Sly Fox Pikeland Pilsner

Brewed by Sly Fox Brewhouse
Style: Pilsener
Royersford and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania USA

Classic Czech style. Great Beer along the lines of Victory Prima Pils. A close second.

Canned. Huge sticky head with great lasting power, slightly cloudy golden body, terrific Saaz nose. Superb balance, hoppy, tasty, outstanding example of the style.

Ok - I might get spanked for adding the Keller as a different beer - it's the unfiltered cellared version of their Pikeland Pils. But, this beer is SO much better - it needs it's own listing. After recently attending a Michael Jackson beer dinner in Philly, that was followed by an open tasting of about 100 different beers, I kept finding myself going back for another one of these Pilseners. Except for the deatly 120minute IPA from Dogfish Head, I think this was my favorite beer at the open tasting. Rich european hop aroma and flavor. Cloudy yellow in color with a thin white head. This is downright one of the best Pilsener's I've had, and maybe in my top 10 beers overall. While I'm not much of a fan of other things Sly Fox does, this Keller Pils is awesome.

Draft: Hazy pale straw. Sticky, fluffy, dense white head. Beautifully pungent hop aroma laced with minerals, herbs, dough, lemon rind, and sugared hops. Soft body with tight, expansive carbonation. Starts with understatedly coarse hop flavors. Fairly flowery and delicate just before the herbal hops take effect. Zesty bitterness steadily builds throughout. Well-placed hints of acidity, midway, is a juicy counterpoint to the soft pilsner malt base. Overabundance of fresh hopsack flavors and bitter lemon zest in the finish as lightly toasted malts return to provide balance and depth. This gets my vote for best Pils in the states.

Can. Head is initially large, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy light to medium yellow. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain), moderately to heavily hoppy (flowers, herbs), with notes of lemon and orange peel, honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. The 3.4 average here is ridiculous, but not surprising. I had it at GABF for the first time this year and from the first whiff I knew I had to have more. I traded and got six cans. I’m going to be out of cans before a week passes (this is my second already). This is easily one of the best German-style pilsners that I’ve ever had. And yet it’s very authentic, not an American revision. Incredibly clean, vibrant, wonderfully balanced, great appearance. There isn’t a single thing about it that’s not to love. Unless you don’t like pilsners, of course. The quality and authenticity of some of these Sly Fox brews (e.g., Saison Vos) is just jaw-dropping.

Unfiltered version, fresh from a growler that was not even an hour old. Drank it on 10/7/2005. Pours a lovely, hazy, brass to light copper with white-gold hues and a full, creamy, lasting white head. Plenty of lacing as well. Knockout appearance. Aroma smells of intensely fragrant grassy, spicy and zesty herbal hops. Dill, lemongrass, basil sort of thing, deep and satisfying, with a solid, creamy-honeyish malt backing that adds the necessary balance but really lets the hops shine. Fresh, fragrant, touch sour yeast rounds out the aroma. Flavor starts with a big dose of fresh grassy, very flavorful hops, continues on with a crisp and lightly biting yeast and finishes smooth, creamy and with a tight mouthfeel. Honeyish pils malt is perfectly wedded with the hops. Hints of very dry yellow fruits/fruit skins and a dry note of baked baguette and hay intermingle. Hops flavor lingers on with a nice, yet well-controlled bitterness. A real pleasure to have this stuff. This would be my session beer of choice, hands down, if I lived near Sly Fox.

My second favorite pils. It’s always consistent. Great balance and make a good session beer too. Nice balance between the mal and hop finish. The only other pils I can say is truly better is Victory Prima. If you find this buy it.

Cloudy yellow pour. Is this baby unfiltered? Head is rocky white big bubbles. Aroma is dusty hops and lemony citrus. Flavor is lemony with some nice bitterness to the finish. Tasty. Body is right too. Different but very nice.6/4/8/4/17

RERATE: After drinking this beer a few times, I feel obligated to change my rating to reflect how I really feel about this delicious brew. For a beer as light as a pilsener, this one is about as complex as it gets. The pour is a hazy gold with a huge head of chunky white and lace that lasts throughout the entire experience. The flavor is the same as I remember, which is top notch and the body is perfect for a pilsener. This really deserves more respect.