Beer Styles

Pils is the flagship beer of the Black Forest, and Rothaus Tannenzäpfle is its most famous representative. It launched in 1956 in a 0.33-liter bottle, designed by then-brewery director Edwin Nägele. At a time when the 0.7-liter bottle was standard, it was precisely this small format that made it famous.

What does a German Pils taste like? It's pale yellow to golden, topped with a firm white head, and carries a pronounced but not harsh hop bitterness. The body is lean, the finish dry. A Black Forest Pils brewed with soft water often comes across as smooth rather than sharp.

The style originated in Pilsen. The Bavarian brewer Josef Groll brewed the first batch of a pale, bottom-fermented beer there on October 5, 1842. In Germany, Pils is a generic style name—only brands like Pilsner Urquell are protected. German Pils is generally drier and more assertively bitter than its Bohemian counterpart, which has a fuller malt body.

Alongside Pils, many Black Forest breweries also bottle a Helles. It's more mildly hopped and softer-bodied, with notes of bread crust and a touch of sweetness. If you enjoy Pils but prefer something less bitter, Helles is the way to go. Both beers are bottom-fermented and similar in color, but not in their hop character. Pils puts bitterness up front, Helles leans on the malt—and tasting them side by side makes the difference immediately clear.

It's worth noting that the figures in the profile are competition guidelines. They come from the BJCP style guidelines used for beer competitions and apply to a style in general, not to any single brewery. The actual alcohol content is always stated on the bottle's label.