Firestone Walker Hosts Pils & Love

Paso Robles, CA: Calling all pilsner fanatics—it’s time to head west to Venice, California to experience “Pils & Love,” a second annual tasting event featuring more than 50 top pilsner producers from around the world on Saturday, July 28.

“I can’t think of a cooler festival,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Company, which is hosting the event at its Propagator pilot brewhouse. “The brewers themselves are coming out for it, so it’s this opportunity to just geek out with a bunch of people who love pilsner beer and make great pilsner beer.”

The event takes place at the Propagator at 3205 Washington Boulevard in Venice / Marina del Rey from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.Tickets cost $60 and include a commemorative pilsner tasting glass and all beer sampling. Food will be available for purchase during the event. For tickets and a list of participating breweries, visit https://www.firestonebeer.com/brewery/pils-and-love.php.

Each participating brewery has been asked to bring their best shining example of the pilsner style to share with guests.

“There’s no better opportunity to experience the best pilsners from around the world, all brewery fresh from the people who made them,” Brynildson said. “The common thread will be the pilsner style—but you’ll also taste the different regional signatures from the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and the U.S. It’s not just going to be the same beer over and over again.”

Pils & Love is an outgrowth of Pils Pride, a European event established in 2008 by Agostino Arioli of Birrificio Italiano. Last summer, Arioli brought his passion for pilsner stateside, collaborating with Oxbow Brewing Company to create the inaugural Pils & Love event in Portland, Maine.

“We started this very small concept of a Pilsner-only festival, dedicated to the passionate brewers and loving drinkers who held on to the style and kept it alive during times when ‘extreme’ craft beers seemed to be all the rage,” said Giovanni Puglisi of Birrificio Italiano. “We are stoked to see the festival grow and travel across the ocean thanks to the partnership with Oxbow and Firestone Walker. We are linked to both breweries—and to their brewers—by a shared love for Pilsners, but even more strongly by a longtime friendship.”

On that note, the Pils & Love event now heads to the West Coast for the first time, riding a wave of pure pilsner love.

“Every beer is going to be super drinkable,” Brynildson said. “Great pilsner is difficult to brew, and the pressure is on all of us to bring our A-games to this event. You can expect to be blown away.”