Suarez Family Palatine Pils
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Tasting Notes
Palatine Pils pours with a tight, persistent head and delivers a clean, hay-like grain aroma with a restrained but present noble hop character — think dried flowers and a hint of white pepper rather than anything aggressive. On the palate, the malt is soft and biscuity without being sweet, and the bitterness is firm but measured, doing its job structurally rather than announcing itself. The body is light to medium, with good carbonation that keeps things lively without masking the grain. The finish is dry and moderately bitter, which is exactly what you want here.
About the Brewery
Suarez Family Brewery operates out of Livingston, New York, in the Hudson Valley, and has built a reputation as one of the more thoughtful lager-focused operations in the Northeast since opening in 2016. Jon and Gwen Suarez have been deliberate about keeping the lineup tight and process-driven, favoring traditional fermentation approaches over trend-chasing. They're particularly well-regarded for their lagers at a time when most craft breweries were still IPA-first.
Food Pairings
A German Pilsener like this one works well with roast chicken because the dry, grainy malt mirrors the savory skin without competing with it. Soft pretzels with mustard are a natural match since the firm bitterness cuts through the salt and fat. Mild sausages — bratwurst especially — benefit from the beer's bitterness acting as a palate reset between bites. A simple green salad with a vinaigrette can highlight the floral hop notes, and lightly fried fish lets the dry finish do the work of a squeeze of lemon.
Style Guide
German Pilsener is a pale lager defined by its dry finish, firm noble-hop bitterness, and lean, cracker-like malt backbone — it's built for clarity and balance rather than expressiveness. The style developed in northern Germany as a drier, more aggressively hopped counterpart to the softer Bohemian Pilsner that originated in Plzeň. Where Czech Pils tends toward a rounder malt character and softer water profile, German Pils leans hard into bitterness and attenuation. ABV typically runs in the 4.4–5.2% range, keeping the beer structured but approachable.