Am I alone on Pilsners?

I love a good pilsner, i almost always have @Sixpoint the Crisp in my fridge, especially this time of year, also love Firestone Walker Pivo pils and Victory Prima pils.

 

OP, funny that you mention pilsners. It is a swelteringly hot day and I just got home from work. I opened the fridge and took out a Weihenstephaner Pilsner. I was about to rate it when I saw this thread. What a delicious beer! It was so crisp and refreshing! Also, nothing boring about it! There were many different flavors. I love a well brewed Pilsner, especially if it's one of the better german ones. Like many BA members, I do love a good DIPA, imperial stout, or big bodied belgian. However, sometimes I like nothing better than something light that contains subtle flavors.

 

Thanks crew....and one thing a good Pils needs is proper glassware, way better than drinking from the can!

In honor of that favorite anytime beer we decided to just drop some custom Pils glassware this season...

 

The best thing about that quote is who it came from. Not exactly who most people would initially expect.

 

Sixpoint just beat me to the draw, I was just about to add Sixpoint Crisp to the conversation and there it is. Definitely a tasty and refreshing beer.

 

And I think @JackHorzempa and @herrburgess can attest - also one of the most difficult to brew! :-)

 

I am here with you..

& Lagunitas Czech Pils... Love pilsner, it's not often I explore more of the style or get past that one

 

For a lot of BAs of a certain age (like me !), lagers and pilsners were the only beers readily available during our youth, so that's what we grew up drinking. When the craft beer 'explosion/revolution/age of enlightenment' occurred, we were all amazed and ecstatic to discover the wide variety of beers that were possible, and lagers and pilsners became an afterthought. For me, it was like being able to watch color tv instead of just black and white. But I can appreciate any style that's done well and with love, and people should drink what they like, without judgement from others. Cheers !!!

 

Shane, the word “difficult” is not the first descriptor that comes to my mind. IMO, Pilsners are beers that are highly process dependent. If brewers pay attention to the various details the beer will turn out just fine. Maybe for some people it is difficult for them to pay attention to the numerous details? It takes me a long time from beginning the end to brew a Pilsner but the amount of effort for a given Pilsner is just incrementally more than for other beer styles like ales.

Maybe the case that Pilsner is more of a ‘naked’ beer makes it seem more difficult but a quality brewer should not be using the flavors of IPAs to ‘hide’ flaws. A quality brewer should make all of their beers to be flawless regardless of beer style.

Just my opinion.

Cheers!

 

Would you describe, for example, a husky/grainy character in a pilsner as a flaw?

 

I have seen you use the word "grainy" a lot. But it just so happens that malted barley is a grain so it seems to me that "grainy" is an ambiguous descriptor.

 

It's also described as an off flavor in a work you frequently quote (How to Brew by Palmer):

"Husky / Grainy
These flavors are akin to the astringent flavors produced from the grain husks. These flavors are more evident in all-grain beers due to poor grain crushing or sparging practices. If the grain husks are shredded during crushing by the use of a Corona grain mill for instance, these husk flavors are more likely to be extracted during the sparge. Follow the same procedures recommended to prevent astringency to correct the problem.

Grainy flavors can also be contributed by highly toasted malts. If you are making your own toasted malts, allow them to age at least two weeks after crushing so the harsher aromatic compounds can dissipate. Cold conditioning the beer for a month or two will often cause these harsh compounds to settle out with the yeast"

 

Pillllllsszzz are gooooood!

 

Below is from How to Brew by John Palmer:

“Husky / Grainy
These flavors are akin to the astringent flavors produced from the grain husks. These flavors are more evident in all-grain beers due to poor grain crushing or sparging practices. If the grain husks are shredded during crushing by the use of a Corona grain mill for instance, these husk flavors are more likely to be extracted during the sparge. Follow the same procedures recommended to prevent astringency to correct the problem.

Grainy flavors can also be contributed by highly toasted malts. If you are making your own toasted malts, allow them to age at least two weeks after crushing so the harsher aromatic compounds can dissipate. Cold conditioning the beer for a month or two will often cause these harsh compounds to settle out with the yeast.”

Astringent in my opinion is a mouthfeel vs. a flavor per se. If a Pilsner suffers from astringency then I would consider that a flaw.

Cheers!

Edit: Any beer that has astringency (a mouth puckering mouthfeel) suffers from a flaw; this is true for any beer style and not peculiar to Pilsners.

 

That's cool, it's alright not to like a style as long as you give it a good shot. I have never had a "sour" I wanted to drink again but always try them when offered.

 

I wish I could get fresh German pilsners.

 

The quote also talks about "harsh aromatic compounds" produced by malts that are slightly more highly kilned. I, personally, pick up on just those types of harsh, grainy compounds in pilsners made with NA 2-row malt. Many IPA (and IPL) brewers use cheaper NA 2-row in their beers (instead of more expensive, breadier German or Bohemian pilsner malts) as they are trying to highlight the hop profiles, and want any true malty character far, far in the background.

In the IPAs/IPLs, the hops hide these harsh compounds much more than they are hidden in a pilsner. Either way, however, the presence of those compounds is still a flaw.

 

YES, YES, YES, a thousand times YES!

 

Pilsners are a forgotten style for me. Every time I have one I go, "Wow, why don't I drink more of these?" Right now I think a lot of people (myself included) are consumed with IPAs, stouts, and sours. I love having a pilsner during football season or summer time. Also a great beer to have while eating burgers or wings. My favorites right now are Foothills Torch and Mother Earth's Park Day.

 

Well done pilsners are amazing! I just find that there aren't too many made in the U.S., unfortunately. Victory Braumeister Pils (and some of Victory's other stuff) stands out to me as the shining example of a GREAT American pilsner. However, I think my favorite pilsner I've ever had is one that shows up in DC on draft from time to time, a Czech Pilsner called Koutska 12. Moonlight's Reality Czeck (also draft-only) is another stellar one, and American!