Pilsner, sometimes pilsener or simply pils, is a pale lager, developed in the 19th century in the city of Pilsen, Bohemia (Plzeň in the Czech Republic).

Origin

Until the mid-1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-fermented, dark and cloudy. The taste and standards of quality often varied widely, and in 1838, consumers even dumped whole barrels to show their dissatisfaction. The citizens of Pilsen decided in 1839 to found and build a brewery of their own, called lang: Bürger Brauerei (Citizens' Brewery) 1 2 (now Plzeňský Prazdroj), which should brew beer according to the Bavarian style of brewing. Bavarian brewers had begun experiments with the storage ( ) of beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer's clarity, flavour, and shelf-life. Most of this research benefited from the knowledge already expounded on in a German book (printed since 1794, in Czech since 1801), written by František Ondřej Poupě (1753–1805) from Brno.

The Bürger Brauerei recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813 – 1887) who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, presented his first batch of modern Pilsner on 5 October 1842. The combination of pale colour from the new malts, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, noble hops from nearby Saaz and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which was regarded as a sensation.

Modern Pilsners

A modern Pilsner has a very light, clear colour from pale to golden yellow, and a distinct hop aroma and flavour. Czech Pilsners tend toward a lighter flavour 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 flavour. Distinctive examples of German Pilsners are Flensburger Brauerei's Flensburger Pilsener, Beck's, Bitburger, Fürstenberg, Veltins, König Pilsner, Krombacher, Radeberger, Paulaner, Wurzburger, Holsten, Warsteiner, Henninger's Kaiser Pilsner, Brauerei Schwelm's Schwelmer Pils, Augustiner Bräu's Augustiner Pils, Aktienbrauerei Kaufbeuren Jubiläums Pils and Wernesgrüner. On the other hand, Dutch (Heineken, Amstel) and Belgian Pilsners (Jupiler, Stella Artois) have a slight sweet taste.

Pilsners as a marketing category

While Pilsner 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 different from other pale lagers by a more prominent hop character, particularly from the use of Saaz noble hops.