1 History

Since its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century, the popularity and evolution of Pilsener have paralleled the technological developments of recent history. The world-wide popularity of lager beer in general, and Pilsener in particular would not have been possible without the development of transportation, refrigeration, and other basic industries. And while beer cannot be held accountable for the follies and triumphs of the modern world, it has contributed some of its minor advances.

In Europe, the eighteenth century marked the beginning of the industrial revolution, when scientific discoveries were applied to the problems of humans. Starting in England, brewing was transformed from a cottage industry into a large-scale manufacturing operation with a consequent need for product consistency. Progressive brewers brought the thermometer and hydrometer (or saccharometer) into service in the brewery. While “old-timers” first resisted the devices as a disparagement of their skill, these new tools eventually were accepted because they were more reliable than the old methods. The end result was better beer.

At this time, Czech-speaking lands were basically agrarian, with beer and its raw ingredients an integral part of the national society and economy. Bohemian and Moravian summer or two-row barleys (especially the Hanna and Kniefl varieties) were then, as they are now, among the most prized in the world, and the famous western Bohemian hop, the Zatec Red or Saaz, is arguably the finest grown anywhere. Aware that its hops were a national treasure, for centuries the Grand Dukes of Bohemia attempted to prevent the export of their precious herbs and actually mandated the death penalty for anyone caught smuggling the rhizomes (root cuttings) out of the country. Then, during the last part of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, František Ondřej Poupe, a Bohemian brewmaster, brought modern standards and techniques to Bohemia’s brewing industry and thus prepared it for its coming prominence.

By 1840, Bohemia possessed the know-how and raw materials for making first-class beers. But fermentation still utilized mixed cultures of top-fermenting yeast, and in many places, including Plzeň, the results were inconsistent at best. At about this time, the citizens of the town resolved to build a new brewery in the hope that it would make better beer than the old one did. But exactly at this time, the long-held secret of Munich—bottom fermentation—was revealed. While the function of yeast was still not understood, the new generation of Bavarian brewers had begun to realize that yeast was the key to the success of their methods and the quality of their beer. In 1842, a Bavarian monk smuggled a pot of bottom-fermenting yeast into Bohemia and supplied the last missing element for the creation of a new beer. This was the beginning of the “lager revolution” and the beginning of the style we now call Pilsener.

SUCCESS AND CHANGE

Since then, the story of Pilsener has been one of unparalleled success and the changes success can bring. The method for brewing light, well-carbonated lagers spread quickly across Northern Europe, through Germany, and into the Low Countries and Scandinavia. Germans and other Central Europeans immigrating to the New World brought with them their brewing skills. As early as 1850, these new arrivals began brewing lager in Canada and the United States. Later waves of immigrants reinforced the trend, and in North America the terms “lager” and “Pilsener” became almost synonymous.

This growth in popularity brought changes as brewers adapted the style to fit their local conditions and shifting popular taste. In creating Pilsener, the brewery in Plzeň had exploited not only the region’s excellent malt and hops, but also its water supply, which is almost unique among the great brewing centers of Europe. The water there is extremely soft—total dissolved solids are under 50 parts per million (ppm)—and this characteristic makes it possible to brew pale beer with a very high hop rate, a combination that almost impossible with hard water. In other cities, brewers who attempted to duplicate the Plzeň beer found that they had to lower their hop rates and make other changes in order to get the mellow flavor they wanted. The clean, refreshing palate of good Pilsener became so desirable that rich flavors were muted in order to emphasize this characteristic. Carbonation sometimes was increased slightly, and adjuncts such as corn and rice were introduced later in order to lighten the body.

To regress a little bit, these changes did not take place abruptly but rather evolved. In Germany, the Reinheitsgebot (purity law) forbade the use of adjuncts; yet even there, Pilsener beers were brewed to be lighter and less malty than the original Pilsener. The German Pilseners often had a lower hop rate, partly owing, as previously noted, to the water. Different brewing methods were also employed. In Plzeň, the brewery used a traditional triple-decoction mash similar to that employed at Munich. This process was as time-consuming and intensive then as it is today and tended to increase the color of the finished beer. As a result, German brewers usually adopted a shorter, double-decoction system that produced a paler beer. Another change that also lightened the beer was the use of pressurized steam to heat the brewing kettles, since direct firing almost always scorches the wort and caramelizes it to some extent. This innovation—pioneered in Munich in the latter half of the nineteenth century—not only improved working conditions in the brewhouse, but also improved the consistency and flavor of the beer.

SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING ADVANCES

The “lager revolution” began before Louis Pasteur had demonstrated the true nature of fermentation, but it certainly would not have succeeded without him. Pilsener owes its world-wide popularity to the development of brewing science and adequate microbiological controls. More than almost any other style of beer, a light lager such as Pilsener leaves no margin for the ruinous effects of infection. Pasteur’s classic investigations of beer and wine fermentations not only revealed for the first time the true role of yeast, but also demonstrated that off-flavors are often the result of other organisms.

Pasteur’s discoveries led directly to the work of another great microbiologist, Emil Hansen, who worked at the Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen. In 1881, Hansen developed techniques for isolating and propagating single yeast cells. This ability to produce pure cultures of selected yeast strains put brewers in control of their product for the first time. Up to that point, as Hansen discovered, all yeasts were a mixture of strains, some good for brewing, some not so good and all were more or less contaminated with bacteria and wild yeast. It was mostly a matter of luck if the good yeast managed to dominate a fermentation and thereby produce an acceptable beer. But using Hansen’s methods, brewers could select a yeast strain according to their requirements, just as they did their malts and hops. It is hard to overestimate the importance of this development in the success of lager brewing in general and the Pilsener style in particular.

As I previously mentioned, developments in engineering also played a part in the evolution of Pilsener. The great German brewmaster Gabriel Sedelmayr, chief brewer at the Spaten brewery in Munich during the mid-1800s, was perhaps the greatest advocate of steam in the brewery, but he deserves even more credit for his role in the development of refrigeration. Indeed, he could be called the father of the brewing revolution, since refrigeration turned lager brewing into an operation that could be carried on year-round, independent of climate or terrain. Prior to the introduction of artificial cooling, brewing could be done only during winter, and lagering had to be done in natural caves, which limited the sites on which a brewery could be built.

As Pilsener brewing spread across Europe, adjuncts were introduced into the process in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. This alteration brought with it a totally new mashing system: the so-called “mixed mash,” described on page 15. But of far greater significance is the lightening of body and flavor that this technique made possible. The refreshing quality of the beer was thereby emphasized. To keep everything in balance, the hop rate usually was adjusted downward somewhat, but this depended on the water and, of course, the judgment of the brewer. So strong has been the drive towards adjuncts that, in more recent times, some North German brewers have evaded the spirit (though not the letter) of the Reinheitsgebot by using a proportion of “chit malt” in the grist. This is barley malt so undermodified that for all practical purposes it is identical to the raw grain.

American-style Pilseners employed many of the same innovations as those used in Scandinavia. The difference is one of degree. Faced with rather coarse-flavored native hops and high-tannin, six-row barley, the New World brewers carried the tendency to lighten both the malt and hop character of the beer to the greatest extreme. Over the decades, American beer has become more and more delicate in its bouquet and body.

THE RESULTS OF SUCCESS

As a result of its evolution, Pilsener has become a style with such a range of flavor profiles—from rich, malty and hoppy to almost bland—that it can only be characterized by four common characteristics: pale color, relatively high carbonation, a flavor well-balanced between malt and hops with neither predominating and, finally, bottom fermentation that allows a “clean” aroma in which the basic ingredients (rather than yeast by-products) prevail. But this last characteristic is arguable since it is really common to almost all types of lager beer.

SUBSTYLES OF BEER

No description of Pilsener would be complete without listing the substyles into which it has evolved. Having outlined the history behind their development, I will now briefly describe how they are made today, and how the differences in formulation and production methods affect the flavor of the finished product.

