Grand River Hannenberg Pils

Brewed by Grand River Brewing
Style: Pilsener
Cambridge, Canada

Hazy blonde pour with a thin white head. Solid aroma of hay, pilsner malt, noble hops and mild honey. The flavor feels less sharp and fresh than the aroma, but the hay, malt and hops are there. The body is light with a creamy texture and medium carbonation. Very entertaining and well made.

Bouteille 500ml. De couleur dorée et voilée. Nez malté de grains de malt, moyen de pain, léger de céréales et avec des notes de biscuits au miel, moyen de houblon herbeux (herbes fraîches, léger de foin), léger de levures fruitées (citron, traces de pommes) ainsi qu’avec des traces épicées (poivre doux). Mince-moyenne en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et un peu croustillant ainsi qu’une texture aux petites notes crémeuses. Moyen goût de levures fruitées (citron et autres zest d’agrumes, traces de pommes) accompagné de notes épicées (poivre) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de pain avec un léger goût de grains de céréales et des notes de biscuits au miel puis en finale l’on retrouve une moyenne amertume aux notes asséchantes de houblon herbeux (herbes fraîches, notes de gazon et de foin). Post-goût moyen et aux notes sèches, moyen-léger amer de houblon herbeux avec des notes fruitées (zest d’agrumes).

Growler. Nice golden yellow, with a thin white frothy head. Citrus, grassy and floral aroma. witj a strong biscuit flavour. Very crisp and enjoyable. Very good summer beer!

Growler fresh from the brewery - pours a clear deep gold with a nice thick white head that dissipates to a small surface layer and holds there. Leaves nice lacing the entire way down the glass. Grassy, spicy aroma, but soft, if that makes sense. Flavour is rich, spicy, and bready - filled with hops and good quality sweet malt. A slight fruity, mineral quality as well, either from the hard water or the SF yeast, not sure, but it’s nice. Delicate mouthfeel. This seems, as others have noted, to be a sort of Helles-Pils hybrid - classifications aside, this is damn solid stuff, and something I’ll be drinking all summer long (or as long as it is available). Another winner from Grand River.

Re-rate. Bottled July 31st, opened Aug. 2nd. 500ml bottle from the brewery. This is a golden yellow colour in the glass with a thick, frothy permanent white head. Aroma is fresh and bready with grass, butter, honey. Mouthfeel is medium, a bit sticky. I taste plenty of grain, some bread and butter, cereal, grass in the hops. It is slightly sweet. Finish has some bitterness and is medium to short.

My Bottom Line:
Grassy, herbal hop spires pierce the cloudy, softspoken cereals in this balanced and highly drinkable Pils.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the hazy pale yellow.
-Citrusy notes are also present throughout.
-The nose was more complex than the flavor profile.
-The body was lean and the maltiness not entirely crisp.
-The finish was a tad dull, mostly offering cereal sweetness and thus without much hop presence.
-We also got a bottle that was labelled Pils, but which was obviously not the same beer as this one. What’s up with that?
-Although this was quite enjoyable, it could not hold up to the Tipopils which followed, imho.

Bottled on July 31st, 2008.

2008-05-10. Crisp golden yellow body with a small white head and light lacing. (3+) Interesting aroma, light grassy floral hops with allusions to fruit. (6+) Flavour has a similar hop spectrum, light grass, straw and floral with modest not quite fruit aromas - perhaps citric hops? (6+) Palate is slightly fuller bodied than average. (3+) Well made, pleasant, but I would personally reach for one of the breweries other offerings first. On tap at Volo

Sampled at Brewery. Really fresh, clean taste with straw and citrus notes. I don’t normally like a fizzy beer, but this one worked well. This is may well be the best summer beer I’ve tasted.