Pilsner: the angry town that invented the world's favourite beer

Order a lager almost anywhere on earth and what arrives in the glass, pale and gold, is a distant relative of a batch brewed in a west Bohemian town in 1842. That town is Plzeň, which English speakers call Pilsen. "Pilsner" simply means "from Pilsen", and the Czechs have been quietly amused about the rest of the planet borrowing it ever since.

Why Pilsen wanted a new beer

Before the 1840s, Bohemian beer was mostly dark, cloudy and top-fermented, and quality swung from brewery to brewery. The story goes that the people of Pilsen got so fed up with sour batches that they tipped barrels into the street. Believe the barrels or not, the town's burghers did found a Citizens' Brewery and hired a Bavarian brewer, Josef Groll, to run it.

Groll brought Bavarian bottom-fermentation, a slow, cold method that gives a cleaner, crisper beer. Pilsen supplied the rest: very soft local water, pale malt and Saaz hops from the Žatec region. The result was clear and golden when most beer was brown. Cheaper clear glassware meant people could finally see it, which helped.

What "Urquell" means

The brewery's name is German for "original source". The Czech version, Plzeňský Prazdroj, says the same thing. It was a pointed choice. The style spread fast, and brewers across Europe started calling their own pale lagers "pilsner". The word is now generic, but the original is the one with Pilsen on the label.

The difference matters when you are standing at a Prague bar. A "pilsner" on a menu elsewhere in the world can mean any pale lager. In Czechia the word points back to a specific place, a specific water and a specific hop, and bars that pour the real thing tend to say so loudly.

What the water and the hops do

It sounds like marketing, but the local water really is the point. Pilsen's water is very soft, with little mineral content, so it lets the malt and the hops speak without a harsh edge. Brewers elsewhere spent decades adjusting their water to imitate it. Saaz, the aromatic hop from around Žatec, adds a gentle spice and a bitterness that is firm without being aggressive. Put the two together with a long, cold fermentation and a patient rest in the cellar, and you get a beer that looks simple and is not.

That simplicity is why Czechs drink it in volume. A good lager is meant to be finished, then repeated, and the best ones make the second glass taste better than the first.

Three mistakes at a Prague bar

Asking for "a pilsner" is the classic. In a pub pouring Pilsner Urquell you will get one, but in a pub with another house beer you will get a puzzled look and a lager anyway. Just say jedno pivo, prosím. Mistake two is assuming the number on the menu is the strength. It is the sugar scale, so a 10° is lighter in body, not a weak beer in any meaningful sense. Mistake three is leaving your beer to go flat while you decide on food. Czech beer is poured to be drunk cold and fresh, and the foam has done its work by the time the second sip is gone.

Reading a Czech beer menu

Czech beer is sorted by degrees: 10° (desítka) or 12° (dvanáctka). That is degrees Plato, a measure of the sugar in the wort before fermentation. It is not the alcohol content, although a 12° is usually the stronger, fuller beer. Say jedno pivo, prosím and you get the house lager, in a half-litre glass called a půllitr.

The next beer turns up when your glass is nearly empty unless you wave it off. We cover that dance in our guide to how a Czech pub works.

Tasting it properly

Look for three things: a firm white head, a bitterness that arrives late and fades cleanly, and a faint bready sweetness underneath. Žatec hops give a spicy, herbal edge, not the grapefruit punch of many newer beers. Freshness matters more than anything else, so drink it in a busy pub where the kegs and tanks turn over fast. That is why tank beer has become a point of pride, and why a quiet pub at 3 pm on a Tuesday can serve you a duller glass than a packed one on Friday.

Do one small experiment. Order a 10° and a 12° in the same pub on the same day. Drink the lighter one first, then the fuller one. Most people find they have a clear favourite after two glasses, and it is often not the one they expected.

Dark beer and the others

A pub with a good lager often has a dark one beside it, and it is worth trying at least once. Czech tmavé is not the heavy, bitter stout that the word "dark" suggests to many foreigners. It is lager, with a roasted-malt sweetness and a lighter body than its colour promises. Řezané, the half-and-half, is the safe place to start if you are sceptical.

Beyond the classics, the last decade has brought small breweries making everything from pale ales to sour beers. They are worth finding, but treat them as a second chapter. Learn the lager first, because every Czech beer argument starts from it.

A day in Pilsen

Pilsen works as a day trip from Prague. The brewery runs tours that take in the sandstone cellars under the town, where beer was once lagered in the cold. Check the brewery's own site for current tour arrangements and booking, because they change.

The town has other draws. St Bartholomew's Cathedral on the main square has the tallest church tower in Czechia, and the Great Synagogue is among the largest in Europe. The main square, the cathedral and the cellars sit close enough to cover on foot.

Take an early train, book the tour in advance through the brewery's site, and be back in Prague by evening. Then order a pilsner near your flat and see whether you can taste what you learnt.

Frequently asked questions

Is pilsner a Czech word?

It comes from German and means from Pilsen (Plzeň in Czech). The style was first brewed in the town in 1842.

Does 12° mean 12 per cent alcohol?

No. It is degrees Plato, a measure of the sugar in the wort before fermentation. A 12° beer is usually around 5 per cent alcohol, but check the label.

Is the beer in Prague pubs the same as in Pilsen?

If the pub pours Pilsner Urquell, yes, the same beer. Freshness depends on how quickly the pub sells it, which is why busy pubs taste better.

How do I get from Prague to Pilsen?

Direct trains run regularly. Check the timetable and fares on the Czech Railways site.