- Pilsner Urquell -

Pilsner Urquell (in Czech, Plzeňsky Prazdroj) is the original Pilsener beer, and it has changed little since 1870 or 1880, when the technology of the brewery was fixed. The beer is brewed in small batches of around 152 U.S. barrels (180 hectoliters) from a blend of two-row malts, using the triple-decoction mash system. The malt is considerably undermodified by American or German standards, which makes a lengthy mash necessary. The crushed malt is mashed-in with cold water, then infused with boiling water to raise the temperature to 95 degrees F (35 degrees C). Subsequent rests are made at temperatures of 122, 149, and 165 degrees F (50, 65, and 74 degrees C). After lautering, the wort is boiled in direct-fired copper kettles for two hours and hopping takes place in three stages. The wort is cooled in two stages, first passing through a closed counterflow chiller and then a large flat copper pan (coolship) where the trub settles and the wort absorbs oxygen. The yeast is pitched at about 40 degrees F (4 degrees C), and fermentation lasts twelve to fourteen days at a temperature near 46 degrees F (8 degrees C). The beer is then transferred to the lagering vats and kraeusened. It is stored for a full three months at temperatures near the freezing point. The beer is filtered before being kegged or bottled. The bottled beer is pasteurized, with beer destined for North America receiving a longer treatment to increase its stability.

Pilsner Urquell is noted for its light golden color and rich maltiness. The best way to describe it is perhaps to say that it has a little more of everything—sweetness, bitterness, and hop nose—than the average Pilsener beer. Flavor will be described in greater detail in the next chapter.

- All-Malt Continental Pilseners -

Other Czech Pilseners are hard to find in the United States, but German versions are relatively commonplace. The Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (DAB) brews an excellent example of Pilsener that is marketed in this country under the label DAB. All-malt Pilseners also are brewed in Poland, Belgium, Holland, and other European countries. Premium two-row barleys are used almost exclusively, but the trend is to make a well-modified malt rather than the undermodified type used at Plzeň. This goes along with the shorter mash schedules mentioned earlier. A double-decoction mash, with mashing-in at around 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), is common in Germany, though the trend is toward even shorter methods such as the single-decoction or upward-infusion (temperature programmed) systems.

Boiling times may be as little as an hour. The finished beer is usually yellow rather than golden, with a lighter malt flavor as a result of both the malts and the process employed. Because they often are brewed from harder water, these Pilseners have a bitterness that is lower than that of Pilsner Urquell, but higher than American-style Pilsener. They usually retain the strong hop character of the original, including the unique aroma of Saaz hops. (More than half of Czechoslovakia’s annual production of hops is exported.) Two or three hop additions are usual, with some brewers adding hops to the hop back or fermenter (a process called “dry hopping”) to get the freshest possible aroma. Fermentation is usually briefer, with the temperature being allowed to rise during the process from around 48 degrees F (9 degrees C) at pitching to perhaps as high as 60 degrees F (15 degrees C) by the end. Kraeusening is sometimes employed, but often the beer is simply racked into the lager tanks and residual fermentable sugars are relied upon to carbonate the beer. Lager times are often shorter than in Czech breweries, though still long by American standards; four to six weeks is usual. Filtration almost always is employed, but pasteurization is reserved for bottled beers destined for export.

- Adjunct Pilseners -

As mentioned before, adjunct Pilseners are brewed using a mixed-mash method. Well-modified malt is required for this. The rice or corn grits are mixed with about 10 percent of the crushed malt and slowly raised to a boil. They are boiled for at least fifteen minutes to gelatinize the starch. Meanwhile the remaining malt is mashed-in at protein rest temperatures of 113 to 130 degrees F (45 to 55 degrees C) and held until the cereal mash is added. This raises the temperature to the range of starch conversion at 150 to 158 F (65 to 70 degrees C), and when saccharification is complete, the mash is boosted once more by direct heat before being run into the lauter tun. Boil times are often short, but multiple hop additions are customary, and a definite hop aroma is important to the flavor profile of these beers. Fermentation usually follows the norm for Continental Pilsener, though many breweries try to minimize storage times and may employ artificial carbonation.

Because of the use of adjuncts, the body and flavor of most Dutch and Scandinavian Pilseners are noticeably lighter than those of German or Czech examples, though the balance is usually preserved. In terms of body and flavor, the Dutch and Scandinavian Pilseners are more similar to American examples, while in terms of hop characteristics they lean toward German standards. Hop bitterness and aroma are lower than for the all-malt Pilseners but higher than for American or Canadian beers. Heineken, if it is fresh and has not been light-struck or otherwise mishandled, is an excellent example.