Whitstable Brewery - Pilsner

A local company that makes a naturally lagered Pilsner. Imagine, if you will, my joy at finding such a thing on my doorstep... 40 miles away from my house... In Whitstable. The Whitstable Brewery do like to either utterly surprise or mildly disappoint me and on this occasion it is very much the former. It smells just like a Pilsner should smell and tastes somewhat like a Pilsner should taste. There are little hints of roasted banana in the mix as well as a very slight bitter twang at the end. The beer itself pours easily and looks as clean and as playful as any other beer you might care to mention. The carbonation is low but it's got just enough for a little zing when you take a hefty chug. This is, no doubt, a delicious beer and my respect for the company is rocketing upwards.

I do, however, have on problem with the whole thing. When I think of a Pilsner I think of a stein glass that could fit a small dog inside, I think of hearty food and loud conversation. I'd have to, at 33cl a bottle, buy 4 of these to fill a litre stein, which would cost me £8ish... Which I would be more than happy to do but it's just a whole lot of effort. If this came in a pint bottle then I imagine it would become my staple Pilsner of choice, it really is that nice but with such a small size I feel that it's just teasing us with, like a terrible babysitter, the proposition of more beer if you're good. It's not like the brewery don't have the big bottles, I'm pretty sure they sell their IPA in a pint bottle... Something they could easily get away with selling in the 33cl. Oh well, who am I to judge? ... A damn beer critic! That's who!

Some people might argue that less is more. Well if that's the case, just think how much more MORE could be.

This beer was bought from the kind folks at The Offy in Whitstable, a place that stocks a great range of local Kentish beers as well as some other things that I try to ignore as much as I can.

Food suggestion: It's a Pilsner. Sausage. Done.

Drink this if you like:  Urquell, Budvar or Tzara by Thornbridge. All good calls, all deliciously light with hints of something sweet and sickly and sinister lurking beneath the surface, ready to drag you down into a misty world of fun and excitement.