The craft-era American pilsner — a clean, golden lager that takes the firm bitterness and clear malt backbone of the classic American pilsener and opens it up to a wide range of hop varieties. Typically 4.9–6.0% ABV, straw to gold. Where the traditional version hews to noble-type hops and the pre-Prohibition template, the contemporary one ranges freely, often dry-hopped and showing the citrus, floral, or herbal character of modern hops. All-malt grists are the norm, though up to a quarter of the grain may still be corn or rice.
In the glass
Origin
The contemporary American pilsener is the craft sector’s reworking of the classic American pilsener, and its rise is bound up with the broader resurgence of interest in well-made lagers among American craft brewers. The traditional American pilsener leans on noble-type hops and traces back to the pre-Prohibition lagers of German immigrant brewers; the contemporary version breaks from that template by reaching for a wide range of hop aromas and flavors, frequently dry-hopped in the manner of the country’s pale ales. Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils, debuted in 2013, was one of the beers that drove the current wave — a hop-forward pilsner inspired by dry-hopped Italian examples but given a West Coast accent. The style sits alongside the celebrated craft pilsners that preceded it, including Victory’s Prima Pils, one of the earliest and most influential American craft lagers.
Notes
This is the pilsner for hop lovers. Against the traditional American pilsener, the contemporary version trades the strict noble-hop character for whatever the brewer wants to show off — Saaz and Hallertau still appear, but so do the citrus and floral varieties more often seen in pale ales, frequently added as a dry hop. Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils and Victory’s Prima Pils are the touchstones; Sierra Nevada Nooner and Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils sit in the same family. It is hoppier and more aromatic than a classic German pilsner, and far more so than the spare, clean pre-Prohibition template it descends from.
Defining examples
Firestone Walker Pivo Pils·Victory Prima Pils·Sierra Nevada Nooner Pilsner·Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils·Russian River STS Pils