Alsatian Pilsner
06/21/2024
By Jack Horzempa
Prologue – “Well, how did I get here?”
The above quote is a nod to lyrics from a Talking Heads song.
I became aware of the Alsatian Pilsner substyle by reading about a few US craft breweries making beers they branded as “Alsatian Pilsner”. US craft breweries of late have marketed various Pilsner substyles with a theme of labeling them based upon where certain ingredients are obtained, for example featuring hops grown in certain countries/area. If a US craft brewery features hops grown in Poland (e.g., Lubelski hops) they may brand that Pilsner as being a Polish Pilsner. Or if they feature hops from New Zealand, they might call it a New Zealand Pilsner. But the Alsatian Pilsner is a substyle which is much deeper than that since this substyle has been around for almost 100 years. And the substyle is not just defined by where the hops are grown but also a differing grain bill (i.e., it is not just brewed using Pilsner malt).
Last year (2023) I attended a lager beer festival in Philadelphia sponsored by Human Robot Brewery. A brewery from New York, KCBC (Kings County Brewers Collective), served an Alsatian Pilsner they brand as Salü. My strategy at this beer festival was to drink/enjoy a few sips on each pour and dump the rest to help me maintain a certain level of sobriety. But when it came to Salü I lost my discipline and drank the whole mug. It was a very tasty beer and for my palate this beer was the epitome of “drinkability”. I wish there was a better term in English for this since for many beer drinkers they often think of a watery beer like Coors Light or Bud Light when they hear this word. For me, the word drinkability means the beer is so satisfying that when I finish the one beer I really, really want to drink a second one. I can report that with Salü I did have enough discipline to not get a second pour and moved on to a different brewery’s booth to try their beer. Below is a photo of my mug of Salü, and to quote Steve Irwin: “she’s a beauty!”.
The website
Untappd described Salu this way:
“Pours bright pale straw in the glass with fluffy white foam. Featuring a base of Franco- Belges pilsen malt plus a light layer of flaked corn, and modestly hopped with Strisselspalt & Barbe Rouge from sunny Strasbourg in France. Notes of alpine flora, freshly baked bread, soft cereal sweetness, a hint of wild berries, and crisp, herbal spice on the finish. Refined & refreshing.”
Since I was at a beer festival, and not in a ‘quiet’ drinking environment, I will not claim that I picked up all of the flavors mentioned above but I agree 100% with “refined &
refreshing”. I would also emphasize that this beer had a very pleasing dry finish. Salü was a beer that ‘spoke to me’ and that message was clear: you just gotta homebrew a beer like this! And if you are wondering what the word Salü means, apparently it is one way to say “hello” in Alsace. This beer most certainly said hello to me.
History of Alsatian Pils
History of Alsace and brewing
I suspect that many folks are not too familiar with the Alsace region. Rather than making you do a web search to learn about this region, permit me to share what Google has to report:
“Alsace is a historical region in northeastern France on the Rhine River plain. Bordering Germany and Switzerland, it has alternated between German and French control over the centuries and reflects a mix of those cultures. Its capital, Strasbourg, is centered on the Ill River’s Grand Île island, bordered by canals and home to the Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, with its animated astronomical clock.”
The culture of brewing beer in Garmany is well established and the ‘back & forth’ of Alsace between France and Germany has an imprint here as regards brewing beer. The largest brewery in France is Kronenbourg Brewery with headquarters located in the Alsatian capital of Strasbourg. I suspect that when it comes to French beer most folks think of Kronenbourg 1664 (1664 is the year the brewery was founded) which is a Euro Pale Lager. I will admit I personally do not think too highly of this product, it is a bit too watery for my personal palate. But thankfully there is more to Alsatian brewing than Kronenbourg.
