Pilsner Showdown - Pilsner Urquell vs. Paulaner vs. Bitburger!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2024
- In this video, Nate samples one Czech Pils and four German examples and picks a favorite while trying to blindly identify them. This video weaves a little bit of history into the video along with some storytelling and gives the viewer an idea of what makes Pilsner so special.
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Also - these tastings are pulled together with what we have access to at our local stores. There are many brands we wish to include but sometimes lack access to.
Conclusion …. Buy beers with hop character in CANS!
indeed.
Unless they do not care for oxygen intake:D which often is higher in cans. A Krones technician once told me "when you reach 100ppb stop adjusting. The big breweries won't optimize further than 100 either"
Or brown bottles
this isn’t true at all. 100 ppb is a very old standard and if you aren’t targeting at least < 25 ppb you are doing your customers a disservice. both our KHS machines (cans and bottles) are capable of < 10 and we had the Krones dialed down to the same
not surprised at all that the beers that were your top three were the ones in cans. so much easier for the beer to survive the trip across the pond in a 100% light isolated condition. love watching your tasting sessions, Nate. I'm learning a ton from them. Thank you.
Great video! I’d have mentioned that the Pilsner Urquell colour is due to the decoction and that the Diacetyl is a wanted character in Czech pils so no flaw for those. But makes it easier to recognise.
I’m impressed that past the shipping and different containers etc you are still at a 50% success rate. Well done!!
Up until recently I was convinced that the Pilsner Urquell we get in Hungary is not the same as the original from Czech Republic. A brewer guy told me that its in fact the same beer, just not as fresh by the time (or how) it gets here, or it could be a bit of oxidation problem, even though we're neighbours. The ones we have has a bit of diacetyl, rather harsh bitterness, less hop aroma, still usually the go-to commerical beer for craft drinkers. On the other hand the ones you get in Czech, even the bottled ones are much much more fresh, smooth bitterness, and even has a bit of citrus aroma, it's so good!
Thank you for the context!
PU in Czechia hits so much different... so good. Also Budvar is really good there
Slight hits of diacetyl in Urquel is acceptable at least by BJCP standards but it's always hard to find a good bottle of Urquel in the states... Being from Bitburg, I'm happy to hear all the love my hometown beer gets!
🙌🏻
Its not just acceptable : its entirely intentional . Not only that - they halt the final beer at 1.015-16 for body and sweetness to balance the heavy whack of Saaz.
You can now get Urquel in cans in the US, and they're much better. As others have noted, diacetyl is a feature of the beer, not a flaw.
@@tourtree it's rare that I find these in North Carolina but I get so hyped when I do.
Bitburger was my favorite when I was stationed at the Spangdahlem air base.
More of these! Enjoyed the history lesson.
I like (love) beer, in many varieties. But pilsners will always be among my favorites.
I could watch these all day!
🙌🏻
Absolutely love the Pilsner style as a whole. Always try to keep one on tap. Cheers!
I love this series. So well done. Great work guys.
Flensburger Pilsner is a solid choice with apparent hop characteristics. Definitely recommend for anyone who is looking for a lighter beer that doesn’t lack flavor!
Enjoying their Helles Lager right now
Their Winterbock is also great.
Yup Flensburger is great and has a nice bottle also
Great format, keep these videos coming ❤
Thanks! Will do!
You can’t go wrong with your video. Your reactions to your mistakes are priceless but your skills are so impressive. I wish I had those abilities. 🍻
Great video! Two notes: (1) As others have mentioned, German pils is not (at least in Germany) served in a mug or by the liter. It is usually served in tall, thin glasses that hold 0.3 liters and often have a short stem. The reason is that pilsner should be served cold, and a liter of beer would warm up too much as you drink it, so better to have three 0.3l glasses than one large 1l mug. (2) If you get a chance to try Jever, you should definitely go for it. A lot of German pilsner is quite similar (yes, there are differences, but they are pretty subtle). Jever is from quite far north in Germany and has a clean, bracing bitterness that I absolutely love. It is hard to find in the US, but I *have* found it in MA, which is fortunate for you!
I bought some Bittburger and Paulaner recently after a trip to Germany. Definitely liked the Paulaner more, but could be that I drank a fair amount of Paulaner in Germany and grew used to it. Amazing how good they all are in Germany.
