Beer reviews: Templin Family West Coast Style Pilsner and Red Rock Everybody Wins 

• Mike Riedel

This week, we're going to get into two local examples of West Coast Pilsners. First off, what is a West Coast Pils? They're typically made the same way as your traditional pilsner: They're lagered, and for the most part are brewed with 100 percent pilsner malt, though some brewers can use a blend of malts. Hops are generally American Northwest varieties like Citra, Mosaic, and Centennial.

Now you're probably thinking, "Sounds like an IPA to me." And you may be right. However, the main difference is that West Coast pilsners generally have a broader reliance on hops to do most of the heavy lifting, as their malt profile is much lighter than your typical IPA. Taste-wise, look for a dry and moderately bitter lager with a familiar, bready pilsner malt flavor, paired with solid tropical fruit hop flavors.

TF - West Coast Style Pilsner: Hopped with a combo of Strata CGX, Nelson Savin, Cascade and Hallertau Mittelfruh, it also has a malt bill of pilsner malt and rice. The pour shows a well-refined appearance that's polished to the nines: rather light-looking, brassy yellow in the glass, with some mellow shine and a high, airy white head. It's pure and clean, visibly light in body. Dank herbal notes of melon, grapefruit, berries and cannabis are all over the pungent 6.8 percent aroma.

The first gulp hits like a Northwestern IPA in a way, while also remaining delicate. It's not just abusively hopped, and it flows well—green lawn and verdant herbal character from the hops up front, more melon and citrus zest as it moves along. You also get some dankness and possible pithy bitterness on the the back of the throat. There's a little weedy thing happening next that adds some bolder melon-like oils, but never makes it heavy. It's fast-finishing overall, nearly gone after the swallow. The pils malt is light, providing just enough of a foundation for these hops; anything less would be overwhelmed, and it's cool how dry they let it get.

Verdict: This is a very flavorful and summery WC Pils. The broad hop selection here is restrained enough to make this a ripper when served cold, or something to savor when it's a bit warmer. Another gem in TF's Lager Portfolio.

Red Rock - Everybody Wins: Red Rock's latest entry into their WC Pils portfolio starts with a very pale straw color and a rocky white head. Vigorous carbonation emerges, with small, medium and larger sized bubbles. The beer is essentially clear, but it may have a very faint haze.

I get dank notes with orange, mango and pineapple, some strawberries also. There's also a touch of pepperiness. A subtle, doughy malt profile hovers in the background, with a hint of chewable vitamins toward the end.

Take a swig and you may find a good dose of grapefruit, which is interesting. There is a lot of citrus character, yet it's not particularly juicy; it's about the pithy, rindy, bitter nature of the citrus, bringing a lot of aromatics. There is some juiciness, but not a lot. The beer is pretty simple in its flavors, and everything works well together—a dry, crisp lager with lots of citrusy hop character. There's a good deal of bitterness here, but it does not linger long on the finish. A subtle sweetness comes through from the cracker-like malt, especially after the hops subsides. The beer's 5.0 percent ABV is light-bodied, nicely carbonated and boasts a clean, crisp, dry finish. Very drinkable and refreshing!

Verdict: I hope more of this will come around for summer drinking, as it seems perfect for 90 degree-plus temperatures.

Seek out Everybody Wins at Harmons and Red Rock's Beer Store. I don't believe it's available at the restaurants (as of this writing). TF's West Coast Pils is only at their brewery, and probably won't last another couple of weeks.

As always, cheers!