'Pil' vs Two Prairie Pilsners

Several weeks ago there was a post on Twitter about how Molson's Old Style Pilsner "Pil" is not a Saskatchewan beer and that people should stop referring to it as the official beer of Saskatchewan. Wow, the comments were very heated with some of them were as if you were openly stating that your political party of choice is much better than their political party of choice, which is something that gets a lot of aggressive chatter on the prairies. So, I decided to go to my local liquor store and compare Pil with the first two Pilsners I could find. I wish I could've added a Pilsner from Saskatchewan to the list but I really didn't want to drink Great Western's Brewhouse, I have bad memories of that beer. I compared Molson's Pil with Fort Garry Frontier Pilsner and Winnipeg Brew Werks Pils.

Fort Garry Frontier Pilsner - I actually reviewed this beer less than a year ago! The Pilsner has a clear golden straw appearance with a lot of carbonation in the body, light amount of snow white head on top that mostly clings to the glass. The aroma is very sweet, lots of straw, honey and a hint of apple juice. Taste is a heavy straw presence and caramel, hint of bubble gum. Sweet as heck. Aftertaste is a bit of a burnt plastic taste.

Molson Old Style Pilsner 'Pil' - Very light golden straw body, very clear and clean, light amount of carbonation in the body and a very light amount of snow white foam on top. The aroma is insanely sweet, honey, and notes of straw, lots of straw. The taste is straw, a lot of sweetness, bit of corn, sweet grain, hint of grassiness. Sweeter than I'd like, a bit like chewing on straw (which I have done as a child).

Winnipeg Brew Werks Pils - I've written a lot of reviews about Manitoban beers over the past decade or so but my review of WBW's Pils is by far the most popular Manitoban beer review I've ever written. WBW recently moved into Oxus Brewing so this is the first time sampling this beer since the move. Pours a bright golden straw body with a lot of carbonation in the body, moderate amount of snow white head on top. The aroma is mildly sweet with notes of straw, honey, and a tad bit of grassy hops at the end. The taste is sweet, grassy, notes of straw, honey and a tad grainy. Very smooth but has bite, I think this may be the gold standard for prairie Pilsners... but I'm likely very biased as I was the very first person outside of the brewery to ever sample this very beer back in 2018.

I've stated for years that Lagers and Pilsners will become popular in the craft beer scene and we are here now. Support your local craft breweries, they actually put money back into the local economy rather than to Chicago or Belgium.