Beer of the Weekend #1,025: Nordic Pilsner

My brother-in-law, The Grip, is in town. He likes beer, especially pilsner. However, he was not a fan of Nordic Pilsner, brewed by the Millstream Brewing Company of Amana, Iowa, so I volunteered to drink the rest of his sixer.



Serving type: 12-ounce can. No freshness date. The Millstream Facebook page posted that sixers were available for pickup on March 1, so this may have been canned in January or February.

Appearance: Poured into a pilsner glass. The color is clear, light to medium gold. A finger of off-white, bubbly, buttery head dissipates slowly and leaves a thick skim and sticky collar.

Smell: The aroma is light overall, but there are scents of earthy hops, esters reminiscent of berries and cherry, and a touch of honey.

Taste: It mirrors the aroma and is also light overall. Earthy hops, a hint of adjunct malt (likely rice, though it would be unsurprising if an Iowa brewery used corn), and hints of esters.

Fun facts about Nordic Pilsner:

• Style: Pilsner.

• Price: Unsure.

• Alcohol content: 4.3 percent ABV.

• IBU: 40.

• Pairings: Though not food, the brewery website lists “fishing, hiking, grilling, tailgating, sporting events, parties, pool days, game night, concerts, boating” as pairings.

• The Nordic Pilsner webpage URL is millstreambrewing.com/beers/dicke-frau/. The dicke-frau part make me curious, and it looks like Dicke Frau was a previous (or maybe seasonal) pilsner brewed by Millstream. Are they the same beer but with different names? Maybe. They share a URL.

• It seems like Oktoberfest beers are being released earlier and earlier every year. Case in point: Millstream is having an Oktoberfest release party on Sunday … which is July 9. Millstream’s Facebook page has a video of Oktoberfest cans on the canning line on June 28.

The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.