I agree. Paulaner is great beer. Augustiner is my favorite German beer.
I didn't think I cared for lagers or pilsners until my wife and I did Bavaria for our honeymoon in 2019. Now they're 90% of the beer I drink.
Ayinger would have been an interesting addition to this taste because I feel like their bottles hold up well.
Too bad Jever wasn't included in the test. A favorite for me.
Agreed. Would have also loved to see the northern pils more represented, especially since a lot of those southern pils are brewed by breweries not known first and foremost for their pils.
Agreed. Jever and Holba are far better than those samples in the video.
I'm from the Netherlands and get my Urquell from Germany and for me it's definitely one of -if not THE- best pilsner ever.
Flensburger from Germany is also very good just like Grevestijner.
Authentic pilsners with that "byte" I'm looking for.
I just watched a 13 minute video about pilsners and thoroughly enjoyed the entire video. Will have to keep an eye out for these at my local.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video.
this is so great to see a master at work, AWESOME content keep it coming!!
Thanks! Will do!
@@treehousebrewco hard to get Julius here on long island NY I've enjoyed so many brews from you guys
Just came here to comment, as many others have said, the canned version of Urquell is leaps and bounds better than the bottle version and I would love to see an all can version of this test at some point.
Excellent tasting! I learned a ton about Pilners! Great Job!
Awesome! Thank you!
Definitely, you should try Czech HOLBA, you won't be disappointed at all and you won't forget it.
Great video, I love to watch these tastings! One side remark though (I'm sure you know this already): In contrast to the Czech Republic it's rather unusual to serve Pils in mugs of 0.5 or 1l in Germany. In bars and restaurants you get your Pils typically in quite delicate 0,33 liter glasses which are not so much different from the tasting glasses you use (they would have a shorter stem or might even look like small Weizen glasses).
Great selection there. Will see if I can grab a mixed 6 pack locally.
Ive neber had the Radeberger but love the rest. Ill have to seek it out. Also hoping to visit Urquell this year. Incredibly hyped for that. We did Rothaus during our honeymoon and its beautiful out there.
I love a good, crisp Pilsner... only had Urquell and Weihenstephaner out of your list. Now I have few more to try! Thanks
The travel and the casing (can/bottle/keg) has such an impact. PU is awesome fresh in Prague, I don't drink from bottle (in UK) but in a can (UK) it's 👌🏼. Rothaus is generally my favourite from this line up.
Excellent. Makes me want to brew a pilsner to lager until spring/summer. I spotted the Pilsner Urquell straight away, purely from its colour. I've always found it to be slightly darker than other examples of the style. I love it. To me , it has a slightly caramel flavour, no doubt from the maillard reaction of the decoction mash. Shame this one was a below par example.
You can tell Nate was liking these beers. We got a couple of "Ya's" and a first "Oh, Baby" reaction. I had a Middle Aged Human yesterday and let out an "Oh, Baby", too.
Bitburger Radler may be the most delightful thing in the universe... And a 4 pack is only $8... Only discovered it because of an Arnold Schwarzenegger interview, where he spoke about it.
Nate has a talent...for sure....all these are great beers when served fresh...good luck finding fresh Euro beers on your packies shelves.
The Paulaner is so good, I could drink it every day. Their helles is great too. Plus they're both $9 for a 4pk of 16.9oz cans even here in California
Big fan of pilsner, especially in the summer. A couple years ago Black Forest was incredible on tap but haven't seen it since😢. Last year Bitburger was the winner for me. I do think it's about the hop character popping. 🍻
I used to live in Czech Republic. Even within the country, it was several time said to me that to enjoy Pilsner Urquel at its best, you needed to go and drink it fresh in Plzeň. I live in New Zealand now, and before the pandemic it was being imported in refrigerated shipping containers, as many northern hemisphere beer imports cross the equator in unrefrigerated containers, and become compromised as they travel through the tropics. It’s now not available here. Fortunately there is plenty of great beer available here regardless, and a thriving hop industry.
Well done, I lived in Germany for 17 years with the Canadian Military and have hoisted a few Pils in my time and probably would not be able to do any justice to picking out any of those
Whoa! Nailed my top 3. Bitburger for the win since it's $1.50 a can at Trader Joe's
Urquell is the king of all beer.
I've had all of those except the Urquel, strangely enough. I had the Radeberger on draft in Dusseldorf and I agree... it was a spectacular pils.
