Don't Pick on Pilsner!

Beer snobs often look askance upon Pilsner. I even have a friend that simply won’t drink the stuff declaring proudly that he’s an ale man and he won’t have that other stuff.

That’s a shame because there are a lot of really great Pilsners out there. They come full of complexity and rich flavor as well as the watery swill that dominates the market.

In many ways, Pilsner is the pinnacle of the brewer’s art: the top of the evolutionary chain that began with the simplest of ales thousands of years ago. At only 164 years old there’s a reason that it is the most recent beer style to be created. Before the 1840s, the technology and knowledge of yeast simply didn’t exist. Brewing couldn’t have produced Pilsner before it did because it wasn’t possible.

I recently came to a re-appreciation of the style when I put together this profile and history. If you’re guilty of dismissing Pilsner out of hand, I hope that you’ll give it another chance. You’re only depriving yourself.

Besides, millions of beer drinkers can’t all be wrong!

Want to read more? Check out my history of Pilsner. You can also read the wonderfully detailed look at Pilsner from Brewing Techniques.