Beer Styles

What is Pilsner, and what sets the Saxon version apart from the Bohemian original? Pilsner is a pale, bottom-fermented, hop-forward full-strength beer. It takes its name from Pilsen, where the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll brewed it this way for the first time on 5 October 1842.

Radeberger calls its beer a Pilsner, with the brewery citing the Pilsner style. That means: pale malts, soft water, generous hopping and cool lagering. The name Pils itself is not a protected term in Germany, but rather a style designation.

German Pilsner is generally leaner and drier than its Bohemian model. Czech Pilsner, according to competition guidelines, tends to be fuller, with higher original gravity — meaning more dissolved malt sugar in the wort before fermentation — and a stronger malt backbone. In Saxony, a paler straw-gold color is matched with a cleaner bitterness.

The ranges below come from the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines, a competition reference from the US. They are corridors, not recipe requirements. Individual beers may vary; exact figures appear on the label.

Pilsner has one more distinctive trait: the foam cap is part of the beer. It holds in the carbonation and aroma, giving the drinker that first impression of freshness.

How much alcohol does Pilsner from Radeberg or Dresden contain? The label states it, usually around five percent ABV. The standard for German Pilsner sets a range of 4.4 to 5.2 percent. Feldschlößchen and Radeberger fall within the same range — the span applies to the style, not to individual brands.