I actually get a hint of metallic from Weinhenstephaner's FestBier too, not enough not to enjoy it, wonder if they need to pitch more yeast lol. Bitburger is one of my favs, and so is Urquell (when it's in good condition). Enjoyable video!
Thank you for watching!
I used to be a bit of a bottle beer snob, but now that more imports are often in cans I am finally able to taste fresh versions in the US. I still often buy Ayinger in bottles because they are great bottles to reuse when brewing Belgian styles, but I stick with their maltier styles. Good work on getting 50% right! I will have to try some Radeberger.
Very impressive tasting. One note for your viewers is to distinguish German from Czech Pilsners. They are a different in terms of hops, as you mentioned, but also water profile. You alluded to this but did not attribute to Czech Pilsner. The result of which is a crisper German version over a somewhat smoother softer Czech version.
Interesting takes, I've had a few of these but not all.
Lived in Czech, there beer is top top .
Morning Nate.
Love the knotty pine room. Very Massachusetts/ American horror story. iykyk
bitburger and budvar my 2 favs
Same here
Interesting that the 3 canned beers were the top 3!
Cans are a better way to package beer is what it boils down to.
Guess i need to check your site for a Radler / Shandygaff taste test?!
Good work
can't go wrong with any of those beers, i enjoy them all
The best attitude!
@@treehousebrewco i enjoyed a nice crate of Bitburger over Xmas, quite like the bitterness it has, very drinkable
Favorite showdown video yet! Having Rothaus on tap several years ago on tap at a local brewery (guest brew) was a religious experience. Nate, have you had New England Elm City or Counterweight Workhorse pils (2 CT beers brewed not far from TH). Curious to know your opinions!
What’s your favorite domestic craft pils (other than TH)?
These videos are super fun. I'm not surprised Radeberger ranked so well but am surprised it beat Rothaus. I wonder how fresh the bottles were. Bottle caps let more oxygen in over time than cans.
Oh, the guy behind the camera feels a bit aggressive. 😂
Anyway, again, super fun. You were really close to getting it all right. Impressive tasting skills. Reminded me I should revisit Pilsner Urquell. Last time I had it, years ago, I didn't get the renown it has. Maybe with a more attenuated pallate I'll have a different opinion.
I prefer Rothhaus above all, though. Then again, I tasted them years apart at least (not sure I had Radeberger, though). But I do remember Rothhaus Pilsner particularly sticking out to me as excellent and above industrial ones.
Pilsner Urquell in cans is the way to go. I try to avoid the bottles when possible
Good job 😊 Good video 😊 You picked all the cans as your favorites and you talked about skunkyness and lack of hop character from bottless. I’m from Denmark near the german borderand knowing all these beers it sounds to me that it isa packaging/fresshness isue mire than the brewing/beer…
That indeed seems to be the case
Rothaus Pils was my first ever beer. I was 16, in germany for an exchange program in high school. My vuddies and i on the 1st day went to a local shop and split a 6 pack of those bad boys. One of my favorite memories i have.
Your tasting skills are scary! I can buy all of these next door and I guess I'd guess the Urquell, but the others? No way. I'll try come February!
Pilsner Urquell prides itself in having diacytil in their beer, I think the best true way to compare these beers would be on tap over in Europe.
If you ever make another Pilsner video I'd be curious to see you try a can of von Trapp - it's produced in large quantities, accessible throughout New England, & drinks in an especially 'clean' way, which may have to do with their use of VT spring water. I imagine great hops can only go so far without quality water.
My favorite Pilsner is Peter’s Brand Classics Pilsener from Trader Joe’s. Admittedly, though, it’s not really a Pilsner. It’s more like a Euro Pale Lager, but regardless... it’s dang tasty!
And yeah, Radeburger is a great true Pilsner. It’s always fail-safe to buy a single of that wherever it can be found.
Bottle shop close to my house has both Pils and Helles from Krombacher in tall boy 4-pks for $5.99. Both excellent and great value at that price. Last couple times I’ve had Urquell was likewise unimpressed. Maybe they are having supply chain/storage issues. Could tell the second sample was Urquell from color alone - so red/brown compared to the others.
We have Pilsner Urquel on tap at the German club in town. It is not that color out of the keg and a wonderful beer. I wonder if the bottles were handled badly or sun struck?
