As a style, pilsners—particularly those brewed stateside—can be easy to pass up. But trust me when I say Oskar Blues’ take, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, is worth the time. The Colorado-based brewery’s first canned lager has grown since its 2010 release, and it does everything right for the style with a light, crisp, and easy-drinking pilsner that also brings plenty of aroma and flavor.

Appearance

Mama’s Little Yellas Pils pours golden-yellow like its can, though a touch darker than your average pilsner. Loads of persistent carbonation and just a hint of haziness cloud an otherwise clear-bodied beer. It is capped with an inch or more of frothy white foam that sticks to the sides of the glass and hangs around a while, too.

Aroma

Oskar Blues’ pilsner produces a big aroma. It smells more like walking into a giant brewery production facility than cracking a can at home. Its aroma is intensely beery, with biting, herbal hops and both funky pilsner and sweet honey malts.

Flavor

This is a damn fine beer for any style, but particularly a pils. The hops, malt, and carbonation work in concert from start to finish. The hops bring bright lemon, deep herbal, and light floral notes to go along with plenty of bitterness. Honey malt rounds out the bitterness with a touch of sweet, and that signature pilsner dirtiness adds yet another layer of flavor. Just the right amount of tickling carbonation and a smooth finish make it easy to go right back in for another sip.

Overall

Not many American pilsners hold up to a focused tasting. It is a style that lends itself to knocking a few back after a long day’s work, with more emphasis on crushability than flavor. But Little Yella Pils manages to hit high marks on both, packing tons of pilsner flavor while remaining extremely approachable. Ditch the macro-domestics and grab Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils instead—you’ll be glad you did.