Lagers and pilsners are two of the most well-liked beer sorts in America. Every is cool and refreshing, ideally served ice chilly on a midsummer’s day, however what, actually, is the distinction between lagers and pilsners?
Because it seems, a pilsner is definitely a sort of lager — they’re kind of like squares and rectangles: all pilsners are lagers, however not all lagers are pilsners.
In fact, each type of beer has its sub-categories, which signifies that lagers could be labeled as both pale lagers or darkish lagers. In reality, the one factor all lagers have in frequent is that they’re all bottom-fermentation beers versus the top-fermenting strategies used for ales.
However when does a beer develop into a pilsner?
What’s a Pilsner?
A pilsner is a sort of lager originating in Europe. Many beer drinkers are underneath the impression that the pilsner first made its look in Germany, nevertheless it’s really the Czech Bohemia area now we have to thank for this hoppy type lager. German brewers have been simply the primary to develop the lagering course of — extra on that later.
A Temporary Historical past of the Pilsner
Pilsner beers have been created nearly as a mistake. Within the 18th century, Czech beers have been thought of to be fairly terrible compared to their German counterparts. Prime-fermenting the kind of yeast utilized by the Czech brewers produced a style and high quality which wasn’t favored by Western palates.
It wasn’t till 1839 that the town of Pilsen based a city-owned authentic brewery which might come to be generally known as the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, nonetheless one in every of at present’s main beer manufacturers. Utilizing the cold-fermentation technique realized from German immigrants, the brewery improved the standard of its beers considerably.
Sadly, the shelf lifetime of the beers left rather a lot to be desired. Legend has it that mass dumping of 36 casks of spoiled beer due led to main Bavarian brewer Josef Groll being referred to as in to assist with the spoiled beer issues of the Urquell Brewery.
Including Saaz hops to the lager masked any spoiled flavors of the beer and produced a “spicy” style very a lot of its personal. This spiciness doesn’t discuss with warmth, however slightly the noble hops character that equates to the floral, earthy hop taste that got here to outline Czech pilsners.
This authentic pilsner lager utilized brighter malts, the high-quality water of Pilsen, and native Saaz hops to realize instantaneous recognition, and manufacturing rapidly unfold to all areas of Bohemia. To today, solely pilsner produced within the metropolis of Pilsen is allowed to be referred to as a pilsner within the Czech Republic, very similar to champagne should come from Champagne, France.
Traits of Pilsner Beer
Simplicity is the important thing on the subject of the flavour profile of pilsner lagers. The lighter pilsner malt utilized by the Czech brewery ends in a novel, lighter gold coloration beer with a refreshing taste. The delicate hops character from noble hops, mostly the Saaz hop, used within the hopping course of give it a pronounced taste base and a crisp end.
Historically utilizing lager yeast strains within the main fermentation, the brewing course of ends in a pilsner with an alcohol quantity of anyplace between 4% and 6.5%, though many American craft brewers now produce craft pilsners with an ABV between 6.5% and 9.5%.
Kinds of Pilsner
The recognition of pilsner beers means they don’t seem to be simply solely brewed within the Czech Republic anymore. Modern brewers everywhere in the world from Beijing to Mexico and Tokyo to London now produce these golden crisp lager bees, some even importing Bavarian wild yeasts only for the duty.
Though there are some delicate variations between pilseners produced in numerous nations, they principally use the identical brewing methods, which could be damaged down into 4 distinct types that almost all pilsners observe.
Bohemian Pilseners
The unique pilsner lager, Bohemian Pilsners as created by Pilsner Urquell within the mid-Nineteenth century are additionally referred to as “Czech Pilsner” or svêtlé ležák in Czech, which interprets to “shiny lager”. They sometimes have a light-weight coloration and crisp, refreshing style.
Caramelized floor-malted barley used within the brewing technique of Czech pilsners give it a barely deeper coloration than German darkish lagers, starting from a straw-to-light-amber hue. The Saaz or Žatec hops in pilsners give them an ideal steadiness of a toasted malt character and a spicy aroma.
Common manufacturers of Czech Pilsener embody:
- Pilsner Urquell together with Plzeňský Prazdroj Pilsner Urquell, the worlds very first pilsener
- Budweiser Czech Lager or Budweiser Budvar (offered within the US as Czechvar)
- My favourite Bohemian brew: Staropramen.
Pils or German Pilsners
Pilsener beers from Germany are maybe the type of pilsener most beer drinkers are accustomed to, and infrequently results in the frequent false impression that the pilsener was born in Germany. (So not true, as we detailed above!)
Utilizing German Noble hops just like the Hallertau and Hesbruck, a German pilsner is thinner and far lighter coloured than a Czech beer. A straw-colored beer, German pilseners exhibit an excellent readability and have an enormous, white, foamy head as typically seen in these giant Stein glasses at Oktoberfest occasions.
Though it’s a matter of private desire, many beer drinkers typically describe German pils as having a extra refined, cleaner, extra balanced style than Czech beer types.
