Holsten

Pils

ABV 5.5% • Vol 330 ml • bottle • Germany • Mid-price • Flavour 4.5
Other beers from Holsten
Other beers from Germany

A well-known 'quality' mass-market pils, this has a white, loose, thin yet lasting head and an aroma of stewed hops with a touch of malt. Hops are also apparent in the mouth (Saaz, but with occasional Goldings-like notes). Again there is a little malt. There is also a slightly tinny taste, perhaps due to overstewing of the hops. It is very lively, fizzy and belch-inducing. Towards the finish there is a cloying, slightly caramelly malt flavour. Overall this isn't too horrendous or too bland - both common failings of this market segment. More flavour than your standard ubiquitous pilsner-clone, but still well short of being an interesting beer.

OBBD reviewer: Sparks

ADD A COMMENT TO THIS BEER

If you've tried this beer and liked it, you may also like to try

Why have we suggested these?

Review updated 01 June 1999

Comments

Strong, smooth & very refreshing.
G.A.Stanbury

Well, NON-alcohol version is better.
Ivars Krafts

Gross. No different than Warstiner or other mass produced "pilsners" that are exported as premiums to the US. Never drinking this again. No complexity, no flavor, no distinction from other Euro-macros.
Dustin Alcorn

Available in a Helle and Dark. Why not pay another dollar a sixer and drink Pilsner Urquell?
Darren Dieterich

It's the daddy of bottled beers.
Ray Winstone

I love Holsten Pils. I got a tattoo on my arm (Holsten Pils old label).
Charlie Burnett

Admittedly, this beer tastes awful when drunk in 'export' version (I'm from UK). However, when you've sampled it 'off-tap', in the Landungsbrucke bar 'Pupasch', overlooking the Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, it's absolutely fantastic
Martin

How many calories are in a bottle of holsten pils?
Irene Dalton

Hmmm, wet cardboard...tasty! :-) Other north German bottled beers stand head and shoulders above Holsten and deserve to be more widely available in the UK.
Martin Brady

Holsten is a unique flavorsome, sharp taste, very well marketed and lives up to its class image.
Matty Sturt

Bborn in Hamburg, origin of Holsten pilsener, I have to say: "Holsten knallt am dollsten" which means: there's no better beer :)
Holsten Knight

I will NEVER drink this beer again. It is absolutely AWFUL and tastes of soap mixed with lemon. DISGUSTING. One of the worst beers I've had. The daddy - my arse. Get some ESB instead.
Antony

Holsten is much overrated in the UK, as you see from the other comments, in Germany its just one of many Pilseners. Better beers are Jever Pilsener, Flensburger Pilsener, both from north Germany, too.
East-Frisian

Am looking for supplier of Holsten Diat Pils in B.C, Canada.
jdbuck@uniserve.com

I am a diabetic and I find that good old Holsten does not raise my blood sugar like many other beers (which affect me like a can of coke). I tried it because they claim all the sugar turns to alcohol. I wanted to know if this was a quality of all Pils or Pilsener beers. Anyone know?
Shouldknowbetter

I drink lots of the UK Holsten WARM Less gas and more flavour. Also drinking is about projecting a social image and asking for a Hot Pils gets one noticed. And I find I fart less.
George Cohen

Probably the first German lager many people in Britain tried. As such its a good introduction before moving on to the more tasty one's. Nevertheless it has a pleasant pale appearance and a light refreshing taste. Quite unique in its taste but easy to knock - but not to be turned down on a warm summers day.
john doughty

I own a liquor store in Marlin Tx and would like to know if there is a distrubtor anywhere close. i.e. Dallas, Waco, Houston, Austin. I have had some customer inquiries.
Dot

Who's The Daddy? Well, not these stewed hops with a vague malt base that gets nastier as you drink.
Silk Tork

This lager is amazing. Not because it is particularly supreme to anything that can be found on the market, or for that matter even anywhere above so-so, but because its one of those middle of the range substances that are good for one thing. GETTING PISSED, without the same bland and repulsive taste from the likes of Stella or Fosters.
Sven

I've been drinking Holsten for over 25 years and the longer I drink It the better It gets It's got to be the dogs b-----ks of Pils lagers and thats certain
Roger the Dodger

