The hot new thing in craft beer? Good old-fashioned lager

They mention open fermentation in the second paragraph, I wonder if they open fermented this Pitch Line Pils?

 

My guess would be yes. It seems like Notch is trying to replicate how Czech beers were brewed in the 'olden days'.

Below is how Pilsner Urquell ferments in the cellar of their brewery:



Cheers!

 

That's very, very cool if Notch is indeed doing that. I don't know how many breweries here in CZ are even still doing open fermentation these days for their lagers, I know Únětice does, PU at the brewery (but I do not think any of their packaged PU is still open fermented??? seems it is more for the cellar tour these days?), but I cannot think of anyone else....

 

How did you like their beers Jack? Try any pilsners there?

 

I thought the beers were good. As regards Pilsners I drank a glass of Palantine Pils which I thought was very good - a nice mouthfeel and good flavor but I thought the aroma was too muted.

I purchased a 4-pack/16 ounce cans of Qualitfy Pils which I will be discussing over the next few weeks in NBS.

Cheers!

 

Yes, Únětický Pivovar in the town of Únětice does conduct open fermentation. Below is a photo I took when I took a tour of the brewery:



The only Czech breweries that I am aware of that conduct open fermentation are the cellar brewery of Pilsner Urquell and Únětický Pivovar. And you are correct in that the cellar beer of Pilsner Urquell is not packaged (i.e., bottles, cans), but a limited amount is made available for draft such as at Na Parkanu Pub in Pilzen.

During the tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery the tour guide made a point of stating that the reason they still brew beer in the Cellar like they did in the 'olden days' is as a quality control method - the brewers use this as a 'reference point' to ensure that the production beer in the main brewery (using closed stainless steel tanks) tastes the same as the cellar brewed beer.

Cheers!

 

I can't make it down that day, but I'm hoping to make it down that following weekend (6 days later) if the beer will still be available. If I think it won't be, I might make a special trip down there.

What did you think of the "pitch-lined Pilsner Urquell"?

Let's find out!

@ChrisLohring ?

Many of their beers are open fermented, including "The Standard" which is their 12° P Czech Pale Lager (Světlý Ležák I believe) that is always on draft at the brewery, and will be the beer that will be in these pitch-lined barrels. See below for a description of "The Standard":

"Clean bright malt flavors combine with peppery and lemony hop character to showcase what Notch loves most - Czech lager. Floor malted Czech pils malt is double decocted for deep malt structure in such a delicate beer. Open fermented, then racked into a closed fermenter and spund for natural carbonation. We then condition this beer in a horizontal lagering tank for an extended time until complete."

 

As I discussed in my trip report:

“At the end of the tour they pour you a small (0.3 liter) glass of beer from the Oak lagering barrel (unfiltered and non-pasteurized). We all thought this beer was very good.”

I strongly suspect that the ‘best’ part of this beer is the fact that it is both non-pasteurized and unfiltered.

Cheers!

 

Very, very cool!
I saw on Chris Lohring's instagram that Notch brewing was out here in Czech Republic the past week and that they even brewed a collaboration beer with Únětický Pivovar. That's really awesome.

 

Yup they’re my favorite New England brewery for a reason. Their attention to detail when it comes to tradition is rivaled by no other.

A couple weeks back they had a Kölsch night. Doesn’t get more traditional or authentic than that. Outside of Bierkeller of course.

@herrburgess

 

I'm always suoer impressed by the lengths I see them going to to get as close to an authentic experience as possible. can't believe ive yet to try their beers. one day...when I can make it up and drink them the way they're intended....

 

Had this HPB America's Preference recently... Amazing.

 

It was open fermented.

 

Most, but not all, lagers from Salem are open fermented. We will be expanding our open fermentation capacity in Salem and including open fermentation in Brighton. I just returned from Czech Republic and went to PU again when there. We met with an ex-head brewer, specifically focusing on the barrel pitching. It was an interesting conversation, and I'm not sure what to make of it just yet.

And to answer another question elsewhere, the intent for Pitch Lined Pils was to mimic PU and other Czech breweries who lagered (or what the Czech's call maturation) in wood barrels that were pitch lined.

 

Thanks for chiming in!

Will Pitch Lined Pils just be available on the 23rd, or will it be available into the next weekend too?

 

This was a pilot - only about 300 liters of production - as we were not sure how it would turn out. So, we have no idea how many people will come on Sunday. It's draft only, and no crowlers to go, but the chances of it making it to next weekend are slim. More of this is to come, so if you miss it we'll have more in about 3 months.

We will be bringing a log of it (5 gallons) to the Novare Res tap takeover on Feb 29th too.