Churchkey Can Co. Pilsner

BR says:  During a recent visit to The Cannibal, I came across a unique can of beer. Being somewhat of a sucker for cool packaging, I had to pick up a can of Churchkey Pilsner. And by can, I mean an old-school, steel can with no newfangled pull-tab. Everyone has an old can opener at the bottom of the silverware drawer but how often do you get to use it?
 
We took the can over to Proletariat to share with a Bartender Cory who looked bemused until we showed him the churchkey opener we had dug out to get at the suds. For something that screams "gimmick", albeit a gimmick in a really cool package with a retro design, we were surprised by the quality of this full-bodied American Pilsner style beer. It's from a new brewing company from Seattle, Wa.,  Churchkey Can Co., which contracts with Two Beers Brewery to produce a delicious, malty Pilsner.

Aside from initial foaming when opened, the beer poured a hazy dark gold and looked to be unfiltered. It had a malty aroma with some hop presence and a surprisingly full-bodied flavor -- much bigger than a traditional pils -- with solid hop bitterness in the finish. There was a bit of graininess in the finish and didn't have a clean pilsner profile but we've definitely had worse.

And Bob did a little research because BR has some terrible gaps in pop culture knowledge and the comment "isn't the guy from Entourage involved?" drew a blank stare from her:  From the company's website, "Co-founded by Portland-native Justin Hawkins [Wieden+Kennedy/Nike designer] and actor Adrian Grenier [from Entourage], Churchkey Can Co. began as the desire to someday experience a great beer in a simple can as the generations before had. Quickly realizing the flat top can was all but a memory, Hawkins and Grenier set the wheels in motion to found Churchkey Can Co."

"Our home brewers Lucas Jones & Sean Burke are the creators of the Churchkey Can co. Pilsner Recipe. They have been crafting home brewed beer in their garages for many years. They share these brews with their friends at backyard BBQs and over the holidays as gifts. They love this hobby and are passionate about their beer and the community they cultivate with it. We are very excited to have these two All-American guys create the recipe for the Churchkey Pilsner. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we do."