Gold Crown King's Pilsener

[Illuminatus]

Picked up from the brewery on King St., Waterloo. Less than a buck a beer - the sixer cost me $6, including deposit. VERY fresh. Biscuity malt (tending more towards sweet than crisp), light, grassy hops. Gets a touch fruity as it warms. It's good enough that I'd drink it anyway, but at $0.90/bottle, it's probably the best beer value in Ontario. Definitely worth a try - at the very least, it's more than good enough to keep in your fridge for craft-beerphobic guests.

[tupalev]

Interesting - I walked by the store yesterday morning and was wondering if any of the beer was worth picking up. Because I am a ratings whore at the very least, I will give it a go this Fall when I am in the area. Thanks for the review.

[JesseM]

I'm glad you liked it, seeing as I'm the one who let you know that it exists .

FYI, the King's Pils is pretty good, probably their best seller, but I've always felt the Premium Lager is their best offering of the 3. It's the maltiest and tastiest. But then again, the King's Pils is the only one at 6$ a sixer, so it's definitely the stand-out in a lot of people's minds.

[Illuminatus]

I'm glad you liked it, seeing as I'm the one who let you know that it exists .

FYI, the King's Pils is pretty good, probably their best seller, but I've always felt the Premium Lager is their best offering of the 3. It's the maltiest and tastiest. But then again, the King's Pils is the only one at 6$ a sixer, so it's definitely the stand-out in a lot of people's minds.

Hey, I've always known it existed, just never got around to trying it. Given another three years in KW, I'm sure I would've.

[JesseM]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row? At a buck-a-bottle, you'd think 2-row, but the malt profile is more or less the same for all 3 of their beers, and the other two are around $10 a sixer. I love the malt profile though, so sweet and grainy, lots of straw, like you're laying in a field .

[matt7215]

this would be my daily drinker it i lived in waterloo. i pick up a case everytime im in waterloo and im never dissapointed. way better then most buck-a-beer options with the exception of maybe muskoka premium lager. if your ever in waterloo check out this brew and im sure you wont be dissapointed.

[pootz]

Gold crown is the retail outlet of the Huether-Lion brewery and has been in operation since the late 8os.

Ever since Harold (ex Brick Brewmaster and creator of Brick Bock) was called in to gat a sudden infection resident in some old equipment piping straightened out, (which unfortunately put some off tastes into the Lion beers at a time when Josh Oakes and some other prominent RB reviewers made an initial foray to the Huether for a tasting and panned it) the micro brews they produce now are vastly improved in taste and stable quality.

They got an initial bad knock from a one time quality issue that is totally irrelevant to the product they sell today.

The line up of offerings today are nothing exotic but all are solid, all natural, all gristed malt, cold conditioned lagers and ales. Lion's signature "taste" is a fresh bready-malty lager character which is all but vanished from Canadian lager brewing save for the recent style revival by Phil at King and Rob at GRB and a handful of others.

The new brewmaster is an accomplished pro and there are now rotating seasonal offerings on tap at the Lion pub. I think in the last year or so they had a hefeweiss-witbier hybrid, a raspberry lager, a blueberry wheat and now a pumpkin ale (which I personally prefer) and I understand there will be something special for Christmas. I have been nagging them to get a licence to sell growlers but I don't think Kelly is familiar with the concept (He's a restaurant guy not a beer geek)

Because of licencing weirdness the retail outlet for the lion pub (which sells bottled and kegged product) can only have a maximum of 4 labels. So they have a light German style Pilsner, and a more hoppy sharply defined Dortmunder called Lion lager and a "Premium" Canadian lager avilable in bottles and kegs. A fourth bottled offering is rumored to be coming soon (I keep nagging Kelly for a dark lager or ale)

The key to Lion's growing success in the neighborhood is the beer is always FRESH...don't laugh, because most Canadians who have spent a lifetime buying corporate branded bottled beer from TBS have no idea what fresh beer actually tastes like. But when they try a fresh Crown lager they know they like it better than premium priced corporate sudz from TBS. Crown bottles one brand or another weekly and that usually will supply sales for 2-3 weeks before a new batch is bottled.

I like both the King's Pils and the Lion and I usually buy a 12 of either (whichever is freshest...just ask the retail guy what was bottled last) when I stop into the pub. At a buck a beer the Crown King's pils is the bargain of the century...only thing that comes close in that price range is Muskoka lager if you get a case that is less than 3 weeks old.

[pootz]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row?

I'm sure the brewer will be thrilled his malt bill is seen as a "dosage" by his customers.

The malt silos around back hold either a premium domestic 2 row carapils malt or a pale. The malt bills for most of their brews use that as a base malt...as well they add bags of domestic and imported specialty malts from black patent to cocolate malt, Carastan and amber munich to malted wheat.

The Lion/crown beers accent the malt profile of the style brewed usually with the hop presence riding along closely in the background.


The Kings pils uses a domestic 2 row pale pilsner malt...and yes a brewer can do this and undercut the corporate brew pricing because its so grossly inflated to begin with.

