Disco Casino (collab with Fieldwork Brewing Company)

Faction Brewing

9 Mar 2025 · Stephen

West Coast Pilsner Faction Brewing

6.0% ABV

Bright gold Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return –

3 / 4 I'd recommend trying it

Tasting Notes

Appearance Bright gold, clear with lively carbonation and a foamy white head. Luminous and inviting in the glass — classic West Coast Pilsner presentation from two breweries that know their lager craft.

Aroma The Riwaka leads with its distinctive lime and citrus brightness — a New Zealand character that's immediately recognizable and sets Disco Casino apart from a standard noble-hop pilsner. Behind it, Columbus adds an earthy, piney note that's more assertive than the delicate herbal quality of traditional German pilsner hops, and the Hersbrucker brings a softer floral and herbal balance underneath. The combination is West Coast in attitude — more hop-forward than the style traditionally demands — while the Hersbrucker keeps one foot planted in European pilsner tradition.

Palate Crisp and clean with a medium-light body. The Riwaka citrus and lime carries through the middle alongside the Columbus piney bitterness building behind it. Not your normal simple pils malt — as one drinker noted precisely — there's real hop character pressing through the palate that distinguishes this from a passive lager. The 6% ABV gives it slightly more weight than a typical pilsner, helping the body stand up to the assertive hop bill.

Finish Dry, piney, and citrus-forward — the Columbus and Riwaka combination linger on the back palate with that slightly dank, citrusy finish that earns the IPL comparison. The Hersbrucker herbal quality fades last, leaving a clean, refreshing close that's more interesting and complex than the style usually delivers.

The Verdict

Two Bay Area heavyweights in the lager game — Faction from Alameda, Fieldwork from Berkeley built a proper West Coast Pilsner that leans all the way into the West Coast part. Columbus, Riwaka, and Hersbrucker is a smart, distinctive hop bill — piney, citrusy, and herbal in one glass. Definitely a Westie pilsner, as advertised.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 9 Mar 2025