They are part of inbev. Inbev ruins every beer the take over.
Radeberger is my favorite of that lineup. What a fantastic beer!
agreed. killer beer.
Krombacher pils? Been into that one lately. Love these blind tastings.. keep it up !
You’re missing Krombacher, a fantastic Pils!
Rothaus means Red House and is pronounced like Wrote-haus rather than the English th sound. One of my go to Pils here in Germany 👍
Thanks!
How fresh were these beers when you tasted them? How far after the packaging date would you be willing to buy these beers with expectations of getting beer in at least decent condition?
Just got my first keg of Pilsner Urquell of the summer. Now I'm wondering if any others are available in the US in Kegs
Linguist who's lived in Germany for 15 years here. You did OK with pronunciation but I don't think most Germans would have figured out what you meant when you pronounced Rothaus. The two syllables in Rothaus are split after the t and the h sound isn't doubled (Rot + Haus = red house). The first syllable sounds kind of similar to the English word "wrote," as in "Murder, She Wrote." Over the years, I've lived within about a two-hour drive of five of those six breweries. My personal favorite is Urquell, unless I can get a really, really fresh Bitburger. Radeberger often smells a bit off almost any time I get it when I'm not close to Radeberg. Also, I think the only place in Germany where I have ever seen Pils served by the liter is the Paulaner-owned restaurants in Munich. Paulaner is often perceived as one of the worst big name brands from the Munich area; I won two cases a few years ago and the only person willing to drink it was the old man neighbor who claims to drink everything. I live about 15 minutes away from Vilshofen these days, which is the hometown of Josef Groll, the inventor of Pils. His family brewery was absorbed into Wolferstetter, which makes a Josef Groll Pils. I've had that as well and it was fine but not memorable other than for the Josef Groll connection.
Great comment, thanks for your insight!
Pilsner Urquell is the best for me .. I've tried in cans and bottles and it definitely tastes much better in Bottles..!!
If have an Aldi near you .... grab a 4 pack of Wernesgruner Pils ... you won't be disappointed. The price is insanely good too @ 5.99 per although I would pay double if had to. I have read that Wernesgruner & Radeberger were only 2 beers served at official state events in the former GDR/ East Germany during cold war days.
I've been a German pilsner fanatic for many years. FRESH Rothaus is always my favorite of these examples. Unfortunately, it's near IMPOSSIBLE to find relatively fresh here in NC 😢
Radeberger is so crisp off a fresh tap
Geeking out on beer and tasting wine and spirits is fun. Especially blind when you’re not influenced by labels or price.
I know this is 10 days after the video, so you may not read, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on some of the lagers coming out of the Bamberg area from smaller makers like Griess, Spezial, Krug, Heckel, Knoblach, etc that are taking traditional recipes from the region and making them in a very distinct "micro" brew environment. I'm sure you all are very well aware of the region and perhaps have visited, but boy would it make a fantastic trip if not...
i would love to
@@treehousebrewco I'm sure you could reach out directly to any of them, but I can certainly put you in touch with someone who is well-connected to many of those brewers if you ever want that. I was in the area a few years back following his advice, wow, what an experience, beautiful beer, food, land, and people. It's a beer-based Tuscany.
I always find it funny how diacetyl is almost always seen as a flaw in beers. I personally love a small amount of buttery taste as sometimes found in fatty Chardonnay for instance. Not in all types of beer of course, but if it hits the sweet spot giving some butter popcorn notes, I'm all in for it.
Same here. Good Bordeaux also used to have a slight diacetyl aftertaste. At least it tasted like this in Bordeaux 40 years ago. Since it all became more fruity this taste is gone. Glad that Urquell keeps up the tradition.
Going 3/3 identifying the first 3 beers was wildly impressive lol. I would have trouble remembering the names!
Bitte Ein Bit!
I drank A LOT of this when I was stationed in Germany in '90.
While there, a buddy and I went to Amsterdam and camped at a place on the beach. We locked all our valuables in my car and headed into the city for a night of debauchery. I won't tell you the monkey show story! Anyway, we come back to the campsite, still amped up, and grab a couple beers and walk down the beach a mile or so. We come back to the tent on the road, and my keys are gone! We retrace our steps, and just as we're getting back to the camp site I see a flash at the surf. Sure enough, light glinting of my Bitte Ein Bit bottle opener keychain half buried by the incoming tide. I still have my lucky keychain!