Common German manufacturers of pilsener embody:
- Holsten Pils
- Krombacher Pils
- Warsteiner
- Spaten Pils
- Bitburger Premium Pils
- Dortmunder Actien Brauerei Dab Authentic (consistently voted most well-balanced Pilsner)
American Pilsner
Additionally known as American Pale Ale lagers, these beers have been launched to the US by German immigrants on the flip of the twentieth century. Craft breweries have tailored the unique pilsner recipes to make use of elements native to North America together with flaked corn, American barley, and North American hops to create this new sub-style.
Common American Pilsners price testing embody:
- Lagunita Pils – a Czech-style golden Pilsner from California
- Miller Lite Pilsner – a pilsner-style mild beer from Wisconsin
- Mamas Little Yella Pils – a Bohemia-style pils utilizing simply pilsner and honey malt with Saaz hops from Colorado
- Victory Prima Pils – one of many highest-rated pilsner beers within the US
American Imperial Pilsners
American Imperial Pilsners are a pimped-up product of the American craft beer scene. Additionally typically generally known as American double pilsner, such a beer makes use of much more malts and hops for an IBU of 30 to 85 and is brewed to the next alcohol quantity between 6.5% to 9%. To remain true to the unique pilsner beer types, Imperial Pilsners are likely to favor European hops slightly than American hops for the next stage of spice and bitterness. Some could even add citrus or a malty sweetness.
Common types of American Imperial Pilsners embody:
- Troegs Brewing Firm Dry Hopped Imperial Pilsner – an Imperial Pilsner from Pennsylvania, a collaboration between the Tröegs Brewing Firm, Mack brewing Firm, and the Harris household brewery.
- Morimoto Imperial Pilsner – Rogue Ales of Oregon Imperial Pilsner, which makes use of Czech Pils Yeast and Sterling Hops for the next stage of bitterness.
- Samuel Adams Double Pilsner – A hazy, amber-color Imperial Pilsner utilizing Hallertau hops with a caramel sweetness from the completely different malts used.
- Mikkeller Imperial Pilsner – A golden beer, which is extremely mild for an Imperial Pilsner, nearly clear, the dominant taste is a pepper kick with the same old pils freshness.
What Precisely is a Lager?
Now we have talked about pilsner as a method of lager and the variations between pilsner sorts, however what makes a beer a lager and never an ale?
Lager is without doubt one of the hottest beer types on the earth together with ales. The important thing distinction separating a beer from an ale is the method of utilizing bottom-fermenting yeast.
In the course of the brewing course of, ales like an IPA will use a top-fermenting yeast at hotter temperatures, whereas the bottom-fermented yeast used to brew lagers can stand up to a lot cooler temperatures, sometimes between 45° and 55°F.
The decrease temperatures scale back the variety of undesirable by-products similar to haze-inducing proteins and polyphenols which fall to the underside within the fermentation course of. The result’s a cleaner beer with crisp flavors.
A Temporary Historical past of the Lager
Lagers are a lot youthful than conventional ales, and very similar to pilsners have been found almost accidentally.
Hops have been used within the brewing of beer since round 1000 BCE, nevertheless it was solely within the 1500s that German brewers discovered they may produce a crisper beer by utilizing chilly stabilization methods through the fermentation course of.
Modern head brewers similar to Gabriel Sedlmayr from Germany and Anton Dreher from Austria launched the delights of lagers into Europe on the flip of the Nineteenth century. As many Germans started migrating to the Americas, additionally they introduced lager-brewing methods to the US, Mexico, and South America. Some German immigrants even launched the delights of lagers to China, the place it rapidly unfold throughout the Asian subcontinent.
The phrase “lager” even comes from the method of “lagering,” wherein beers could be aged in a lot decrease, cellar temperatures for months at 54° to 57°F.
Widespread Lager Beer Types
Lager has far fewer beer sorts than ale, with just a few types discovered within the lager household. Normally, a beer may have a light-weight, crisp style and a golden coloration, though some similar to a bock can vary from a darkish amber to a brown coloration, and even going so far as a black lager. Bocks even have extra barley taste than many different lagers, whereas Oktoberfest beers or dunkers can function a extra malty taste.
Whereas now we have already regarded intimately at pilsner type lager, let’s take a fast take a look at the extra frequent types of American lager.
Dunkel
Dunkel interprets from German as “darkish” and is a traditional pub-style beer from the Bavaria area, particularly Munich. An authentic type of lager, it options darkish roasted malts, giving it a barely red-tinted coloration starting from amber to deep mahogany.
The flavour base features a daring espresso character, chocolate notes, and generally even nuts or a bready sweetness. Alcohol content material and bitterness in a Dunkel are comparatively low in comparison with many different types of lager.
A preferred stateside instance of a Dunkel is Chuckanut Dunkel lager from the Chuckanut Brewery in Washington. Extra conventional Dunkel lagers from Germany and Bavaria are Paulaner Brauerei Wiesn, Lowenbraus Dunkel, and Spaten München Dunkel, to call however a number of.
