I'm drinkin' up Good City libations: Pils by Good City Brewing Company

Yet again I am drinking beer from a Milwaukee brewery that is fairly new. This time we have Good City Brewing Company which opened its doors in 2016. Presumably they are doing well as they have two locations in Milwaukee and are opening a taproom in out in the burbs during a pandemic. I'm a bit late in sampling one of their brews mainly because I kept seeing their Mosaic pale ale and IPAs and, not having much interest in those styles, I just got into the habit of ignoring them. Life is too short to peruse shelves that are overwhelmingly stocked with trendy IPAs, pastry stouts, and other beers I don't care to drink.

There is the fear factor as well. I've spent good money on lagers from breweries that make ales 99% of the time and usually I am left highly unimpressed. They cannot dry hop or barrel age the malt flavor out of existence and you are left with crap. There may very well be a haze factory out there that makes an Oktoberfest that is so good, it would make the most discerning beer enthusiasts out on the Wiesn cream their Lederhosen. But I am not going to dedicate a lot of time and effort to sifting and winnowing in order to find a hymen in a whorehouse.

It's a real shame that the single beer coolers are often times where old beers are sent out to pasture. I like being able to get a bottle/can or two for sampling purposes instead of committing to a 4- or 6-pack. This is especially nice for breweries with which I am nearly or totally unfamiliar. But there are still fresh or relatively fresh singles to be had in some coolers.

And so it was on a trip to the singles coolers at my local grocery store. Good City's Pale and India Pale Ales were there flanking a row of their Pils. So I snagged one of those so I could finally give them a try. It was canned on 18 November which meant it was less than 2 months old. Not super ultra mega maxi fresh but still plenty fine.

Good City describes Pils as "A fresh take on a style that Milwaukee was built on." Bohemian lager yeast, pilsner malt, and "assertively hopped" with Tettnang & Saphir hops, German varieties both. At some point, using hops that taste like fruit will stop being a "fresh take", and hopefully soon. My experience with Saphir hops has been rather limited but positive overall. The beers I've had that used them didn't taste like Froot Loops. Indeed, the fruitiness was on the subdued side.

Pils was surprisingly hazy. With the proliferation of the Kellerpils, pilsners that aren't crystal clear are no longer novel. I must have looked silly holding my glass to the light and I felt like the kind of person Pantone marketers laugh at. Is it a light gold, or more of a darkish yellow? One of those. My pour didn't produce a big head but the white foam I did get looked nice while it lasted. While I spied some bubbles inside, I expected more.

Although I was not exactly bowled over by the beer's appearance, the smells emanating from my glass were wonderful. A strong biscuit scent was followed by some berry and pear and a faint hint of grass.

Not only did I smell biscuit but my tongue tasted it and the flavor was very, well, tasty. Perhaps a bit stronger than I'd expect from a pils but delicious nonetheless. Not surprisingly it had a body that wasn't as light as your normal pils but it was by no means a particular heavy beer. There was a good level of carbonation though, as with the bubbles, I'd expect a little more fizz.

For being "assertively hopped", I didn't find it particularly hoppy. I caught a little berry fruitiness from the Saphir along with a grassy/straw taste. The expected pepper-like bitterness came on the finish which, with some fizzy help, made for a decidedly dry experience.

Pils genuinely defied most of my expectations. I expected clarity and I got haze; I figured there's be a light, crackery malt flavor and I was given something more like a Helles; I read "assertively hopped" and found it to be more moderate to my taste. Despite this, I rather enjoyed Pils. While I would have liked a bit more Noble hop flavor, I felt it had just the right level of fruitiness. And I really liked the biscuit flavor here.

Think of it in REM terms. With a pils I would expect the jangly guitars of "Pretty Persuasion" and I instead got the distortion and chords of "Oddfellows Local 151". Great songs both of them. Pils may not be what I was expecting but it was still delicious.

Junk food pairing: A fresh take it may be, but it's still a pils from Milwaukee. This being the case, pair it with some Prime Rib flavored potato chips. For a real treat, dip them in horseradish sauce.