Nirvana PILS Lager

Nirvana PILS Lager is an alcohol-free pilsner from Nirvana Brewery, a London-based brewery specialising in beers without alcohol. Inspired by the traditional pilsner style, it aims to combine a light malt character with a more pronounced hop presence and the clean, crisp finish associated with this type of lager.
I’ve been interested in how dedicated alcohol-free breweries approach traditional beer styles, particularly when they aren’t trying to replicate a specific alcoholic product. With Nirvana PILS, I’ll be looking at the balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness, the level of carbonation and whether it delivers the dry, refreshing finish I’d expect from a pilsner.

Appearance:

Straw colour with plenty of carbonation and an immediate, persistent head. Some lacing as the head recedes. The fizz settles to a few bubbles after a short while.

Nose:

Honey-drizzled pineapple, green apples, some funky notes and a little petrichor are the first wave of aromas from this lager. There’s some hop bitterness, but it’s dominated by the more tropical fruit elements. After some time, there are some balancing notes of tobacco and leather.

Taste:

The first sip is very pleasant. Lovely and refreshing with a mix of the fruity flavours consistent with the nose along with the honey and a little of that leather and tobacco. Very little bitterness, so very fruit/sweet forward, which I personally like. After a few sips, the sweetness does subside slightly to reveal a little bitterness, but not too much. The carbonation is just right too, adding texture without impacting the drinking experience in a negative way (bubbly nose!).

Finish:

The finish brings a little sweetness from the honey along with some apple, but the bitterness lingers a little longer. There are some arable flavours of hay and cut grass mingling about too.

Overall:

I really like this one. It’s a good thirst-quencher and has a great flavour profile while remaining quite light and approachable. It’s also flexible enough to drink with anything I would have thought. It’s the kind of beer that you can’t leave to rest for any length of time and end up finishing quicker than you wanted, so have to get another!

Drink With:

Anything, it’s got a very accommodating set of aromas and flavours.

Would I buy Again?:

I would for sure.