Pilsner Urquell

Coordinates: 49°44′48″N 13°23′14″E / 49.746758°N 13.387243°E / 49.746758; 13.387243

Pilsner Urquell
Manufacturer Pilsner Urquell Brewery
Introduced 1842
Style Cool fermented beer
Main gate of the Plzeňský Prazdroj

Pilsner Urquell (IPA: [ˈpɪlznɐ ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌkvɛl], Czech: Plzeňský prazdroj IPA: [ˈpl̩zɛɲskiː ˈprazdroj]), is a Czech lager brewed by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell is the world’s first blond or pale lager,[1] and its popularity meant it was much copied, and many of these copies are named pils, pilsner or pilsener.[2] It is hopped with Saaz hops (Czech: Žatec), named after a town in West Bohemia, a noble hop variety which is a key element in its flavour profile, as is the use of soft water and fire-brewing.[3][4] It is available in 330 ml, 355 ml and 500 ml aluminium cans and green or brown bottles.

Almost all draught Pilsner Urquell is packaged in kegs and dispensed under carbon dioxide pressure but small quantities are available unpasteurised, unfiltered and naturally conditioned in cask in the Czech Republic and in very limited amounts in Germany, the United Kingdom,[5][6] the United States,[7] Sweden,[8] Hungary and Austria. Pilsner Urquell is exported in bottles and cans to North America, Australia[9] and other regions.

History

A mug of Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell is the first pale lager, and the pilsner name is often used in copies: pilsner. It is characterised by its golden colour and clarity, and was immensely successful: nine out of ten beers produced and consumed in the world are pale lagers based on Pilsner Urquell, The name, which can be roughly translated into English as "the original source at Pilsen", was adopted as a trademark in 1898.[10] Before 1840, the standard beer in Bohemia was warm fermented and characterized by a dark colour, turbidity, and inconsistent quality. Plzeň burghers had not found this satisfying and the Plzeň city council ordered 36 casks to be dumped.[11] They invested in a new, state-of-the art brewery, the Bürgerbrauerei (Town brewery, Měšťanský pivovar in Czech), and commissioned Josef Groll, a Bavarian brewer, to develop a better beer. On 5 October 1842, Groll had an entirely new mash ready and on 11 November 1842, the new beer was first served at the feast of Saint Martin markets.[12]

Bürgerbrauerei registered Pilsner Bier B B brand in 1859.[13] In 1898, they also registered Original Pilsner Bier 1842, Plzeňský pramen, Prapramen, Měšťanské Plzeňské, Plzeňský pravý zdroj and finally Pilsner Urquell and Plzeňský Prazdroj which are in use today.

Pilsner Urquell is today brewed in two breweries; in the Pilsen brewery and in Kaluga, Russia. It was brewed between 2002 and 2011 in Tychy in Poland.[14]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ German Beer Institute, PILS Archived 19 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ University of Economics Prague, Brewery tour of Pilsner Urquell
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  5. ↑ "Czech this out". Ben Viveur. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "98. Pilsner Urquell". threehundredbeers.com. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Keepers of the Craft Content". Draft Magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Gyllen Prag, the Czech restaurant in Gothenburg: beer". Gyllene Prag. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Pilsner Urquell". CUB. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Michael. Ultimate Beer, page 124, DK Publishing, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0-7894-3527-6
  11. ↑ "Pils". The German Beer Institute. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Řezáč, Jiří. "Kdy bývá pivo Pils? (When is Pils beer?)". GastroNews.cz. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  13. ↑ Pilsner Urquell Archived 13 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Pilsner Urquell už se v Polsku vyrábět nebude
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