An extremely bland,unoriginal Euro-lager.Vague maltiness and weak hops,no complexity.Tried 500ml tall can in Canada.Would not buy again.
David Hawthorne

David, if you're going to drink beer out of a can, don't be surprised if it tastes crap. Buy bottles. Having said that, Holsten is pretty bad - bland and flavourless, worse that near-neighbour Beck's, and much worse than Jever.
Steve R

This lager is superb :)
Dan the man UK

is there many carbohydrates per bottle? i am on that silly atkins diet. ty in advance.
nathan cuff

sorry 7.26 for a 330 ml bottle
Mark C

Carbohydrates 2.2 (g/100ml) or 6.1 per bottle. Not that bad eh !
Mark C

C'mon Mark C, which is it? I would really love 2 know coz I'm on Atkin's 2. Pls say its the last comment. DO u know where i can find out 4 certain? Would really appreciate it any1? xx
Angel

I'm a diabetic and have been drinking this great lager for years as it does not raise my blood sugar too much. One question, why was the strength lowered from 5.5 to 5.2. Is this just for the UK market or is it because Carlsberg brew it now ???
Lez from Aberdeen

my favourite drink out of a can tastes lovely when cold but do not over chill, tastes nasty if warm!! overall a fantastic drink which has its own distinctive flavour love it!!!!
neil bird

I recently purchased a 275ml bottle? was it a rip off cause in twenty years never seen one.
cliff

Cliff. Where I stay (North East Scotland)the 275ml bottle is the norm if you get it direct from the brewers (Tennants etc) The club that I drink in now buys it direct from other sources (330ml bottles) and saves £2000 per year. The bottle you bought is a rip off. Ckeck before you buy.
Lez from Aberdeen

the 275ml bottle of holsten pils is appearing everywhere now! surely the price should be cheaper as you are losing nearly 20% beer! can you involve trading standards???
cliff

Holsten Pils is the best and will allways be the best!
Hosten Chadwick

The alchohol content of the cans in the UK has now been decreased by another 0.2% to give 5% Volume. This must have been done so that existing drinkers of this golden elexir can now drink more thus purchace more and also to encourage more weakling UK drinkers to defect from their usual frothy p*** (Fosters and Carling). This means more revenue for the owners of Holsten Pils - the mighty Carlsberg. Still tastes very nice too.
Craig

You're lucky if you can find any 5.2% - it's now down to 5.0% - just another way of boosting profits - the taste is just not the same - after 26 years I am looking for a new diversion.
Wakefield John

RIP Holsten Pils! Was lovingly weaned on original Holsten Pils - the new 5.0% is bland euro crap. Told Carlsberg in UK & Germany they have dumbed down a premium beer with a clear market following into an also ran. Am currently buying all old stock 5.2% for final wake !
jeremy@erasearch.com

i luv holsten pils
beer van drinker

Yep the new 95 rrp can is crap, will have to find another Pils , it now tastes of nothing
lesclarkart@btopenworld.com

why are the bottles reducing in size from 330ml to 275ml but still cost the same?
ian.campbell06@btinternet.com

I have never tated such bad beer as there is in the 95p rrp cans, talk about meessing about with a good product. I have drunk Holsten Pils for nearly 30 years and I am now looking for an alternative. This has been a very sad week in this house!!
Kevin Sullivan Canvey Island

How many calories in holsten pils?
Hugh Grant

Quote "...why are the bottles reducing in size from 330ml to 275ml but still cost the same?..."
Because the cynical profiteers who run fizz-factories reckon that anyone who's daft enough to think that Holsten Pils is a good beer is also daft enough not to notice that the bottle size is reducing.
Incidentally, proper beer is still sold in 500 ml bottles (apart from a few traditionalists who sell in it Imperial pint (568 ml) bottles).
Richard English

very nice got pissed off it
jason

Where can I buy Holsten Pils alcohol free lager on Merseyside?
Norman Burns

this used to be the best beer in the world, struggled to get it when I moved to the US, went home last month the 5% stuff tastes like cr*p now in a bottle or can, can is far work
Mark

holsten pils just doesn't seem to taste the same since calsberg uk got involved .
mike

i love it one of the best lagers u can buy handsome just finished my fith pint
adolph

love it best you can buy
eastend boy

Quote "...love it best you can buy ..." Tried all the other beers in the world, have you?
Richard English

