Heater Allen Pils
This is our take of the renowned Bohemian-style pale lager that you might find in Bavaria or the Czech Republic. Ours is a little more golden, rounder, and a little more malt driven than many other versions. The beer possesses strong hop character that is balanced by its rich, round, malty palate. Refreshing and balanced, this beer is a favorite of our winery friends during harvest. 1.014 BG, 4 SRM
3.9
178 reviews
McMinnville, United States
Community reviews
Can thanks to Kurt. Pours golden with medium white head. The aroma is grass and citrus. Medium body, crisp, grass, lemon zest, light bitterness, enjoyed this.
500 mL bottle. Slight haze. Golden body. Smells of soft pilsner malt and floral hops. Quite malty on the nose. Tastes of an equally hefty malt flavor. A touch sweet at first, a little bready, and then a substantial hop flavor starts to bitter it. Just shy of aggressive. Spicy hops cut the sweetness back. Finish is equal parts malt and bitterness. Really well-made pilsner that maintains its American aspects while still respecting its roots.
Poured into a footed pilsner glass. Tall white thick creamy head, receding slowly. Clear (slight haze) bright golden color with columns of bubbles rising. Beautiful looking pilsner. Aroma of bread and spice. Mild grass. Moderate mouth feel, crisp, tingly. Taste is as the aroma: bready malts, spice, with a slight hops bittering in the middle, growing into the bready/grassy finish, leaving a moderately bitter aftertaste, which lingers for awhile. Just about spot on for the style. A top notch American-brewed Czech pilsner.
500ml bottle @ Erik's. Pours an almost clear light golden colour with a small white head. Nose is grainy, some hay, and hints of hops. Flavour is crackery with a straightforward hop bitterness. Medium to light bodied and mild carbonation. Decent
Bottle from Whole Foods Portland. Although it is a great looking and very smooth beer, I found the whole experience a bit dissapointing compared to what I expected. It lacked biterrness which is classic to a pilsner. A nice one for the distance maybe and not rough but best in the world?
Bottle at Bottlecraft - San Diego. Pours clear gold with a frothy, pure white head. Nice aroma, a mix of crisp biscuits, grass, sun-kissed hay. Light sweet flavour with more crispy biscuits decent grassy bitterness, bread, crunchy grain. Light to medium bodied with average, massaging carbonation. Well balanced finish, further biscuits, balancing grassy hops, accents of citrus peel. Great stuff overall.
For some reason, I never rated this incredible pils. I've had it in multiple situations, states, formats, and I guess I never really believed that a pils could be so good, that it is a clear standout on a draft board full of big beers. I remember picking up a couple bottles in Portland a year or two ago, and killed them all without even thinking about stopping to take notes. A truly cravable pilsner, which makes it above most others in the style. Enjoyed this on draft last night at Bottleworks, along with Prufrockstar, who is actually the person who first introduced me to Heater Allen as a brewery. Cheers to that! Brought a bottle home to enjoy along with some football. No shortage in flavor in this pils. A slightly rich, bready malt background. A slight cloudy, golden pour. Inviting straw and bread malts on the nose. Ultimate refreshment, with no flaws in flavor whatsoever, no matter how hard I look to find one. Really could drink this stuff all day. With distro beginning in Seattle, and 500 mL bottles going for 4 bucks a pop, I can make this a reality. Can't rave about this lager enough.
500 ml bottle from andrreje. Thanks! The beer is a clear yellow with a big white head of foam. The aroma has a strong bready character with a grassy and moderately lemony. Big crusty finish. Medium body and medium carbonation. Refreshing and awesome.
500 mL bottle from the Heater Allen Brewery, McMinnville, Oregon poured to tulip glass
Sight: very good, Amber, yellow orange liquid, small foam, hazy
Smell: very good Malty, not a lot aroma, nothing bad either
Taste: very good ,Low bitterness, sweet compared to other beers, very good
Mouthfeel: very good light mouthfeel, even with the higher alcohol, very good follow through, sweet finish, long bitter aftertaste
Overall: very good beer, ok to repeat but not look for
05/01/17; Sampled August 2017
A steady pour produces a one finger thick, quickly dissipating, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a golden color that shows a hazed, pale golden hue when held up to the light. The aroma has a bright herbal and lemon zest character to it backed by dried-straw, sunbaked grain, and a bit of honey leaning malt aromatics to it.
On the full0-bodied side of the spectrum for a Pils, which is my preference, the beer coats the palate just a bit as it flows across the tongue, but then finishes clean and light with a bitter bite in the finish. Herbal and bitter notes dominate the flavor, with a touch of linger herbal character that is not quite menthol, but also a touch of lemon-zest / herbal character, some grassy or weed like flavors, and a chewy grain / pale-malt character that hints at sunbaked grain in the fields, hints of dried straw like grain husks.
This is a very nice Pils. Given that it is three months from bottling I wonder if it was even better, and more vibrant somehow when fresh. I’ll have to try and get a fresher sample of this at some point, but for now I am just really enjoying this beer.
Bottle in Bend. Nice creamy and tall white foam. Lightly hazed yellow body. This presents great. Malty and snappy, but with plenty of fruity complexity beyond the hop flavors and bitterness. Warm malty aroma, with a solid fruitiness that puts this apart. Sharp lager yeast notes in the middle ground. Good hop character. Completely delicious.
