This Is Pilsner

Until about 1840, most beers (including those from what would become the Czech Republic were top fermented. In Bohemia specifically, consumers were dissatisfied with the quality of their local beer.

The citizens of Pilsen in Bohemia founded a brewery of their own; the Burgess' Brewery. They experimented with paler malts, cold storage and bottom-fermenting yeasts. And thus, Pilsner was born. Clearer, crisper, and with less yeast-induced characteristics than ales, the Pilsner took off like a rocket in Bohemia and quickly spread around the world.

Pilsners are lagers. Really, "lager" is German for "storage" but is now used to classify any bottom-fermented beer. Pilsner, in this case a Czech, or, Bohemian Pilsner (according to how the BJCP classifies beer) is one of many types of lagers and is the focus of today's delicious offering. Another lawnmower beer to be sure, but I like this particular beer on a hot summer evening on my back deck.

While Pilsner Urqell (meaning "Original Pilsner") is the most classic example of this type of delicious beer, today's offering is Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. Indeed we can brew a fine example of a classic beer.


As I poured into my lovely Pilsner glass, the beer quickly frothed to a creamy white head, which subsided to a thin but very sticky lacing down the glass. It has what could be described as an almost shimmering clarity to the beautiful golden-straw color.

I had to resist the urge to chug the beer so I could appropriately treat my nose to a lovely bouquet. Summerfest smelled clean, with some fresh cut hay and that lovely, complex Saaz hop that is characteristic of this style. In fact, I am sure the Saaz hop is at least partially responsible for the fresh hay scent, as well as the more common spiciness and floral scent. By spiciness, it's almost like a pepper, but not peppery. It is truly its own thing, but you know spicy when you smell it.

Like a Kölsch, this beer is simply clean (the main difference being that a Kölsch is an ale and we are speaking of a lager). Summerfest is crispand gives a truly refreshing sensation. It has a clean but dry, rich maltiness with a hint of lemon in that simply amazing Saaz spicy hop character that gives Summerfest a nice bitter bite. The beer finishes on a well-balanced hop and grain husk and is quite dry. The bitterness in the middle doesn't linger throughout the beer, but just strikes a great balance at the end.

This beer, while being medium-bodies and dry, is truly a refreshing libation. Sierra Nevada truly did the style justice in a well-executed nod to the Czech Pilsner.