Creemore Springs Traditional Pilsner

Name: Traditional Pilsner
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.3%
Serving: 341ml bottle
Brewery: Creemore Springs
Location: Creemore, ON, Canada
Weblink: Creemore Springs Traditional Pilsner

Soo... how to get to grips with this beer (b)log? Do I want to make it cool and clinical, or a bit more chatty. It is only supposed to be an aide memoir so I guess the beer review will form a large chunk of it. Hmm, thinking out loud in text, is that healthy? Who knows...

Anyway, Creemore Pilsner. I have to admit that I haven't been overly impressed by the Creemore beers that I have tried in the past; they just seem a little lacking in class. The fact that they seem to have fallen for the current LCBO con that "great beers come in cans" might be something to do with it. Sadly, we in Ontario are being told, by people who should know better, that cans are a good way to package craft beers. I guess the LCBO's taste buds are so shot from years of drinking Coors that they can't taste the can taint any more. They are wrong. Easy to handle, easy to transport, and offering mix-and-match at the store seem to be their prime motivations, not preserving the beer's taste. Still, this has been sufficient to put me off Creemore before now. However, after trying a Creemore on draught (big shout to the increasing number of Ottawa pubs carrying craft beer on draught!) a couple of weeks back and being mildly impressed, I thought I'd invest in 12 bottles of their Traditional Pilsner, to see if they changed my mind.

So, the beer pours well, with a light, open head. It has a rich, amber colour and is vigorously effervescent. As far as it goes, this is a very straight pilsner. Disappointingly the aromas are a bit flat, with only a slightly hoppy bitterness being noticeable. However, I'd point out here that my usual tastes are for much darker beers than this, and so my viewpoint is slightly skewed! As far as flavour goes, the beer starts slightly - but only slightly - sweet, with a pale malt tone, but very rapidly switches to a robust, hoppy, almost metallic bitterness. The finish is biscuity, with some remianing malt and hop aromatics swirling up my nose. As it says on the label, this is a traditional, classy pilsner. I'm not really in a position to judge the absolute quality of this particular pilsner as, frankly, I don't drink that much of the stuff. But from what I have tasted so far, this is likely to be one of the better options for a cool summer sip. If I'm honest, I actually prefer the beer's aftertaste to its actual taste. It is definitely a beer that I could see myself nursing a pint of on a terrasse; just sipping every now and again to top up the lingering malty-yeasty aftertastes. Unfortunately, I can see that leading to a nasty, warm half-pint. We'll see. For now, one to enjoy on the hot days.