[Derek]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row? At a buck-a-bottle, you'd think 2-row, but the malt profile is more or less the same for all 3 of their beers, and the other two are around $10 a sixer. I love the malt profile though, so sweet and grainy, lots of straw, like you're laying in a field .

6-row is the indigenous barley that has more protein & seems huskier, so it's often used with adjuncts.

(I see Pootz beat me to the punch).

[pootz]

6-row is the indigenous barley that has more protein & seems huskier, so it's often used with adjuncts.

(I see Pootz beat me to the punch).

top grade 2 row is primarily reserved for (and exported) as premium brewers malting barley.

Domestic 6 row has the following allocations:

as food grade maltose concentrate (malt syrup) used in candies and processed foods.

.. Malt extract syrups and dried powders for cheap-assed corporate beer,

... and as livestock feed....although now the lower grades may be expropriated for the ethanol industry.

[JesseM]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row?

I'm sure the brewer will be thrilled his malt bill is seen as a "dosage" by his customers.

The malt silos around back hold either a premium domestic 2 row carapils malt or a pale. The malt bills for most of their brews use that as a base malt...as well they add bags of domestic and imported specialty malts from black patent to cocolate malt, Carastan and amber munich to malted wheat.

The Lion/crown beer accent the malt profile of the style brewed usually with the hop presence riding allong closely in the background.


The Kings pils uses a domestic 2 row pale pilsner malt...and yes a brewer can do this and undercut the corporate brew pricing because its so grossly inflated to begin with.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for the info.

Honestly, I find every beer in the brewpub to have the same grainy house-flavour, and it tends to define rather than be a minor character. It's a good flavour though, but gets a little old. The Wuerzburger is my staple in the pub. From the brewery, I like the Premium Lager the most, but often enough opt for the Kings Pils because it's just such an awesome deal for $6 flat.

The strange thing I've noticed, is the discrepancy between how the beer tastes from a keg and from a bottle. I've had plenty of all 3 from kegs at various parties in the area (students tend to flock to the brewery for kegs due to the lower prices) and I can say that each one is significantly better bottled. Maybe keg stands and flip cup aren't the best way to enjoy any beer, but I've noticed they just taste lighter and more watery. Maybe I'm crazy.

I just wish they'd start paying me for all the advertising I do for them. If only they'd abandon their policy of not hiring students and give me a job .

[SteelbackGuy]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row?

I'm sure the brewer will be thrilled his malt bill is seen as a "dosage" by his customers.

The malt silos around back hold either a premium domestic 2 row carapils malt or a pale. The malt bills for most of their brews use that as a base malt...as well they add bags of domestic and imported specialty malts from black patent to cocolate malt, Carastan and amber munich to malted wheat.

The Lion/crown beer accent the malt profile of the style brewed usually with the hop presence riding allong closely in the background.


The Kings pils uses a domestic 2 row pale pilsner malt...and yes a brewer can do this and undercut the corporate brew pricing because its so grossly inflated to begin with.

..................... If only they'd abandon their policy of not hiring students and give me a job .

I think they have a policy of hiring only German speaking women who lack general customer service skills. At least that has been my most recent experience.

[JesseM]

Yeah no kidding Len. Customer service, in both the brewery and the pub is pretty lacking. It's not at all unusual to have to wait around for several minutes at the cash before anyone will angrily show up to get you your beer and take your money. I figured I'd be perfect for a simple cashier position so they could devote themselves to the perpetual renovations they've been doing for as long as I can remember, but apparently not. Someone could probably just walk right in a take whatever they wanted without any employee noticing.

[JerCraigs]

The strange thing I've noticed, is the discrepancy between how the beer tastes from a keg and from a bottle. I've had plenty of all 3 from kegs at various parties in the area (students tend to flock to the brewery for kegs due to the lower prices) and I can say that each one is significantly better bottled. .

If they are being served via hand pump that could make a difference vs. CO2

[Belgian]

They definitely do seem to have upped the malt dosage for this one. I finally got around to picking up a sixer. These are supposedly 100% all-malt brewed, but I'm curious as to which malt they're using, 2-row? 6-row? At a buck-a-bottle, you'd think 2-row, but the malt profile is more or less the same for all 3 of their beers, and the other two are around $10 a sixer. I love the malt profile though, so sweet and grainy, lots of straw, like you're laying in a field .

" A brewer's preference for two- or six-row barley can be born of a number of factors, including barley and malt purchase prices, quality specifications, and brewing traditions. Product quality is in turn affected by genetic makeup, environmental conditions, and the practices of the grower and the maltster.

It is widely believed that two-row barleys are the best barleys for malting and brewing (1). In fact, outside North America most of the world's brewing nations exclusively use two-row barley for malt. Six-row barleys, if produced overseas at all, are largely used only for feed. "

http://www.brewingtechniques.com/bmg/schwarz.html

don't know if that helps! I'd love to try this stuff BTW.