Now, ain’t that American? Click on the gallery below for more on each of these beers. And then there’s a beer like Schmaltz brewing company’s Human Blockhead, which takes a number of German doppelbock styles, mixes them, adds more hops, throws it in a bourbon barrel, and cheerfully stomps all over the rules. Kolsch is one of the most popular German styles in the States and Captain Lawrence’s Captain’s Kolsch gives it a kiss of American flavor with Crystal hops that are grown in the United States. California’s Gordon Biersch chooses to try to one-up German brewers rather than give an American twist, by strictly adhering to German brewing laws while coming up with a Weizen Eisbock that we challenge against any in Deutschland. The Eisbock (ice beer), like the Märzen, is often a lager, but one that is richer and higher in alcohol thanks to a complex freezing-and-filtering process. One American take on this crisp, clean, and pale lager that we recommend comes from Two Brothers, which ages it in French Oak and ups the alcohol from the usual 5 percent to 8.8 percent. This style is actually a seasonal beer, also commonly referred to as Märzen (March), which is brewed in the spring and ready in time for the Munich-based festival in late September and early October.
Not all German beers are for Oktoberfest, though - far from it. RELATED: 70 Great Beers You’ve Probably Never Heard Of (German law prohibits their brewers from using any ingredients beyond barley, hops, water, and yeast.) The result? A sometimes wild, uniquely American, take on German brewing. You’ll see a big push from American craft brewers this fall to take the German style and - dare they - tinker with beers that many consider the most balanced in the world. And you can usually drink these beers in great quantities, thanks to their relatively low alcohol content. Pilsner was the world’s first pale, crystal clear lager and it changed the realm of beer forever. A bit of bitterness, but balanced with the delicateness of this beer. A pilsner is a style of lager beer hands down the most famous one in the world.It originated in 1842 Plze (Pilsen), a small town in Bohemia, today’s Czech Republic. The hops give complexity of some spice and floral notes but not overpowering.
The malt sweetness is delicate with bread-like sweetness. Oregon’s Pfriem is one of the nation’s best brewers, especially in its ability to turn out incredible American representations of traditional-style beers. It’s a cozy brewing tradition to dive into. Widmer Brothers PDX Pils (82) Crisp and refreshing though light-bodied. There’s something about fall weather that begs for the hearty simplicity of German beers. (They’re also great with bar food.While Germans nurse their hangover from Oktoberfest, we Americans are just getting started. If you’ve ever found yourself hesitating at the bar-unsure if you’re in the mood for another ultra-bitter pale ale or super-dense porter-the new wave of craft pilsners is for you. While craft pilsners tend to be light-to-medium-bodied and crisp, that hoppy shot of aroma and flavor elevates them above the Buds and Coors Lights of the world.In a lot of ways, craft pilsners are a kind of microbrew-macrobrew hybrid-combining the easy-drinking qualities of light lagers with the nuance and hoppy charm of craft brews.
Pilsner is one of those styles.Arguably the most popular type of beer in the world, pilsner (sometimes spelled “pilsener”) is a style of lager popularized in Germany and the Czech Republic that features a spicy, often-bitter hop kick.
And since craft now has a solid grip on a sizeable share of the American beer market, its brewers seem more willing to pursue and perfect some of the lighter, toned-down styles they’d once shunned. Independent craft breweries now account for more than 12 percent (and climbing) of all beer sales in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association. And so, in the world of craft brewing, these adjectives and the beer styles they described were for a long time all but verboten.That’s changing. These descriptors are almost synonymous with many of the mass-produced “adjunct” beers that dominated the American beer scene for most of the 20th century-beers like Budweiser, Miller, and Coors.