Brewed by: Rough Edges Brewing, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Description (from Untappd): "Indulge in the refreshing and exotic taste of locally grown Paw Paws that we infused into our crispy Pilsner. As tropical as they are rare, these fruits ripen quickly and have the tropical flavors of banana and mango."
Would I buy it again? Fun fact, there's a very real possibility that I was the first non–Rough Edges employee to taste this beer. They released it on October 30, the first day they were open that week, and when I showed up a few minutes after they opened, there were no customers yet inside.
So, why the hurry to drink a pilsner? Well, for the paw paws, of course. Explaining the big deal about this particular fruit would take a while, so here's a nice rundown of the paw paw and why it's such an infamous delicacy in the eastern US. Basically, it's a very tasty fruit that belongs to a tropical fruit family but grows in temperate climates, and once picked, it has a shelf life of about 10 minutes. You have to be quick with paw paws, which is why they're not commercially viable.
Anyway, the beer: It was very good. Sweet and also tart, tasty but also very easy to drink. Perfect for a unnaturally warm fall afternoon. I think making this a pilsner was an interesting choice, as when I think beer styles that go well with fruit, that isn't the first one that comes to mind. Personally, I would have gone with a wheat beer. But that's not what they did, and it's not like there's anything wrong with it. Hopefully the beer will last longer than the fruit and you can get one for yourself, should you be in the Waynesboro metropolitan region in the next week or two.
