We absolutely love Central City's almighty Red Racer IPA so their Pale Ale was definitely on the radar. These guys up in BC really know how to use their hops and we're hoping to see more of their beers here in the US soon!

From the Central City site:

"The beer lover's pale ale. Big and bold with lots of flavour from the use of crystal malt and hops from the Yakima Valley in Washington State. A good pairing with pizza, prime rib, steaks, burgers and chicken."

Here we go...

Pour - medium golden in color, bubbly goodness with a very thick, fluffy head that leaves tons of lacing on the inside of the glass. Good stuff!

Aroma - good amount of hoppy goodness in the nose. Citrus combines nicely with the malt back to this pale ale. All is as it should be. Spot on for an American, or Canadian as it may be, Pale Ale (APA). 

Taste - lemon and orange citrus flavors, floral hoppiness and a good deal of malt sweetness to even things out quite well. Nothing fancy as far as taste goes but this is one very drinkable pale ale. Plenty of fresh hop flavor packed into this one. 

Overall - I'd have to say it win's out over quite a few Pale Ales in my opinion. It's balanced and has a certain quality to it that really does it for me. Easy drinking and portable. Perfect for any outdoor adventure. 

Note - After checking the Central City website it appears that they offer quite a few canned craft beers. They include their IPA, Pale Ale, Lager, White Ale, Pumpkin Ale, Winter Ale and now an ESB.

Two canned pilsners and not an ounce of corn in sight. I know that Pikeland Pils is a German Pilsner whereas Mama's Little Yella Pils is a Czech Pilsner but I still thought it would be fun to compare the two. 

The Contenders

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils (Phoenixville, PA) - "A Northern German style Pilsner brewed with imported German Pils malt and hopped with German and Czech hops. Light in body, light straw in color and dry." 4.9% ABV

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils (Lyons, CO)- "Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous...It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast." 5.3 ABV

Let's get it on...

Pour 

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils - Very light golden, almost yellow in appearance. Crystal clear with plenty of bubble streaming upwards towards a very fluffy, almost chunky white creamy head.

Mama's Little Yella Pils - nice golden-sun colored with a good two inches of fluffy, frothy head. Clean and clear. Everything is as it should be.

Aroma 

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils - Slightly sweet and slightly sour smelling. The smell of a great pilsener has never been something I really get excited about, it just seems to lack something. Lets just say aroma is not the defining character in my opinion.

Mama's Little Yella Pils - sweet, a bit citrusy, a tad malty, some yeasty spiciness (clove and banana) reminds me of a hefeweizen.

Taste 

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils - Very crisp, bitter and somewhat sweet up front. The Saaz hops, I presume, give this a character that is almost acrid, I guess that sounds bad but its just very different than the type of flavor profile other hops provide. Its a touch sweet and very dry in the finish. Great hop presence and perfect carbonation make this a very refreshing beer.

Mama's Little Yella Pils - a bit grassy and drying with a sharp, slightly metallic bite. A couple sips in and a bit of fruity estery flavors come out along with the slight spiciness as well. Not a whole lot of explosive flavor but this is par for the course. Simple and very drinkable.

Overall 

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils - You want a good German Pilsner in a can? This is it.

Mama's Little Yella Pils - not my favorite of the OB canned offerings but its a HUGE step up from almost all of the other canned pilsners available. 

Winner - Mama's Little Yella Pils

I am going to award the win to MLYP based solely on drinkability and the name. Well, okay, there were some other reason I chose it. It definitely had a crisp finish with some floral hoppiness that set it apart. For the style and the vessel it comes in, I don't think you'll do much better than this beer. Cheers!

The newest release from the good folks at Oskar Blues. This is also their first canned lager release. 

From the Oskar Blues site:

"Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous...It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, Mama’s gentle hopping (about 35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) makes it a luxurious but low-dose beer...Sadly, the Feds rejected our “Take Two and Call Us in the Morning” line on the can."

Here we go...

Pour - nice golden sun colored with a good two inches of fluffy, frothy head. Clean and clear. Everything is as it should be.

Aroma - sweet, a bit citrusy, a tad malty, some yeasty spiciness (clove and banana) reminds me of a hefeweizen.

Taste - a bit grassy and drying with a sharp, slightly metallic (not from the can!) bite. A couple sips in and a bit of fruity estery flavors come out along with the slight spiciness as well. Not a whole lot of explosive flavor but this is par for the course. Simple and very drinkable. 

Overall - not my favorite of the OB canned offerings but it's a step up from most of the other canned pilsners out there. I feel like it was missing something or maybe I was missing something, either way I was neither wowed nor bummed out by this one.

Note - Oskar Blues started canning their beers (before canned craft beers were cool) back in the fall of 2002 with a hand-canning line in a 60-year-old barn next door to their brewpub. Recently they opened a production facility and a new brewpub in nearby Longmont, Colorado (also home to Left Hand Brewing).