Pilsener

Pilsener or pilsner is a pale lager, developed in the city of Plzeň (Pilsen in German/English), Western Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).

Origin

Until the 1840s, most of Czech beers were top-fermented, dark and cloudy, although Bavarian brewers had begun experimenting through "lagering" beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer's clarity, flavor, and shelf-life. Ironically, they got a lot of knowledge from a book printed in 1794 (in German, 1801 in Czech) and written by famous Brno brewer František Ondřej Poupě.

The Mešťanský Pivovar (Burgess Brewery) recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813 – 1887) who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, created the first batch of modern pilsener on 5 October 1842. The combination of pale colour from the new malts (aided by Plzeň's remarkably soft water), noble hops and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which caused a sensation. Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was quickly available throughout Central Europe, and its style was soon widely imitated.

Modern pilseners

The invention of modern refrigeration by Carl von Linde removed the need for caves in which to store the beer, however even until recently the Pilsner Urquell brewery still fermented their beer using open barrels in the cellars underneath their brewery. This technology was changed in 1993 since large cylindrical tanks are used, however small samples are still brewed in a traditional way for the comparison of the taste. They also have the unique claim to being "the world's first golden beer."

A modern pilsener has a very light, clear color from pale to golden yellow, and a distinct hop aroma and flavor. Czech pilseners tend toward a lighter flavor with good examples being Pilsner Urquell and Staropramen, while those in a German style can be more bitter (particularly in the north, e.g. Jever) or even "earthy" in flavor. Distinctive examples of German pilseners are Flensburger, Beck's, Radeberger, Veltins, Fürstenberg and Wernesgrüner.

Pilseners as a marketing category

While pilsener is best defined in terms of its characteristics and heritage, the term is also used by some brewers (particularly in North America) to indicate their "premium" beer, whether or not it has a particular hop character. It is generally regarded as being different from other pale lagers by a more prominent hop character, particularly from the use of Saaz (pronounced "Zaats") noble hops.

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Origin

Modern pilseners

Pilseners as a marketing category

See also