.

From the Brewer: “Puna Pils is a great example of Old World meets new. This beer is a typical German pilsner coming out of the kettle with German pilsner malt and German Noble hops, but then we hit it with a small New Zealand Motueka dry=hop at terminal. Not enough to overpower the delicate nature of the beer. Just enough to give it a light, almost lemon-lime aroma and flavor. Coming in at 5.1% ABV (alcohol-by-volume), Puna Pils is light and quaffable. Stop by our place in Oceanside and try a pint…or two.”—Adam Jester, Owner & Head Brewer, Tipping Pint Brewing