Sports on Draft

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Hop Culture // Photo courtesy of Oxbow Brewing

Don’t sleep on Italian Pilsners you hop heads, there is in indeed, another great option for a light, and crisp style of beer to sip on (especially in this heat). Maybe take a break from those Mexican Lagers, and shift your focus from all the tropical hazy IPAs, because the Italian Pils is a cool middle ground.

What is an Italian Pilsner?

The simple answer, according to craftbeer.com, is that “Italian pilsners are German-style pilsners that have been dry-hopped with European hops for maximum aroma.” Unlike some other lager styles, Italian-style pilsners “are less about malt and all about the hops.”

Yes, Italian Pilsners are know for their light body alike most light beers in general, but the dry hop process is the distinction.

According to Hop Culture, “Dry hopping is really the big differentiator in Italian pilsners, with noble hops imparting a characteristic aroma and bitterness.” Hop Culture also mentions that, “Italian pilsners are light in color, clean in body, unfiltered, and defined by dry hopping.”

Today I tried an Italian Pilsner from Highland Park Brewery, called “Pleasant Pils.” This was a great memory refresher for me since I haven’t had many Italian Pilsners.

The Pleasant Pils is a great example of what the Italian Pilsner should represent – light body and malt, clean, crisp with hints of sweetness, and noble hop varieties. And that’s what this Pleasant Pils is all about.

Highland Park not only does fantastic west coast and hazy IPAs, they also produce some brilliant light beers.

Great breweries like Highland Park expand their variety inside the taproom. I believe sometimes the infatuation and hype of the hazy IPA’s tend to overshadow some of the other wonderful styles of beer out there.