Summertime is a great time for a good Pilsner beer, don’t you think? I enjoy Pilsners year-round of course, but their soft malt character and bitter hop finish really works well on a hot afternoon in July and August. Pilsners get a bad rap these days because they’ve been corrupted by the megabrewers into adjunct laden quaffing brews bereft of any hop character, and to a degree because beer geeks seem to prefer sledgehammer beers like imperial stout and double IPA.

A good Pilsner, then, has its work cut out for it. Too bold for the mega-lager drinker and too light for the hardened beer geek, Pilsners seem to get no respect. Piffle I say. A good Pilsner the likes of Atwater Purple Gang Pilsner are a thing of beauty, and I’ll keep drinking the ones the other guys don’t.

Atwater Purple Gang Pilsner is a German style Pilsner, the other main type being Czech/Bohemian Pilsner. The beer is named for the famous Purple Gang bootleggers who ruled Detroit’s illicit booze industry during Prohibition. Atwater, of course, is based in Detroit.

From the website:

Brewed in strict German tradition, Purple Gang Pilsner is a steady reminder of the German domination of brewing before and during Prohibition. A light malty sweetness yields to the fine flavor and aroma of the noble Tettnang hops.

While Pilsners were a Czech staple, the Germans developed a style distinctly their own. A bit lighter and brighter than their Bohemian counterparts, this classic lager style was prevalent in the myriad German breweries throughout urban immigrant America.

Atwater Purple Gang Pilsner has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume with 32 IBUs. I paid $5.75 for a 23-ounce mug at Taco Mac and it came with a free logo glass. It runs $9.99 a six-pack here.

My mug of Atwater Purple Gang Pilsner arrived a a bright golden color with a medium sized head of fluffy white foam and soft malt and grassy hops in the nose. Taking a sip, I got crisp biscuity malt up front and an aggressively bitter grassy hop finish.

A very nice German Pilsner, no nonsense and no pretention to be found here. It stresses the glory of the malt and the hop quite nicely. Try it. Or the Purple Gang will know the reason why.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 



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