Sierra Nevada Pils
 

Review Date 9/26/2025 By John Staradumsky

 

Style:  Pilsners

  Brewery: Sierra Nevada   Country: USA   State: California   $ Per OZ: $.12 (B)   ABV: 5%

Sierra Nevada Pils! The hype was everywhere. I saw ads for this beer all over Facebook, yet I had yet to see the beer sold in any store. Hadn’t Sierra Nevada done a pilsner before? They had, of course, several in fact though they do not have a regular offering in the style. The closest would be Sierra Nevada Summerfest, though that is a seasonal offering.

Now, though, they were doing a Pils, and I wanted to try it. Then one week in mid-September I was at Total Wine picking up some local Oktoberfest beers and there it was! So of course, an eight-pack went into my cart.

An eight-pack? I was wondering about that the first time I saw the beer advertised, and since you might be too, here is what Sierra Nevada says on their website as to why this beer comes in an eight-pack of 8.4-ounce cans.

WHY THE PROPER PILSNER CAN?

Smaller cans reflect European culture, a size that optimizes the true PILS experience.

The portion size ensures that PILS stays fresh, crisp, and cold from the first to the last sip.

I’m not so sure I’m sold on this idea. I can’t recall seeing European pilsners sold in smaller cans like these, though that of course does not mean they are not. I don’t think I need or want smaller cans to keep my beer cold; I like it to warm a little to let the flavor develop. Truth be told, these little cans reminded me of seltzer cans more than anything else. I hate seltzer.

Sierra Nevada Pils has an alcohol content of 4.7% by volume with 25 IBUs. It is brewed with Saphir and Crystal Lupulin hops according to the brewery website. I paid $12.99 for my 8-pack, which seemed about a buck higher than it should have to me, especially since you are getting 67.2 ounces of beer instead of the usual 72 in a 6-pack of 12-ounce cans. My cans are stamped PKGD 081925 on the bottom.

Sierra Nevada Pils pours to a pale straw color with a nose of crisp malts and spicy hops. Taking a sip, the beer is light in body, very delicate with soft biscuit malts, then pops with earthy, very lemony hops. It finishes dry and bitter, with a firm bitterness that lingers but I think this is because the malt is so thin.

Overall, I am disappointed. It’s way light on the malt and even the hops, and that again makes me think this is a beer designed for seltzer drinkers. As a European pilsner, it’s closer to Stella Artois in body than to Rothaus Tannen Zapfle or Jever. Admittedly, it has a far more assertive hop character than Stella does. As I said, I’m not sold on the smaller cans, though one could certainly pour two of them in a glass to get almost a half-liter.

Would I buy it again? Probably not, although if I saw it on tap at Taco Mac I might try it in draft form.

Glad I tried it?  T