History of the first Alsatian Pilsner: Meteor Pils 1927
The history of Meteor Pils brand is quite fascinating since the inspiration of this beer is Bohemia (Czech) as opposed to being German in nature. Below is from the Meteor website:
“Brief history: Meteor Pils beer is a Pilsner type beer made with hop flowers and brewed by Meteor in Alsace, created in 1927 by Louis and Frédéric Haag. In 1931 it obtained the official authorisation from the Czech government to call it PILS.”
On the brewery’s website they also provide a long list of the awards they have won for this beer and the fact they won a Gold Medal for the Bohemian Style Pilsner category in the 2017 European Beer Star Awards competition is quite impressive to me.
More history about the development of Meteor Pils is provided by a recent article by Anaïs Lecoq on the Good Beer Hunting website:
“After training in Berlin, Louis Haag spent a year working in a brewery in Czechoslovakia. When he created and launched his Pils in 1927, he had a Czech Pale Lager in mind, but with the beloved Alsatian variety Strisselspalt as the main hop. Michel Haag says that the Czech government gave Meteor the right to call their beer “MeteorPils” in 1931, provided that the name was followed by the phrase “Bière d’Alsace.”
Also, within the above linked article there is mention: “Meteor Pils represents 40% of the brewery’s production.”
In an article written by Will Hawkes published on the BA website:
“Meteor’s Pils, which actually has Czech roots and celebrated its 90th birthday in 2017, is emblematic of the way pale lager has long been brewed in Alsace. Made with the classic local hop, Strisselspalt, a mash bill that’s 20 percent corn, a single decoction step, and three weeks’ lagering, it is soft and round in the mouth with a bitterness that is uncommon for French pale lagers.
“It’s the queen of our beers,” says Haag. “We’ve had huge success with it.” And the corn? “The Germans say it is not pure [to use corn], but what is purity? How is barley more pure than maize? We use it because it makes the beer a little lighter.”
https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/17882/alsace-europes-great-forgotten-beer-culture/
So as previously mentioned, it is not just the locally grown hop variety (i.e., Strisselspalt) that distinguishes an Alsatian Pilsner but also the fact that 20% of the grain bill is corn, in addition to traditional Pilsner Malt.
History of adjunct brewing with corn
While the inspiration for brewing a beer like Meteor Pils may have been Bohemia, the brewers of the Meteor Brewery should be complemented for thinking outside of the ‘European Box’. They wanted this beer to be a “little lighter” and so they borrowed from American brewers and added some corn to the grain bill. American brewers of the latter 1800’s had learned that adding some adjunct like corn with their 6-row pale malt solved a chill haze problem resulting from the high protein content of the 6-row malt by diluting the overall protein content of the grain bill. They also found it made the beers a “little lighter” both in the appearance and body/mouthfeel. We homebrewers refer to these sorts of adjunct lagers brewed in America during that timeframe as Classic American Pilsners and those beers are very “drinkable”. The Classic American Pilsner substyle is further discussed in “The Family of Pilsners”:
https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Pilsen_Beer
American craft brewing of Alsatian Pilsners
In addition to the New York brewery KCBC, a number of other American craft breweries have also brewed Alsatian Pilsners, although some breweries are calling them French Pilsner instead of Alsatian. Perhaps this is because they think their customers are more familiar with France than a specific region of the country? These beers are produced on a periodic/rotating bases.
A few examples of American brewed Alsatian Pilsners:
Human Robot Storig
4.7% - Alsatian Style Pilsner - Collaboration with Imprint Beer Co. - Brewed with French pilsner malt, 25% corn, and Strisselspalt hops. Aromas of hay and autumn woods with a cracker like, dry malt character and lively carbonation.
Lowercase Alsatian Pilsner
A base of pilsner malt grown in Champagne, France mixed with some corn and Alsatian Strisselspalt produce a lean, pale, zippy little beer. Gesundheit!
