Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of

pale lager Pale lager is a very pale-to- golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brew ...

. It takes its name from the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n city of

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

(german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; cs, Plzeňský prazdroj ) is a lager beer brewed by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied ...

) was produced in 1842 by

Pilsner Urquell Brewery Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s. (, known in English as the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, is a Czech brewery opened in 1842 and headquartered in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It was the first brewery to produce pale lager, branded as Pilsner Urquell, which becam ...

History

Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Gare - Quai - Belgian beers - 03

Origin

The city of Plzeň was granted brewing rights in 1307, but until the mid-1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

. Originally called in german: Bürger-Brauerei Pilsen ( cs, Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň, en, Citizens' Brewery), it is now known as Pilsner Urquell Brewery. It was here they began to brew beer in the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n style. Brewers had begun aging beer made with

cool fermenting Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

s in caves (

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

, i.e., german: gelagert tored, which improved the beer's clarity and

shelf-life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

. Part of this research benefited from the knowledge already expounded on in a book (printed in German in 1794, in Czech in 1799), written by Czech brewer (german: Franz Andreas Paupie, links=no) (1753–1805) from

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. The Plzeň brewery recruited the Bavarian brewer

Josef Groll Josef Groll (21 August 1813 – 22 November 1887) was a Bavarian brewer, best known for being the first brewer of Pilsner beer. He is sometimes called "the Father of the Pilsner". The world's first-ever pale lager, Pilsner Urquell was highly succe ...

(1813–1887) who, using the local ingredients, produced the first batch of pale lager on 5 October 1842. The combination of Plzeň's remarkably soft water, local

Saaz Saaz may refer to: *Saaz, the former German name of Žatec, a town in the Czech Republic **Saaz hops, a hop variety used in production of pilsener style beer **DSV Saaz, a former football club in Žatec * ''Saaz'' (film), a 1998 Indian film * Saaz ...

noble hops from nearby

Žatec Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...

, low-protein Moravian barley malt prepared by indirectly heated kilning, and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer. By 1853, the beer was available at 35 pubs in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 1856, it came to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and in 1862 to Paris. In 1859, was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Plzeň. In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trademark was created to put emphasis on being the original brewery (''Urquell,'' meaning 'original source'). Some beers are labeled ''Urtyp Pilsener'' (UP) meaning they are brewed according to the original process, although many breweries use this accolade for their top beer.

Modern developments

The introduction of modern refrigeration to Germany by

Carl von Linde Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (11 June 1842 – 16 November 1934) was a German scientist, engineer, and businessman. He discovered a refrigeration cycle and invented the first industrial-scale air separation and gas liquefaction processes, whi ...

in the late 19th century eliminated the need for caves for beer storage, enabling the brewing of cool fermenting beer in many new locations. Until 1993 the

brewery fermented its beer using open

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s in the cellars beneath their brewery. This changed in 1993 with the use of large cylindrical tanks. Small samples are still brewed in a traditional way for taste comparisons. A modern pale lager termed a ''pilsner'' may have a very light, clear colour from pale to golden yellow, with varying levels of hop aroma and flavour. The alcohol strength of beers termed pilsner vary but are typically around 4.5%–5% (by volume). There are categories such as "European-Style Pilsner" at beer competitions such as the

World Beer Cup The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition organized by the Brewers Association, a trade group representing America's small and independent craft brewers. It is the largest competition in the beer industry and has been described as " ...

. Pilsner style lagers are marketed internationally by numerous small brewers and larger conglomerates.

Styles

;Czech-style Pilsner:In the Czech Republic, only

is named as "pilsner". However, outside of the Czech Republic, Czech-style Pilsner is synonymous with any lager beers (including any Czech brand) that are golden colour, brewed with malt and Saaz hops – such as

Budweiser Budvar Budweiser Budvar ( ) is a brewery in the Czech city of České Budějovice (german: Budweis), best known for its original Budweiser or Budweiser Budvar pale lager brewed using artesian water, Moravian barley and Saaz hops. Budweiser Budvar i ...

Gambrinus Gambrinus ( ) is a legendary European culture hero celebrated as an icon of beer, brewing, joviality, and ''joie de vivre''. Typical representations in the visual arts depict him as a rotund, bearded duke or king, holding a tankard or mug, ...

, Kozel, Radegast,

Staropramen Staropramen Brewery (Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o.) in the Smíchov district of Prague is the second largest brewery in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1869 and the brand name Staropramen, literally meaning “old spring”, was registered ...

, Starobrno and Krušovice. ;German-style Pilsner:Light straw to golden colour with more bitter or earthy taste – such as Beck's,

Bitburger Bitburger Brewery (Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH) is a large Germany, German brewery headquartered in Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded in 1817 by Johann Wallenborn, its beer is the Beer in Germany#Brands and breweries, third best-selli ...

, Flensburger,

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

Holsten Holsten Brewery (Holsten-Brauerei AG) is a brewing company founded in 1879 in what is now Hamburg's Altona-Nord quarter. The group now has seven breweries in Germany. Its nationally distributed premium brand is the pale lager ''Holsten Pilsen ...

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted c ...

König König (; ) is the German word for "king". In German and other languages applying the umlaut, the transliterations ''Koenig'' and ''Kœnig'', when referring to a surname, also occur. As a surname in English, the use of ''Koenig'' is usual, and som ...

, Krombacher,

Radeberger Radeberger started in 1872 when the brewery was founded as ''Zum Bergkeller'', in Radeberg, a town in the vicinity of Dresden. Radeberger ranks No. 9 among Germany's best selling beers. History This beer was also brewed for a period for the K ...

St. Pauli Girl St. Pauli Girl :beers are brewed and bottled by the St. Pauli Brauerei, which is located within the Beck's brewery in Bremen, Germany. However, in the US, it is manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri. The brand is not named after the famous St. ...

Veltins Brauerei C & A Veltins () is a brewery in the west German city of Meschede-Grevenstein. In 2015, Veltins ranked fourth among Germany's best selling beers. The small guesthouse brewery of Franz Kramer opened its simple wooden gates i ...

Warsteiner Warsteiner () beer is brewed in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park outside of Warstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Warsteiner has been owned by the Cramer family since 1753. Warsteiner is Germany's largest privately owned brewery; its b ...

, Wernesgrüner and

Einbecker The Einbecker Brewery (German: ''Einbecker Brauhaus'') is a brewery located in Einbeck, Germany. Founded before 1378, it is one of the oldest still operating breweries in the world. The city of Einbeck is noted for its bock beer, and Einbecker, t ...

. ;European-style Pilsner:Has a slightly sweet taste, can be produced from grains other than barley

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

– such as the Dutch:

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the riv ...

Grolsch Grolsch Brewery (Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. - "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch (), is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in E ...

and

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...

or Belgian:

Jupiler Jupiler (; or ) is a Belgian beer introduced in 1966, now brewed by Anheuser–Busch InBev at Piedboeuf Brewery in the Jupille-sur-Meuse neighbourhood of Liège. Jupiler is the highest selling beer in Belgium, with around 40 percent share by vo ...

Maes Maes may refer to: People * Maes (surname), including a list of persons with the name * Maes (rapper) (born 1995), French rapper of Moroccan origin * Maes Titianus, an ancient Roman traveler of Macedonian culture Fictional characters * Maes Hug ...

and

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...

;American-style Pilsner: German immigrants brought pilsner style beers to America in the mid-19th century. American pilsners today are still closer to the German style, but the grist contains up to 25% corn and/or rice. The style generally has medium-low to medium sweet malt flavor, and medium to high European hop notes.

References

External links