Pilsner Vs Lager: What's The Difference?

I will say, they do really well on how the beer is presented to the customer, using nice and unique glassware depending on brand and what kind of beer you order. Much better than the sort of thing in the US where you get handed something in a blank shaker glass with the look of just simply “here’s your drink.” I appreciate how beer is almost ritualized in Europe.

 

Depends on where you go. This past weekend while visiting a craft brewery's tasting room I was served my Kolsch in a Stang and my Vienna Lager in a dimpled mug.

Cheers!

 

Patrik, do you know what format of corn was used? Was it something like grits which requires a separate cereal mash (e.g., the American double-mash method)?

Cheers!

 

The beauty of craft beer!

@Crusader, do you know did lagersøl and pilsner come into the Nordic countries at the same time or did lager precede pilsner?

 

The only reference to the form of adjunct I've come across for Danish/Swedish beer is from 1955 (page 505), so not exactly contemporary, where it is stated that the "main adjunct in use is maize grits in a refined form". Now, since the Danish brewing industry was using significant amounts of both corn and rice already as early as 1914 (clearly established practise before this year) I consider it likely that they would have been using grits by the 1920s.


Based on the description of brewhouse set up found in the 1955 article, I would guess that many breweries were using their mash copper/kettle, used in the past for boiling decoctions, to convert and boil the adjunct, while others kept a "spare vessel" for that purpose as in system b below (page 505 in the article).

Lageröl/lagerøl was the descendant of the "Bavarian beer" introduced in the mid 1840s to both countries, the "Bavarian" part was dropped as time went on and Pilsner came on the market, while the Pilsner was introduced to Sweden in the late 1870s while in Denmark, as I understand it, Tuborg was first in 1880, so basically the same time frame. Here's an interesting table btw showing the growth in sales of pilsner beer in Denmark:



Concerning lagerøl, and Gamle Carlsberg lagerøl in particular (from the founder JC Jacobsen's brewery, hence gamle, "old") it can be noted that in 1866 as per JC Jacobsen himself he brewed his summer beer to 14.5% and his winter beer to 13.5% original gravity (so still maintaining the difference between lager and schenk as per the Bavarian system), then later in an 1884 letter he writes that his beer is 13.5%, while the 1920s version was just under 13% as can be seen from Ron's table. Up until recently Carlsberg in Denmark still brewed a beer under that label, at 4.3% abv which they have now retired and instead brew Carlsberg 1883 which is 4.6% abv. I doubt either of those beers was/is above 12% plato.

 

I'm going from memory here, but it seems like wherever I was during my Germany trip, I had a coaster placed under my beer when it was served. Is that always part of the 'rutual'?

 

No, I was referring to the standard, thick paper coaster. In the US I don't see them at most breweries, and for the breweries that have them, it seems like they are used only at the bar unless you ask for one at your table. But I recall on my Germany trip seeing them is use at most (or all) breweries that I visited (and you don't have to ask for them, even at a table).

I've heard of the doily in this and other BA threads about German beer (actually I recall reading that it's typical to be used for Pilsners in Berlin but not so much elsewhere), but until your post here, I've never heard of the skirt. Thanks for the link to help visualize it.

 

From noticing the thread's title, I thought this was somebody wondering about the difference between Simpler Times Lager (sold in 12-packs), and Simpler Times Pilsner (sold in 6-packs) at Trader Joe's shops.
Having bought both of them the last time I shopped at Trader Joe's [the shop in Park Ridge, IL. - near Beer On The Wall {which occasionally has bottle shares}], beside the case of Unibroue's 2020 Vintage Spiced Ale, I bought both packages indicated above. I've had all six of the Pilsner, and six of the Lager. I prefer the Pilsner. It has more husky grain flavor than the Lager. I will bring up the remnant cans of the Lager the next time I go downstairs into the beer cellar.

 

If I’m not mistaken, those are among the two lowest ranked beers on this site.

 

Also from memory - never been to Germany but in another country* in which I drank many a beer, a beer coaster (aka "beer mat" elsewhere in the world) was under every glass of beer I was served. Some were even what one might call "inspirational".

(In fact, I came home with an unused Bell's coaster in my shirt pocket the other day after stopping into a new place nearby. "How'd that get in there!?")

* United States of America.

 

Ha! Minhas.

 

Indubitably.

 

If you are buying TJs lagers looks for Gordon Biersch, San Jose on the side.