Oshkosh Beer Sampler: Piercing Pils

A slanted and endless survey of what’s pouring in Oshkosh, tallied one beer at a time.

What: Piercing Pils, something of a Czech Style Pilsner; brewed with a White Pear Tea and Pear juice by the Dogfish Head Brewery of Milton, Delaware.

Where: Festival Foods in Oshkosh is selling 4-pack of Piercing Pils for $7.99

Why: Because it will remind you of spring. Plus, it’s such a comfortable drinker and, in the end, that’s still what it’s all about. Personally, I prefer my lagers straight up without the fruity-tooty bullshit or “rad” craft-beer malarkey this beer reeks of. The point of a good lager, after all, is to experience the clean, unobstructed flavors of malt and hops commingling into something beautiful. Sorry fella, not today. All the same, I enjoyed this beer.

It drops from the bottle with a golden glow and a tight, white head. The aroma comes up all woody and earthy. The pear thing works surprisingly well. It leans towards a green, just-ripe pear flavor that tucks right into the mellow earthiness of the Saaz hops. It gets around to a clean tartness before arriving at a dry and bitter finish that is especially refreshing. There aren’t many fruit beers I care to drink in quantity, but this is one I’d gladly have multiples of. At 6% ABV, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.