Victory Prima Pils poured a delightfully sunny, golden yellow with a fluffy white head. Mine poured with 1½ fingers, while my companion’s poured with well over two fingers, plus his stuck around for much longer than mine. Maybe my glass wasn’t quite as beer-clean as I had thought?

The aroma of Prima Pils was mostly grassy, herbal hops, backed by a sweet, bready malt and yeast. The grassiness was the star here and even before tasting, I knew this would be a thirst-quencher.

Its lively, but not overdone, carbonation danced on the tip of my tongue, smoothing out as it slid down the sides and back of my tongue. Overall the body was medium-light and wholly refreshing, with a hoppy dessication on the sides of my tongue through the finish.

I had taken my very first sip just as my company was arriving. After swallowing, I bounded downstairs to let him in and, once a few good moments had passed, all of a sudden I was treated to a lovely malty aftertaste; one of sweet, unbaked bread. I was happily surprised to have this sneak up on me so many minutes after the sip was finished.

Once I had more time to discern the flavor entirely, I found that the palate followed that of the nose quite well; grassy hops at the start along with some grapefruit toward the middle of the tongue (which my companion had pointed out—definitely a good call there!), leaving that lovely dryness in the finish that I mentioned above. The hops became more and more balanced by the bready malt as I enjoyed sip after sip. Truly a complex German-style pilsner that I cannot wait to pick up again.

At 5.3% ABV, Victory Prima Pils is a perfect summertime session beer, leaving the palate refreshed and ready for more. I highly recommend this brew.

Want to learn more about the German pilsner style? Deron laid out some history, characteristics and great food pairing ideas in his Top 5 German Pilsners. Check it out!

Cheers!

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