22 oz. bottle from jackl - thanks again, Jack! Pours a somewhat cloudy bright gold with a finger of white head that settles into an uneven ring and island of film while lacing the glass sloppily. Notes of grassy and earthy and herbal Noble hops, sweet and crackery pils malts, hay, and some floral and citrus zest. Light-bodied, with moderate carbonation and a clean, crisp, slightly bitter mouthfeel. Great pils.
Bottle. Clear pale gold in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas are of super clean pilsner malt, herbal hop, mineral water, and a tiny bit of sulfur (in a good way). Flavors are of white bread flour, lemon, moss, and wet stones. Really elegant balance between the malt, hop, and mineral elements.
Bottle directly from Heater Allen. Brilliant gold pour with a thick, creamy white head. Beautiful-looking beer. Aroma of mellow honeycomb. Delicate straw and floral character. Nicely balanced flavor. Slightly peppery, floral noble bitterness. Fairly sturdy honey / biscuit malt structure. Supremely drinkable, crisp, and satisfying. Mild mineral. Prickly, sharp carb. Overall, really lovely stuff.
Bottle shared by Jack, thanks! Pours a near clear pale gold with a white head that dissipates slowly the edges. Aroma has lots of grass and lager yeast with hay backing. Flavor has a nice combination of grass and lager year with straw and hay backing.
smells like your typical pilsner. pours a hazy sun-kissed golden color. the hop profile isn’t as spicy as i’ve normally come to expect from this style of beer. the bigger malt backbone gives the beer a nice depth and complexity not usually found in pilsners. very tasty.
Smell of mild hops, balanced sweetness and light citrus. Lemon rind and light graininess. Pour is a still dense unfiltered gold, with a small soapy head. Taste is very balanced, not too sweet or bitter, the bitterness comes on in the after taste. Mild sweetness begins and slowly melts away into a strong and puckering bitterness. Nice
Bomber from hayduke that we had together via facebook chat. A big white head leaves nice lacing. The beer is quite cloudy yellow gold. The aroma is more fruity hops than noble. But noble hop is tasted immediately. Dry, earthy, sulfury, and spicy. That was the first sip. The second was full of citrus and tropical fruit indicating a good blast of West Coast hops as well as the Noble. A little lemon, too. This is not a classic German Pils but the hops really work well together. A different spice comes late. Rye from Hallertau? This is just a really tasty Pils.
Bottle. Pours hazy golden, medium fizzy of white head, dissipates quickly, some lacing. Aroma is grass, grain, bread. Flavor is light sweet, light bitter, grassy, Bready grain. Light plus body. This is right down the fairway in terms of style. Quite enjoyable.
Bomber muled by Aaron. Clear golden pour with a frothy head. Notes of green grass, hay, some light citrus, hoppy, lemon and light honey. Refreshing!
Very crisp and dry. Pretty bitter for a pilsner. Shared w joey at The Knock Back.
Bottle thanks to Bursprak. Pours hazy orange with a medium white head. Aromas of sweet malt, citrus, floral, crackers, pilsnery yeasty. Taste is malty, sweet orange, bitter hops, pilsnery, floral, crackers, light corn.
Bottle thanks to Bursprak. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a medium sized White head. Aroma has pale and pilsner malts, grassy hops, slightly floral. Taste is hoppy bitter, light sweet, again floral, slight malty, but very clean and balanced. Average carbonation and an average light body.
650ml brown bottle. Light haze, golden colour. Head is sadly thin. Grains and hay in the nose. Taste of grain/pils malt, hay, grass. Dry finish and grassy bitterness. Good.
(Bouteille): Un essaim sulfureux se rue sur une soupe céréalière tendre et machable aux esters comme un plateau de fromage. Du miel, des fleurs et des herbes complète le volet aromatique gracieux. De la haute gouture.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Alexey’s. Thanks DSG. Clear-to-hazy blond with white film. Crispy maltiness and bready aroma, bitter, malt and crackers taste, light body, bitter finish.
Bottle... This beer rocks!... Pours clear and golden with a small, wispy, white head. Decent retention. The aroma features peppery and earthy hops accompanied by pale grains and pilsner malt. Light to medium-bodied with lively carbonation. The flavor is grainy, biscuity and moderately bitter. Finishes crisp and clean with lingering bitterness. Big-time thanks to hannont for giving me the chance to crush this world-class pilsner! This is now my all-time favorite pilsner.
Bottle shared at a tasting at Alexey’s place. Hazy yellow with a white head. Aroma has graininess, a bit of bread, lager yeast, and nice grassy and slightly citric hops. Flavor has a bit of slightly sweetish bready and grainy malt, lager yeast, and nice moderately bitter, crisp, grassy and citric hops. Medium-bodied. Very nice and fresh.
Slightly hazy gold with a white head. Medium body. Sharp hoppy bite over light toasted grain. A bit of grass and light lemony citrus. Finish is clean and crisp with a lasting bitter bite. I’ve been looking to get my hands on this for a while and it did not disappoint. Easily one of the best pilsners I’ve had.
22 oz. bottle, bought in Portland at BeerMongers. Slightly hazy, burnished gold pour with a gorgeous, fluffly, magnanimous white head. Nose and flavore are stunning, with cracker, toasted bread, spicy hop giving way to more pronounced herbal and grassy bitterness, and hints of rye and yeasty dough. High carbonation, clean and floral, quenching. Glorious pils.