Am I alone on Pilsners?

Am a HUGE fan of "big" beers: IPA/DIPA, BA Stouts and Porters...but come Spring and Summer I find that Pilsner Urquell is a pretty consistent resident in my fridge. Love sitting on the deck and sipping on a good Pilsner. Definitely not alone in your affinity for these beers.

 

I have the pleasure of having constant access to not only one of the best Pilsners I've ever had, but truly one of the better beers I've had in awhile: Olde Mecklenburg Capt. James Jack Pilsner.

Such a great style. T'would love to see some more!

 

I find my love for german and czech pilsners only second to my love for german Helles.

A brilliantly crafted lager is just about the most delicious thing there is.

 

I'm definitely enjoying the crisp clean flavor and lower ABV of pilsners and other lagers recently. Pils can be a great beer, not all drinks have to be extreme in taste or ABV

Peak Organic Fresh Cut is another one I don't see mentioned that I liked last summer

 

Don't worry. There are plenty of people who enjoy a beer that requires no fanfare, skulls, or hugely wasteful hop additions.

 

You aren't alone. I'm a seasonal Pilsner drinker. This summer I plan on downing quite a few Little Yella Pilz while fishing, playing golf, grilling, and other outdoor activities. Saison is my favorite summer beer but some of those have moved toward high alcohol and high hop which isn't the best golf/outdoor beer. Here's to Pilsner!

 

And I will wholeheartedly follow you in that parade!

Cheers to utopiajane!!

 

I don't like pilsners. I've tried the Firestone, the Lagunitas, the Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues, Samuel Adams, Warsteiner, Bohemia, Spaten and Trumer offerings and have not cared for any of them. Pilsner is just not for me.

Interestingly, I think I liked Bohemia the best.

 

THIS.^^^ I apologize for it, as I know its a difficult style and there are great examples of it. Be that as it may, it's also the style every American Macro beer copied. While those aren't good examples, there are characteristics of those beers that even "good" pilsners share. The result for me is as you described, an aversion to the style generally. One of the few to get past it is Dogfish Piercing Pils, which somehow is just enough removed from the style not to remind me of Miller or Coors.

 

I woudn't go so far as to say criminally underrepresente, but with a couple hundred thousand registered Beer Advocate users, it's safe to say that not all of them cut their teeth on high alpha acid and C-hops -- so in other words you're not alone.

There used to be a feature (where'd it go?!?) which listed a user's favorite beer style, and mine has always been Pilsner.

But (to bite from the Great Bubba) "I feel your pain"; Pils as a style generally gets lost in the Innovative, Craft Beer shuffle.

 

I feel like maybe people don't freak out about them because they are often regularly available and consumed more frequently than other styles. That said, holy shit I love pilsner. I can drink them any time of day all year round and rarely find myself sick of them the way I do other styles.

 

I used to not like lagers and pilsners much, but not because they were boring, but because of the flavor. Something about the spicy, crisp hops and bready malt threw me off. I've come around to them now (since having Hometown Blond for the first time, probably), and I'm on the lookout for more, especially Vienna lagers and German pilsners.

 

I love good pilsners, and seriously wish there would be more investment in the style. I think BAs hating on them is the result of people thinking of your traditional american adjunct lagers as pilsners.

 

The few pils that I enjoy are hopped at a higher level than a traditional pils.

I'm sorry, but traditional pils taste flat and boring to me.

 

I've had good pils, but it is a very hard beer to brew right. Meaning I've had far more bad pils than good.

That said, Pilsners are not my thing, generally speaking. But given that many brewers take a tilt at this style, there is some demand and interest.

Whether that interest is common on BA? Yes, if you know where to look.

 

It's not what it "added" as much as what's taken away: namely (as others have pointed out) anything for flaws to hide behind. If the pH is slightly off (astringent/dull-muted/soapy), if the malt is of poor quality (husky/grainy), if the yeast is in any way stressed or improperly handled (estery/hazy), you're going to notice it and the beer is going to taste less than optimal -- giving you a pretty darn good indication of the brewer's skills.

But really there is so much variation you can get from "simply pilsner malts." If they are floor-malted from Bohemia, you will pick up on a more earthy element; if German pilsner you will get more of that graham-crackery sweetness; if the brewer decocts -- as Pilsner Urquell does -- you will pick up on the malliard reactions and that melanoidin depth of breadiness...like a nice loaf of crusty European bread.

A ton depends on the water, too: from the very soft water of Pilsen that accentuates the bitterness and imparts a really gentle carbonation; to the high-bicarbonate water of much of Germany that provides a more crisp pilsner; to the elemental, farmhouse, well-water versions that still dot the landscape of Franconia, Thuringia (esp. Brauerei Schmitt in Singen), and Bohemia -- I can still taste the "river water" twinge in my mind to this day.

Then there are the hops: from the spicy, earthy Saaz hops that provide a perfect balance to the bready malts in Urqell to the flowery, slightly fruity Hallertau hops that balance the crispness in Bavarian pilsner to the perfumy hops that provide a nice aroma in a northern German pils like a Koenig.

But the key thing is the balance of all of these elements, in whatever combination you might find them. And there are innumerable combinations, if you really look. Or, to quote a wise U.S. "craft" brewer:

"In my humble opinion, perhaps the world of beer would be a much happier world if people appreciated subtlety and nuance. Instead, as long as imperial stouts and double IPAs are the two highest rated categories of beer…why is that? It’s because there’s so much flavor. It’s so intense, how could it not hit everything. But drinking a perfectly refined, absolutely flawless pilsner, where the water is perfectly minerally, the hop aroma is just absolutely dialed-in, and the flavor is crisp and leaves you with a pleasant aftertaste with just a kiss of hops. That’s a difficult to make and produce on a regular basis. There’s no room to hide anything. People need to herald those efforts. I think it says something about the craft beer consumer. It was a reaction to Budweiser. ‘Those are beers are tasteless and they’re light.’ Well actually, there is taste. There is flavor. You’re not looking for it, you’re just being antagonistic. We’re trained to think something that’s lower in alcohol is just fizzy yellow water."

 

You are not alone. A well made pilsener is a thing of true beauty.

 

I love them, and I'm lucky enough to live in an area full of delicious American brewed pilsners.

 

I like some pilsners, but it is a more boring style. Unfortunately the craft beer trends are toward bigger bolder beer, so making something refined and still flavorful isn't going to draw as much attention. The same problem is facing the Saison which is one of my favorite styles.

 

Scrimshaw is my go-to beer when I'm outside. It tastes great and I don't get hammered after drinking several.