Pilsner for the People

I'm a pilsner proponent, and most of the people that are really into beer and not into particular styles love pilsners and lagers. A lot of folks into craft beer are, as @SteveD082791 said, into beers that have bold flavors. Can they appreciate the subtle goodness that many lagers possess? Sure. Are they going to try these styles as willingly as they do every NEIPA or pastry stout? It remains to be seen.

What @EvenMoreJesus said has a lot of importance here. Craft beer is a turnover business. It's about turning over fermentation space so you can make more product to sell. It's about using your fermentation efficiently. When you combine that with the fact that lagers might have less economic incentive from the standpoint of pricing and there's less overall incentive to brew these styles. By that, I mean there is a perception that lagers should be cheaper, due to the macros, that even premium lagers have limited pricing upside. I'm not saying that should be the case; not all lagers are created equal.

For me, craft lagers and pilsners especially fill multiple roles. Firstly, they taste great. They're also lighter than NEIPAs and stouts, not just in alcohol but also in body. I recently had a session NEIPA that I couldn't imagine having more than one of in a session. I can definitely have more than one pilsner or lager. They're also great with food in that they still have flavor but aren't combating the food and aren't necessarily beer you have to think about too much. The last bit is more of a perception thing as I feel people feel the need to savor their NEIPAs, imperial stouts, or sours, which they don't necessarily need to do with a lager.

One of the major challenges for lagers (and pilsners) to breakthrough is changing general perception that lagers are an inferior product to ales.

 

Neshaminy Brewing is about 15 minutes from my parents, I've got Facebook messages that they're selling fresh Trauger for $30 a case out the door. Can't beat that.

 

Silly me! I've always drank what I like.

 

Light colored lagers are, indeed, the champagne of beers.

 

I think what will stop pilsners becoming the latest fad/trend is related to the style itself- because the are more subtle and cleaner, theres nowhere really to go with it in terms of experimentation.
This means that the type of people who jump from beer to beer trying to find new and different flavours would be inlikely to buy several types of comparatively "plainer" beer.
Personally though i'll keep drinking according to the seasons/weather and so if that includes the odd pilsner, and some of the local breweries are making some nice ones, all the better for me.

All in all its a great time to be a drinker.

 

I've actually started drinking more crisp, refreshing lagers in general since the summer heat has returned. I also lean toward witbiers for the same reason. As for doppelbocks, I tend to stay with the great German brews like Paulaner, Weihenstephaner and Ayinger.

 

In other words, "When people start liking beer-flavored beer, these classic styles will be popular again.".

 

Have you had St. Benjamin Pilsner Procim.?

Cheers!

 

No I haven't, never heard of it to be honest.

 

Is that an alternate spelling of please in Czech?
prosím=please.

 

You caught me: I misspelled the word. It should be prosim.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34779/272314/

Cheers!

@nc41

 

we are brewing our modern style pils Domrep Pils since 2014. just aroma hops no bitter hops, won gold as best hoppy lager at brussels beer challenge 2016, www.collabs.beer

 

No bittering hops? In a Pilsner? Hmm. Have to wonder how much the aroma hops "fooled" those judges.

Wait a minute, this beer?* How can it have 50 IBU with no bittering hops?

*The link doesn't connect directly, but you can find the Domrep from there.

 

There are times when I crave a pils. And when i get the craving, its best to satiate it by the liter-full. its quite satisfying. theyre great on a hot day and also great to break up a string of sours or hop bombs.

i do have a hard time justifying a hefty or even moderate price-tag however. maybe im cheap (hell, i KNOW im cheap), but i just have hard time paying the same price as other beers for a lower intensity of flavor.

so bring on the $14.99 15-pack of pils and i'll be all over it. JMO.

 

If you add hops late, or even add all of the hops afterflame out in the whirlpool, the aroma is preserved, and you still get isomorization of the Alpha Acids. The utilization is low, ~10% or less from numbers I have seen. Keep in mind that the hops in this beer were Mosaic, Vic Secret, and Mandarina Bavaria which all have pretty high AA values.

 

From what's been posted here on BA (and from what I've seen perusing the German homebrewer forums) using almost exclusively hopping towards the end of the boil is not really as uncommon in German breweries...

But after drinking the Sixpoint The Crisp I really would not think that would be very pleasant getting to 50 IBU's in this method with noble hops.

Looking at the hops in this beer with Mosaic and Vic Secret I really struggle to see it tasting like what people here consider a pilsner. An IPL sure.

 

I'm enjoying how pretentious craft beer culture is evolving. Five years ago, it was the cool thing to claim that you liked ales, and that lagers were too boring. Now the cool thing is claiming that if pilsner isn't your favorite beer style, "you don't even like beer".

I'm hoping the next hipster beer fad is that hops are for people who don't like the taste of beer, and that gruit ale is for REAL craft beer drinkers...

 

Depends upon at what temperature you add your hops, but, yeah, you can still get rather significant isomerization at temperatures below boiling.

Also makes me wonder if the IBUs where tested or calculated.

 

"Beer? Pffft. I ONLY drink Tej."

 

Understood, but 50 IBU with no bittering hops at all? Tell me that doesn't sound suspect.