Ever love to have a nice, easy drinking, un-complicated beer during the summer? Many of us default to Heineken, Budweiser, or some other big name lager over the summer months. I, for one, don’t mind drinking a heavy stout on the hottest summer day. I know that I’m a weirdo, so I don’t expect the same out of everyone else.  Many of you are weirdos, too…I can feel it. However, there are some normal people among us, so I want to talk about a beer in the vein of the first line of this post.

I mentioned before that I wanted to review a few canned beers for the next little bit, so I want to start with a good, clean, and simple summer beer from Oskar Blues. Mama’s Little Yella Pils is obviously a Pilsner style beer, which is in the lager family. (If you want to brush up on Pilsner or the meaning of these various terms, click here.) I also want to mention that this might be a good gateway beer to get your friends drinking more craft stuff. It’s still very much like what they are used to, just better.

The Pour: MLYP poured with a very clean, yellow hue, which was slightly more colorful than the typical American macro version of pilsner. Maybe that was prescient of it having flavor and character, unlike it’s macro counterpart. There was very little head retention, and the beer appeared surprisingly lethargic in the glass. One would normally expect the bubbly body of many a normal pilsner, but this was more subdued.

The Nose: There was not an abundance of aroma in MLYP, but I think that was the intention. Sweetish aromas and notes similar to American macros were abundant in the this particular beer. Yet, there was more aroma and character to the beer than macro versions.

The Taste: Again, I wouldn’t expect an over-abundance of complexity in this beer; that’s simply not what it is. And like macro pilsners, the colder this beer, the better. That being said, there was more depth, character, and hop edge to this pils than the average selection. It’s no Jever, but it beats the hell out of the big breweries. Its sweet touches and hops-edge made it much more enjoyable. I would recommend giving this a whirl if you can find it. I think I paid in the neighborhood of $6.99 for a six pack.

Overall, this beer is what it is. It’s not spectacular, but it would behoove you to pick this up over most other canned beers. I also want to note that I had a can of this with some curried lentils and found that to be a spectacular combination. I would suggest trying this with some other spicy dishes.  Look for some more reviews of this brewery’s line-up soon.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other canned beers: ★★★★☆