296: Pilsner Urquells Vaclav Berka Tells the Story of Pilsner and Preaches Excellence in Lager Brewing
The sandstone cellars of Plze\u0148sk\xfd Prazdroj\u2014better known to us as Pilsner Urquell\u2014may be the ideal place to wallow in the history of the world\u2019s most popular beer style with brewmaster emeritus V\xe1clav Berka. As the brewery\u2019s 13th brewmaster in a line that stretches back to Josef Groll, there are few people better qualified to recount the story of pilsner, discuss the details of how it\u2019s brewed at its birthplace in Plze\u0148, and offer suggestions on how to brew an excellent and addictive one in your own brewery.
\n\nAmong other topics, Berka discusses:
\n\n- \n
- Pilsner Urquell\u2019s pivotal role in the history of modern beer \n
- the elements of Pilsner Urquell, from malting their own barley and the city\u2019s famously soft water to generous hopping with Saaz and the house lager yeast \n
- how control over the malting is directly related to the brewery\u2019s traditional triple-decoction mash \n
- about the Pilsner Urquell that is still fermented and matured on oak, to compare to the large-scale commercial batches (and to share on the popular tours) \n
- the overarching importance of drinkability to pilsner and to Czech beer, and thoughts on purusing excellence in lager brewing \n
And more.
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