Golden Age Alsatian Pilsner
Modern Pilsner brewed with Pilsner malt, Strisselspalt and Barbe Rouge hops from the Alsace region in France. Floral, citrus and pepper aromatics balanced with malt depth and cereal sweetness from the addition of corn. 5.7%
Alsatian Pilsner brewing considerations
Grains (malt and corn)
The majority of the grain bill is Pilsner Malt and from the US craft beers discussed above preferring Pilsner Malt produced in France. KCBC uses Franco-Belges malting company’s Pilsner Malt. Unfortunately, Pilsner Malt from Franco-Belges is not available at my local homebrewing store so I chose to use a Belgian produced Pilsner Malt instead: Dingemans.
A minority portion of the grain bill is corn (e.g., 20% for Meteor Pils, 25% for Human Robot Storig). There are various formats for corn: gelatinized corn (e.g., flaked corn), raw corn (e.g., corn grits), and malted corn. If raw corn is used then a cereal cook needs to be performed to gelatinize the corn for mashing. Both flaked corn and malted corn can be mashed with the Pilsner Malt. As you will read in the below recipe my preference is flaked corn.
Hops
The hop variety that is historically featured in an Alsatian Pilsner is Strisselspalt. US craft breweries like to innovate and as mentioned above they have used other hops that were grown in Alsace, specifically Barbe Rouge. These sorts of hops should be added for flavor/aroma.
Since Strisselspalt hops tend to be low in alpha acids, I use German Magnum for the bittering addition.
Yeast
I am unaware of any commercially available lager strains to homebrewers that are sourced from Alsatian breweries. I prefer to use Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager Yeast) to produce my Classic American Pilsner so this is a logical choice for me.
Use whatever yeast you prefer to make a Classic American Pilsner/Bohemian Pilsner.
Brewing Water
When I researched brewing water for Alsatian beer, I was unsuccessful in locating any specific information. Two potential targets would be to use very soft/low mineral water as is used to produce a Bohemian/Czech Pilsner. And since this is an adjunct lager akin to a Classic American Pilsner that brewing water could be a target as well.
A source for water guidance is Kai Troester, who lists a number of recommended water profiles for specific beer styles on his blog at http://www.braukaiser.com
Below is what he suggests for German Pilsners & American Pilsners:
|
Calcium (Ca ppm) |
Magnesium (Mg ppm) |
Sodium (Na ppm) |
Chloride (Cl ppm) |
Sulfate (SO4 ppm) |
Alkalinity, total (ppm) |
|
59 |
8 |
0 |
63 |
89 |
0 |
The salt additions to distilled water to produce the above water profile:
|
Gypsum (CaSO4) |
Epsom (MgSO4) |
Calcium Chloride (CaCO2) |
|
|
100 |
85 |
130 |
ppm |
|
0.1 |
0.09 |
0.13 |
g/l |
|
0.38 |
0.32 |
0.49 |
g/gal |
I brewed my Alsatian Pilsner using my municipal tap water filtered through a three-stage carbon block filter. This is the same brewing water as I use to brew my Classic American Pilsners.
Mashing Process
Modern day malts are well modified and simply conducting a single temperature infusion mash will yield good results. This is what I chose to do and I selected a mash temperature of 154 °F for one hour. Since a feature of this beer style is increased drinkability, it makes sense to mash at the lower end of the scale (e.g., 150 – 154 °). As you will see in the below recipe I achieved a very fermentable wort from my selection.