With regard to the ABV it used to be 6.0% back in the late 1980's
nick

Made me sleepy and sleeping is for wimps!
Barry Cashman

lovin it
libby

Yes, I'm sure I remember it being 6.1% circa 1983
delbert

I complained when they reduced it from 5.5 to 5.0 percent saying i had to spend more dosh to have an effect..they sent me some vouchers! Still drinking it though. Never realised there was a message board about it! lol. How many calories in a 440ml can cos I'm dieting and i come back from gym and have a few! wondered whether i'm wasting my time exercising!
Patty Spar

holsten who?
raser

Quote "...Still drinking it though. Never realised there was a message board about it! lol. How many calories in a 440ml can cos I'm dieting and i come back from gym and have a few! wondered whether i'm wasting my time exercising!..." If you're worrying about calories then try a lower strength beer. 5.0% is quite strong and it's the alcohol that gives the calories. There's little or no sugar left in most beers. I'd recommend a decent 3% mild if you want a fine drink without too many calories. Tell me where you live (the region) and I'll see what I can suggest.
Richard English

its like a shitstorm in ure mouth
stod

If all of the sugar turns to alcohol, is this a good beer for an Atkins diet? How many carbs are in a 330 bottle?
Adam Webb

If all the sugar turns to alcohol, and as soon as you drink alcohol it turnes to sugar, how can that help me as a diabetic?
Ivan Marks

My great grandpa was the owner of the Holsten brewery in Germany. I am proud of the family
Kendall Holsten

IF SOMEONE TELL ME SUGER LEVEL PER BOTTLE AS I AM DIABETIC
NICKS

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE CALORIE CONTENCT OF HOLSTEN PIL 500ML TIN, AS I DRINK THIS ON A REGULAR BASIS AS IT IS MY FAVORITE PILSNER. I HAVE NOTICE THAT OTHER BRANDS DO PUT THE CALORIE CONTENT ON THEIR TINS.
dawn@westoby.co.uk

Quote, "...IF SOMEONE TELL ME SUGER LEVEL PER BOTTLE AS I AM DIABETIC..." Your question has already been answered in several ways in the postings here.
Richard English

I have been drinking this for 20 years and have no complaints so far. CHEERS
Paul Morris

Quote, "...I have been drinking this for 20 years and have no complaints so far. CHEERS..." Isn't it time you tried something else, then? I make it my business always to try a different beer if there is one, even if I know that one of those available is a beer I like. How else could one get any learning about beer? And how do you know that there's not a wonderful beer just waiting for you to discover, while you've been sticking to this, very ordinary, mock Pilsner.
Richard English

The new (UK Carlsberg, 5%) Holsten is unrecognisable as Holsten Pils. I was a big fan for years of what was a quite distinctive lager, but this is a waste of time. Closest thing I've found is Aldi Galahad (no, honestly! try it).
Des Monde

My choice from just about any British supermarket. Tastes better than Beck's yet is not much more expensive than Foster's (cheaper than Stella) and unlike Tyskie or Staropramen, you can afford to drink more than one or two in one sitting.
Tom

First time i drink in my first visit to London. I love the test. Nothig in USA like this Pils.
Dinsha Patel,Columbus,Ohio,USA

Dinsha, I regret that you didn't post this earlier since I can tell you from my own visit to Columbus, Ohio, just last week, that there are some very fine beers to be drunk there - far better than Holsten Pils.
Richard English

Used to love this beer in the UK years ago. It's crap now that Carlsberg have got their hands on it. Avoid at all costs.
Ken, Glasgow

I am finding it harder to find not only bottled holsten pils (imported) but the correct strengh. I have a bottle at my side which has an ABV of only 5% instead of 5.5%, why am I being ripped off?. Also this is produced in the EU and tastes rubbish.
Trevor Baker

Add comment to this beer

Due to an overwhelmingly large number of spam comments we have disabled this feature for the time being. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We run a free subscriber list with a weekly email; beer of the week and site news. To join, enter your email address here:

Sparks Publishing Services Ltd Sparks Computer Solutions LtdSite design and content © 1992-2008 Sparks
Comments/errors should be addressed to: feedback@bottledbeer.co.uk.
Please read our disclaimer.