Just so I can have the interactive experience, when do the Tree House scratch and sniff cards come out so I can play along!!
I'd tend to go w/Budvar or the original and real Budweiser brewed in Ceske Budejovice. Nothing like having a glass by the Vltava...
I think it's very important for folks to understand that these beers RARELY taste how they are meant to when exported. The can packaging does lend itself to travel better and I have had some much better experiences with cans of these than past bottles.
Cheers!
The top three were genuinely great in thus tasting
You should be comparing Pilsner Urquell with other Czech beers described as "cesky lezak". German pils is a whole different style. Less malty, more dry, distinguished by a lighter color which is immediately apparent.
@6:12 In Germany, you would not likely be served pils in a mug. You would get it in a pokal.
i understand. we did not have access to more than one czech pils thus the inclusion of german.
Cans were in the top. Bottles were in the bottom.
Tasting pilsners from wine glasses. What next. Whiskey in a pint glass.
whiskey from a pint glass sounds great
Temperature really makes a difference in deal with German beers, they don’t drink them as cold as we like to in the Us
Changing the mind sounds like it happened after knowing what they were. Bias. In the end I think Paulaner got short changed because that Radeberger got inserted after knowing what it was. Should have made him commit to the top three first.
I have no vested interest in who won. Called it like I tasted it. The best of show was absolutely Radeberger
You gotta get Urquel in Czechia, it’s sooooo much better than what we get here in the U.S.
We will see you in August!!
So stick to cans for imports?
Of these three Paulaner is probably my favourite. Bitburger is similar. Urquell is quite different being a Czech style rather than Bavarian style pilsner. Then there's the North German style which is different still, for example Warsteiner, but the best example in my opinion is Flensburger Pils.
Will have to try to get our hands on some!!
THRILLS FOR THE PILS!
Any American brews that approach Bitburger? When I got to Germany in the 70s with zero beer education except for Hamms, Rainier and Olympia, Bitburger was the local pour. It took some getting used to, but once you do - it stays in your mind. It's almost impossible to find in the midwest, and at that, I think the export tastes a bit different from what's poured in the local gasthäuser.
My introduction to Bitburger was in the mid 80's, courtesy of Uncle Sam. And yes, meant to be drank in a mug by the liter! Every Bitburger I've drank in the US since then has been a disappointment. If I find it in a can I'll give it another try. Great video!
For what it’s worth, my favorite US Pilsner is Trumer Pils.
Pilsner Urquell is easily detectable just by the color. If fresh on site it is indeed hard to detect diacetyl despite the brewery claiming they shoot for 80 ppb (detectable around 30 ppb) while budvar wants none of it. But in retail it's impossible in my experience not to get some diacetyl, sometimes way too much indeed. Very tricky also to make sense of true character + comparing because of the age and storage conditions. Check best before and take a year back for Packaging date. Cheers!
thank you for the thoughtful comment
Belgian style up next!
If you havent had it the Augustiner Hell is probably the best German helles out there.
Would really like to see Aldi's Wernesgruner in this competition.....best value Pilsner I can get near me.
Radeberger is more grainy , Pitburger more straight bitter , so, so, easy to know the difference . Ought to rinse with clear water , between tasting !!!!
Are you guys going to announce when you chose the people for the homebrew raffle ??
Yes - this coming week.
Maybe I just get bad Urquells, but it always has that slight diacetyl note. Not mad though!
I live in Germany and I live Budvar. What is interesting is that his top choices are all in cans. Can travel better than bottles????
I was told the urquell was the only refrigerated too
Bottles, especially light colour bottles (Pilsner Urquell), can allow light based (UV) breakdown of beer compounds so definitely cans in general travel better.
I only buy Urquell in cans where I can find it.
I looove Pils, and trying to find ones that I like. There clearly seems to be a range of flavors, carbonation, color available. I have been recommended some that are meh, and some that are fantastic, and at least one craft pils that was likely just a bad batch that I’ll have to get back to someday and give a second chance.
I do love that these macro imports are low in price and consistent and worthy of a spot in my fridge.
Indeed
As soon as I saw the samples in glasses, my first thought was "i WoNdEr WhIcH oNe Is UrQuElL" decoction really gives it away againat the Germans 😂