Spring has certainly sprung, and that’s when I start to look for lighter styles of beers to refresh me during these warmer days. So this past week in my fridge it has been like a changing of the guard. I’ve been moving out the Dark ales and Stouts and moving in Summer Ales, Lagers and Pilsners.
I love a Pilsner, they are clean, crisp, refreshing and the malt and hop aromas remind me of being outdoors in summer, citrus blossom and raking up from a freshly mown lawn.
Pilseners Originated in Plzen, Bohemia (Now the Czech Republic) in 1842 when the Pilsen Brewery recruited a Bavarian Brewer, Josef Groll to help improve the quality of the beer being produced.
The Bavarian brewers had been using new techniques to brew, using bottom fermenting yeasts then storing (or lagering) it in cold caves. The result was a beer with increased clarity and a consistency of flavour.
Josef set about using this new brewing method along with Pale malts (using English technology), and utilising a locally grown Saaz hop, he produced a clear golden beer that the people of Pilsen applauded as a sensation. This beer became Pilsner Urquell (which is still brewed today). Word quickly spread of this golden hoppy brew, and soon all across Europe others imitated this new sensation in beer.
In 1859 the term “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name, and a new style had been born.
Today there are different types of Pilsners. German, Czech, and European styles to name just three, but all are known for their clear light colour, with a distinct hop aroma and flavour. They are a great match to seafood and will handle chilli heat as well as cut through grease, and oily foods to cleanse a palate.
Here are a couple of beauties that currently inhabit my beer cave. (Although, unlike the old Bavarian Brewers; my beers don’t get a chance to age!)
Cheers!
Hawkers Beer (Reservoir, Vic.)
Pilsner
5.0%abv
$19.99 per 6 x 330ml bottle.
The Hawker pours a light golden colour with a light foamy head, which disappears into a thin white strip. It has a sweet malty biscuit aroma along with an awesome fragrance of grass. It is light in the mouth, with the malt body lingering enough to fill out this tasty beer before disappearing with a crisp bitter finish. This is a solid and classic pilsner style beer, which fits beautifully with the rest of Hawkers stable of tasty brews. Distribution is still a bit hard to find, as these guys are still fairly new on the market, but ask your local bottleshop and I’m sure they will find it for you.
Food Match: Chilli crab cakes.
Mildura Brewery (Mildura, Vic.)
Stefano’s Pilsner
4.7%abv
$20.99 per 6 x 330ml bottle.
This beer is a very pale golden brew. It is clear with a white head which disappeared quickly. It has a citrus piny, grass hop aroma. With a light to thin mouthfeel, the grassy flavours are evident in the back of the throat finishing dry and clean, with not much malt body being evident. The label tells me that this was brewed in a European style and I would say that that is correct, as the European style tends to be a little thinner than other examples of this style. Great on a summer’s day after working in the yard and you’re looking for a quencher to cool you down.
Food Match: Fish and chips.
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