Henry Deltoid's Beer Review: Victory 'Prima Pils'

My dearly beloved BaDoinkers: I am starting to fall in love with these sweet, skunky, hoppy, fruity, bitter, thirst-quenching pilsners. They’re not my favorites but I can plainly see how this style is unanimously regarded among the community to be the world’s most popular style of beer. This week I’m back again in Das Vaterland (proverbially speaking) to review my fourth in my 5-part pilsner series, the German style “Prima Pils” by Victory out of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Pilsner Fun Fact of the Week: the first German style pilsner was brewed in 1872 at a brewery known as Aktienbrauerei Zum Bierkeller. That brewery is still in operation today, and is now called Die Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei (The Radeberger Export Brewery). It’s operated by Radeberger Gruppe AG which produces several other beers including Clausthaler, a non-alcoholic beer.

It’s time for one of my tangential rants: why did I single out the aforementioned Clausthaler? Because it’s NON-ALCOHOLIC. I do not understand that. Who in the name of all fucks in this world would drink non-alcoholic beer and why? I know these people exist, lurking in the shadows and contours of our landscape, because if they didn’t then Clausthaler wouldn’t be in its 45th year of production. Drinking beer and getting a buzz is a lot like having sex and blasting one’s load: the beginning and middle surely are great, but without the euphoric climax, why even bother? I see non-alcoholic beers sometimes at the grocery store but finding one at a pub or a party would be harder than finding a quadriplegic black swim coach at a Ku Klux Klan rally. At the risk of offending my non-alcoholic beer drinking readers I proclaim this: intentionally drinking a non-alcoholic beer is weirder than all the David Lynch films, furry conventions, Japanese game shows, Matthew McConaughey car commercials, and duck-billed platypuses combined. Who are you fucking people?!

Victory Prima Pils

Prima Pils is clear and bright yellow with a pure white head that is rather thin and weak, but overall OK for a brew frosting. Its aroma is a skunky, grainy, citrus blend of medium strength. The flavor profiles are superbly balanced and offer quite a lot to enjoy, but the strength of the flavor is just a pinch shy of the muscle I prefer for even a light beer such as a standard pilsner. The taste bears sweet apple, caramel, a citrus variety, and finishes with a mild bouquet of hops and a touch of soapy perfume. The texture of Prima Pils is where it stands out like a sweatpants boner on a playground. It is probably the creamiest lager I have ever had. The aftertaste of Prima Pils is mildly bitter with a garnish of bubblegum. The lacing is negligible with a few small foamy spots around the glass.

Prima Pils is another fine example of Victory’s ability to produce a high quality brew that stands out against its competitors. The flavor’s strength didn’t command my attention but that isn’t to say it is weak or flat; it’s just very soft and gentle. The stellar texture cushions what might otherwise be a weak flavor and gives it depth. German beers tend to have a sharp, skunky, bitterness flavor but this one is much more velvety than the typical German Pilsner. The flavor is not as nice as the Dogfish Head “Piercing Pils” but then again this is a pure pilsner. If you are a purist I’m sure you’ll agree it’s not too fair to compare it to Dogfish Head as a pilsner…but as an overall beer beverage I still like the Piercing Pils a tiny tad more.

Victory Prima Pils.

German Pilsner.

ABV: 5.3%

IBU: 30 (my best guess)

Style: 9.6/10

Overall: 8.4/10

The Deltoid has spoken.

Comments are closed.