Shwarzbier
One other of the darkish beers, Schwarzbier comes from the jap state of Germany generally known as Thungria. Darkish brown to nearly ruby black in coloration, this lager has a fancy malty character with hints of chocolate and licorice. With a clean dry end, Schwarzbier has a low alcohol content material and a gentle bitterness.
Usually generally known as a black lager, trendy examples of this type embody Samuel Adams Black Lager, New Belgium 1554 Black Lager, and Xingu Black.
Helles
A variation on the pilsner type, Munich Helles or “hell” comes from the German for “shiny” or “pale.” These south German pale lagers are a gold coloration with a combined, bitter-sweet end and a lighter hop profile. Helles tips state the beer ought to use continental pilsner malt, conventional German Saazar hop varieties, and German lager yeast.
Business examples of a Helles type beer embody Bürgerbräu Wolznacher Hell Naturtrüb, Bierstadt lagerhaus Helles, Löwenbraü Authentic, Paulaner Premium Lager, Spaten Premium Lager, Weihenstephaner Authentic.
Amber Lagers
Probably the most well-known of such a lager is the Oktoberfest Amber Lager also called märzenbier (or “march beer”). With a fancy, malty sweetness, these lagers function hoppy notes and a crisp end because of the Noble hops blended within the brewing course of.
A Vienna lager is one other standard amber lager that makes use of a lighter roasted malt than its Munich-derived counterparts. An amber lager tends to be a little bit stronger at round 5% ABV than many different types of lager.
Common amber lagers produced by American brewers at present embody Dos Equis, Clara Lager, Sam Adams Winter Lager, Chuckanut Vienna Lager, and Boston Lager. When you look within the German part of your native beer retailer you’ll find high quality amber lagers similar to Brauerei Heller-trum Aecht Shlenkerla, or Ayinger Oktoberfest Märzen.
Bock
Bock lagers are usually stronger lagers with a fancy sweetness and chocolate notes. Most Bock authentic lagers may have an ABV of 6% or extra and use a powerful lager yeast within the fermentation course of.
Double bock or Doppelbock lagers are a fair greater and stronger model of the Bock authentic beers. With a deep copper coloration, these beers have been initially made by monks in Munich. They have a tendency to function earthy notes which pair nicely with meals, and using fewer hops ends in a much less bitter style.
Eisbocks are the strongest of the bock-style beers and use a course of generally known as “freeze distilling” that freezes the water through the brewing course of. As alcohol freezes at a decrease temperature than water, this leaves the alcohol liquid. When the water is eliminated you get a a lot stronger beer, typically as much as 14% ABV.
Common examples of a bock lager embody Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Michelob Amberbock, Kulmbacher Brauerei Eisbock, Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock, UberBock and Samuel Adams Double Bock.
Mass-Produced or Mass Market Lagers
Many of the lagers you will note on grocery store cabinets fall into this class and are an easy-drinking type of pilsner-like beer. Common lager manufacturers similar to Budweiser, Corona Additional, Miller, Coors, and Anchor Steam California Lager all fall into this class.
Lighter lagers could not have the hoppy taste of pilsner beers or a full physique from the aggressive use of hops, however they’ll nonetheless have a crisp end. Produced worldwide, golden lager manufacturers similar to Stella Artois, Heineken, Foster, Peroni, and Sapporo are standard worldwide variants. Mexican lager even appears to have its personal subcategory on this part with many variants together with Corona Gentle, Sol, Dos Equis, and Silver Bluff Mexican Lager.
Many American lagers are additional generally known as “adjunct lagers” wherein adjunct elements like corn, rice, or barley native to the area have been added to the brew for a crisper and cleaner type of beer. Consider manufacturers similar to Bud, Miller Lite, or Pabst for lagers that use adjunct malts. Flavored lagers and citrus lagers may be thought of adjunct macro lagers.
The Distinction Between Pilsners and Lagers – The Takeaway
As now we have seen above there are various types of lagers, together with the favored sub-category pilsner. The dominance of lager yeast, particularly, the Saccharomyces pastorianus pressure of bottom-fermenting yeast has seen a progress within the recognition of lager-style beers. Lagers now outsell ales in nearly each a part of the world.
Ales are typically higher suited to the winter months, with notable alcohol heat coming from the earthy hop taste. By comparability, the chilly storage used within the “lagering” strategy of brewing lagers and pilsners provides a crisp end which is extra refreshing in the summertime months and simpler to quaff.
The principle variations between the sorts of lagers and pilsners are the yeast used and the extra aggressive use of various hops in pilsners. Saaz hops, or the Noble hop character of pilsner beers, give them their crispy or tangy flavors and aromas.
Mainly, a pilsner is a spicier-tasting lager, nearly floral some would say.
Whichever kind of beer you like is a matter of private palate, however if you’re on the lookout for a cool and refreshing crisp golden lager with added hop flavors then a pilsner is certainly the way in which ahead.
