Praised Pils has Baltimore roots
Victory Prima Pils got a rave review in today's New York Times, winning the tasting of Pilsners organized by Times writer Eric Asimov.
Baltimore has many fans of that Pils, brewed in Victory's Dowingtown, Pa., brewery. Some of us remember that Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet, Victory's co-founders, used to work at the now defunct Baltimore Brewing Co. One gray winter day in 1996 a busload of regular customers of the Baltimore Brewing Co. took a bus up to Dowingtown to see Covaleski and Barchet and their then new brewery.
It was quite a trip, organized by bartender Brad Plymale. We drank a lot of good beer and didn't have to drive. I recall that one of the bus riders, Lothar Weber, who presides over Binkert's Meats in East Baltimore, passed along a beer drinking tip.
Lothar told me that the secret to enjoying life, or at least the morning-afters of life, was to drink finely filtered Pilsners and to swallow a zinc tablet two hours before imbibing. Correctly filtering a Pilsner, the way German brewers do, Lothar said, eliminates the components of beer that can give you a headache. Taking a zinc tablet, he said, has a similar effect.
I had never heard that.
Has anybody tried the zinc treatment?
Finally, the draft Pils served at the Baltimore Brewing Co. was magnificent.
I recall it as being even livlier, crisper than the bottles of Prima Pils.
Any other opinions of Prima Pils compared to Baltimore Brewing Co. Pils?
Comments
I loved the Baltimore Brewing Co. beers. I remember the first year that they brewed their Christmas beer ( I think that it was about 11% alc.) Back when I used to brew beer, I would get some good tips from Theo.
Posted by: RayRay | April 29, 2009 12:25 PM
Oh how I miss Baltimore Brewing Co. I loved the Pils.
Posted by: ken | April 29, 2009 6:04 PM
Rob, In a comparison of each beer - since BBC is no longer in existence - I personally would start by counting the GABF medals that each Pils won. The best part of this exercise is that each beer is a decorated veteran of the GABF - so there would be clear, blind tasting, evidence...
Posted by: Joe Gold | April 30, 2009 10:38 PM
The Pils was always my favorite at the old BBC. However, they stopped using whole-flower hops and relied entirely on pellet hops. While this noticeably reduced the aroma of the pils, it was still the best in Maryland.
Victory still uses whole-flower hops in the production of Prima Pils and the even more hoppy Braumeister Pils. Regrettably, one cannot purchase Barumeister in 12 oz. bottles.
I have enjoyed pilsners from the world over since 1980 and consider those from Victory to be among the finest to be found anywhere.
World class.
(Thanks, Pilsman, a definitive answer, Rob )
Posted by: Pilsman | May 1, 2009 11:04 AM
I love the Prima Pils. Probably the best that I've had from a U.S. brewer (since BBC). The BBC Pils was amazing, awesome hop aroma & flavor with bready malt, crisp finish.
Does anyone know if BBC ever did decoctions for their beers?
Posted by: Glenn | May 8, 2009 1:54 PM