Pils Love

Happy Valentine's Day - love is in the air and beer is in my glass. In an attempt to be romantic, we're drinking two "new-style" Pilsners and trying to decide how they stack up against their classic counterparts.

Pilsners come from Plzeň in modern day Czech Republic, or old day Bohemia. Its a lovely town and, as macro as the Pilsner Urquell brewery is, I'd still strongly recommend a visit at the world's earliest convenience. You finish the tour in the cold damp cellars under the brewery with a proper foamy glass of cold Plzeň straight from a big wooden cask. Sure its showy, but its fantastic.

The first Pilsner was brewed in Plzeň by a Bavarian fellow named Josef Groll. When he eventually left Bohemia and returned home, the style came with him and, over time, became what is today the German style. Back in Plzeň and the surrounds, the Bohemians had developed a liking for the cooler fermented, cave aged beers that Groll was making, and so they too continued making the style, which evolved over time to become the Czech Pilsner.

As with most styles, there are a hundred-and-one takes on the classic Pilsner: Wet-Hopped, Dry-Hopped, East Coast, West Coast, Fruit, Smoked, Imperial, Alcohol-Free and you get the idea. For today's article, we picked up a Hoppy Pils from the amazing DEYA up on the edge of the Cotswolds, and were very kindly gifted a Gispy Hill West Coast Pilsner from some friends a bit more local to it than us, south of the river here in London.

DEYA | Hoppy Pils

^{Alc 4.0% | Canned on 11.1.2021}

Colour

Pale Straw and some haze.

Nose

Mangoes in the forest.

Mouth

Big body for a 4% pilsner. The middle section dumps out a good measure of not-too-sweet stone fruit. There's a herbal bitterness that jumps in halfway and lingers in the finish to balance the whole thing out.

7/10

Gipsy Hill | Dinomania - West Coast Pilsner

^{Alc 5.0% | Packaged on 8.7.2020}

Colour

Pale Gold, so slightly darker than above, little to no haze.

Nose

Caramel, biscuits and ripe berries.

Mouth

Lighter in the mouth than the DEYA and the malt is much more obvious. Candy sweetness from beginning to end, with only the finish leaving a lingering touch of bitterness.

5/10

My first hint that neither of these was going to be entirely traditional was the allergen-bolded WHEAT on the list of ingredients. I'm not really sure what it brought to the party - maybe a bit of haze or a firmer, more Czech-like head - but I'll assume there was good reason for it in both cases.

If I had to choose between the two traditional styles, I'd always pick the Czech. Today, though, I'm really digging the DEYA, which reads much more like a German Pils - lighter in colour, fuller in the mouth, more herby bitterness. The Gipsy Hill is of a deeper colour, lighter in the mouth and is definitely sweeter (probably too much so) - all characteristics of the Czech style.

jay