My Alsatian Pilsner recipe
Jack’s Güete Pils - Alsatian Pilsner
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Target O.G.: 1.050 (Achieved: 1.053)
Target F.G.: 1.010 (Achieved: 1.008)
IBUs: 40
Color: 3-4 SRM
All-grain version
Boiling Time: 75 minutes
Ingredients (Note: assumes a 75% brewhouse efficiency):
-
8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsner Malt (use French Pilsner Malt if you can find it)
-
2 lbs. Flaked Corn
-
0.7 ounces German Magnum hops (15.4% AA)
-
2.5 ounces Strisselspalt hops (1.8% AA)
-
1.5 ounces Strisselspalt hops (1.8% AA) for dry hopping – optional
-
Yeast: Wyeast 2124 (or equivalent)
Additional items:
-
1 tsp. rehydrated Irish Moss flakes (last 15 minutes of boil)
-
½ tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient (last 10 minutes of boil)
Directions:
Mash at a water-to-grist ration of 1.5 qts./lb. at a temperature of 154 °F (68 °C). Adjust brewing water and add lactic acid to achieve a mash pH of 5.2 – 5.4. Hold the mash at 154 °F for one hour. Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water collecting the wort until the pre-boil volume is around 7 gallons of wort. Tailor amount based upon your boil off rate to obtain 5.5 gallons of wort post boil
The total wort boil time is 75 minutes. Add the German Magnum hops at the beginning of boil and boil for 75 minutes. Add Irish Moss (or other kettle finings) with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add 1.25 ounces of Strisselspalt & Wyeast yeast nutrient with 10 minutes left in the boil. Add 1.25 ounces of Strisselspalt at the end of boil.
Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C) and aerate thoroughly. Pitch yeast.
Ferment around 50 - 55 °F (10 °C). With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in two weeks or less, but don’t rush it. Cold fermented lagers take longer to ferment than ales. If desired, perform a diacetyl rest during the last few days of active fermentation.
Rack the beer to a secondary and lager for around 4-5 weeks.
I prefer to dry hop my Pilsners so for this batch I dry hopped in the secondary with 1.5 ounces of Strisselspalt hops. This is not traditional and it is an optional step.
Bottle or keg after the lagering process is complete.
Partial Mash Version
Boiling Time: 75 minutes
Ingredients (Note: assumes a 75% brewhouse efficiency):
-
5 lbs. Dingemans Pilsner Malt (or French Pilsner Malt if you can find it)
-
2 lbs. Flaked Corn
-
3 lbs. Briess Pilsner Dried Malt Extract
-
0.7 ounces German Magnum hops (15.4% AA)
-
2.5 ounces Strisselspalt hops (1.8% AA)
-
1.5 ounces Strisselspalt hops (1.8% AA) for dry hopping – optional
-
Yeast: Wyeast 2124 (or equivalent)
Additional items:
-
1 tsp. rehydrated Irish Moss flakes (last 15 minutes of boil)
-
½ tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient (last 10 minutes of boil)
Directions:
Mash at a water-to-grist ration of 1.5 qts/lb. at a temperature of 154 °F (68 °C). Adjust brewing water and add lactic acid to achieve a mash pH of 5.2 – 5.4. Hold the mash at 154 °F for one hour. Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water collecting the wort until the pre-boil volume is around 5 gallons of wort is achieved and then add 3 lbs. of Dried Malt Extract and perhaps some top off water to achieve a total of 7 gallons. Tailor amount based upon your boil off rate to obtain 5.5 gallons of wort post boil.
The total wort boil time is 75 minutes. Add the German Magnum hops at the beginning of boil and boil for 75 minutes. Add Irish Moss (or other kettle finings) with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add 1.25 ounces of Strisselspalt & Wyeast yeast nutrient with 10 minutes left in the boil. Add 1.25 ounces of Strisselspalt at the end of boil.
Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C) and aerate thoroughly. Pitch yeast.
Ferment around 50 - 55 °F (10 °C). With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in two weeks or less, but don’t rush it. Cold fermented lagers take longer to ferment than ales. If desired, perform a diacetyl rest during the last few days of active fermentation.
Rack the beer to a secondary and lager for around 4-5 weeks.
I prefer to dry hop my Pilsners so for this batch I dry hopped in the secondary with 1.5 ounces of Strisselspalt hops. This is not traditional and it is an optional step.
Bottle or keg after the lagering process is complete.
Two articles for additional details about brewing lagers:
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