Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Parsons Brewing Company traditional German pilsner.

I love trying a brand new beer from a brand new brewery, so I was relishing the chance to try Parsons traditional German pilsner, a brewery owned by a relative of mine, Chris Parsons, out of Prince Edward County, Ontario.  PEC is known more of a wine than a beer destination, but the county is really making a name for itself in general as being a place to get local food and drink, so Parsons should fit right in to that scene.  They are in the process of building a new, proper brewery so in the mean time are brewing from a temporary location, but despite the close quarters and temporary nature of their brewery they have made a tasty and smooth pilsner.

It's quite blonde in colour as is is befitting a proper pilsner, and fortunately it has no sediment which is a problem that some new beers have if you are not a fan of sediment. This is a clear and promising sign that they take a lot of care when brewing.  It's brewed with two different types of hop which is something that you notice right off the top as it's a decently hop forward beer with distinct floral and almost woody notes but not a beer that has so much hops that it will turn people off.  From this hop forward tongue it progresses into a surprisingly sweet, almost Vienna lager-esque middle, a surprising and welcome change in pace from the hop forwardness. After this sweet middle it trails off into a slightly bland and fairly watery finish, which was a bit of a let down after the promising intro and middle but not so bad that it ruins the whole beer experience.  This is a very promising beer, this batch tasted like it was bottled quite young so future batches where they let it ferment for a bit longer could turn out to be excellent.  My father and grandfather, both fairly set in their beer ways, really liked this beer so to me that's confirmation that this has the potential to be a beer for everyone to enjoy.  

Their brewery and tap room is still under construction, but you can get their beer at the County Canteen in Picton, ON and they are hoping to have it on tap in other locations in Prince Edward County soon. I'm definitely looking forward to trying more of their beers and visiting them when they have completed their new space, which I am told should be sometime in August if all goes well.



Rating: 3.5 Steins
ABV: 5%
IBU: 35

What you need to know

County Canteen
279 Main St. W
Picton, ON
K0K 2T0

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https://www.facebook.com/ParsonsBrewing/

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@Parsonsbrewing