Pilsner

On October 5, 1842, the beer style Pilsner was born. Developed by the way of Bohemian and Bavarian knowledge collaboration in the town of Plzen, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) this light, clear and golden straw-colored beer was unlike anything the citizens of Plzen had ever seen before.

Being used to heavier and darker Ales, this new Lager style beer was crisp, refreshing and much cleaner. Legend has is it that in 1840 a monk snuck out of Bavaria with some of this highly advanced Lager yeast and began the spiral of the most copied beer in existence.

Pilsner Urquell means “The Ancient Source of Pilsner” now produced by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. It is the grandfather to most of the beers produced in the world today. The original ingredients for this particular style consisted of light barley that was partially malted, along with an abundance of the fragrant Saaz Hop.

Today, various purposely developed Pilsner malts are in use across the world that both large and small breweries utilize. The large Marco Brewery manufacturers have derived from the original ingredients and use “fillers” such as rice and corn. The story of American manufacturers using these fillers to water down the beer after world war 2 is a myth.

The reason for the use of corn and rice in American style Pilsners was simply to adjust to the demographic of American beer drinkers for whom the immigrant German brewer was now brewing. The American market had not yet developed a taste for the light but malt-forward beers brought over by immigrants, so a change was needed and that changed sparked the entire light American beer industry.

Pilsner beers are the most difficult beers in which to hide any faults or blemishes. Carefully brewed, cold fermented and aged, this particular style should always be light, crisp, clean and refreshing.