Pilsner

Pilsner (sometimes spelled pilsner or pils) is a pale lager. Plze (Pilsen) is the name of the Bohemian city where it was first brewed in 1842 by Bavarian brewer Josef Groll. The original Pilsner Urquell, the world’s first pale lager, is still made there today.

Plze began brewing in 1307, but most Bohemian beers remained top-fermented until the mid-1840s. Consumers dropped complete barrels in 1838 to express their unhappiness with the flavor and quality of the product. Plze officials established a city-owned brewery, Bürger-Brauerei Pilsen (Czech: Mansk pivovar Plze, English: Citizens’ Brewery), in 1839, which is now known as Pilsner Urquell. They started brewing beer in the pioneering Bavarian style here.

Carl von Linde’s introduction of modern refrigeration to Germany in the late 19th century abolished the necessity for beer caves, allowing the brewing of cool fermenting beer in a variety of different locales.

The Pilsner Urquell brewery brewed its beer in open casks in the cellars under its plant until 1993. With the introduction of huge cylindrical tanks in 1993, this changed. For taste comparisons, small samples are still brewed in the traditional fashion.

A Pilsner is a modern pale lager with a bright, transparent color ranging from pale to golden yellow with varied levels of hop fragrance and flavor. Pilsner beers have a range of alcohol content, but most are around 4.5 percent to 5%. (by volume). At beer competitions like the World Beer Cup, there are categories like “European-Style Pilsner.” Several small breweries and larger conglomerates sell Plze-style lagers overseas.