Beer: The best Pilsners


Whenever you start wishing that “brewers would just make beer taste like beer again,” Pils ner is the name to reach for, said Spike Car ter in Bloomberg .com. First brewed in the Ba var ian city of Pil sen in 1842, the crisp, clean pale lager is by far the world’s most popular beer style. Czech-made Pils ner Ur quell remains the archetype, and easy to find. But these superlative U.S. examples deserve a go, too.

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils Paso Robles, Calif. Modeled after Italy’s floral, grassy, bittersweet, and cult-worthy Tipopils, this clean-drinking Pils has a “subtly” fruity hop nose.

Half Acre Pony Pilsner Chicago The sweet maltiness of this German-style lager is balanced by “a nicely cutting hop bite.”

Russian River STS Pils Santa Rosa, Calif. “Citrusy, grainy, herbaceous, and immensely crushable,” this Pils won gold at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.