Pilsner

The cofounders of this small central California brewery have intentionally limited their scope to lager—but that doesn’t mean they sacrifice breadth or experimentation, as they tinker with everything from traditional styles to hazy pale lager.

From Mova Brewing in Dnipro, Ukraine, here’s a recipe for the Czech-style pilsner that won gold at the 2025 European Beer Star, beating out some of the best lager breweries from Czechia, Germany, the United States, and around the world.

In Dnipro, Ukraine, not far from the front lines of war with Russia, Mova Brewing sticks to a Czech script when brewing its Mova Pilsner, which won gold at the 2025 European Beer Star.

From Unsung Brewing in Anaheim, California, this West Coast pilsner—with tropical character driven by Mosaic and Nelson hops—won silver in the Hoppy Lager category at the 2025 World Beer Cup.

Lisa Allen, co-owner and brewer at Heater Allen and Gold Dot Beer in McMinnville, Oregon, shares this recipe for a pils designed to show off a nontraditional German aroma-hop variety.

With a burst of Lórien hops in the whirlpool and more in the dry hop, the team at Sunriver Brewing in Sunriver, Oregon, describes this hop-forward pilsner as “distinctly crisp, with elegant hoppy notes of wildflowers, lemongrass, and black tea.”

The flagship beer from Wiseacre in Memphis, Tennessee, Tiny Bomb is a svelte, session-strength American lager with the full flavor of a German pilsner.

Natalie Rose Baldwin, brewmaster of Wayfinder Beer in Portland, Oregon, shares this recipe for a French-inspired pilsner that features a kiss of spelt and plenty of floral, spicy Alsatian Strisselspalt hops to drive the flavor.

From Corn Coast Brewing in Lincoln, Nebraska, here’s a recipe for the West Coast–style pils that we named one of our Best 20 Beers in 2025.

From Seattle’s Fast Fashion, here’s a recipe for the German-style pilsner that we named one of our Best 20 Beers in 2025.

Fork & Brewer’s all-Riwaka take on New Zealand’s signature beer style is clean and crisp, with a lean malt base that allows the pronounced tropical-hop character to truly shine.

Kevin Ely, brewer and cofounder of the Wooly Pig Farm Brewery in Fresno, Ohio, shares this recipe for his unfiltered German-style pilsner—light, fresh, floral, and subtly malty, with a moderate bitterness. Plus: See the notes for why he prefers an unusually thin mash for this beer.

Twice per year, the production teams at Austin’s Hold Out and Live Oak breweries get together to brew what they call “the king of tater beers.”

From Atlas Brew Works in Washington, D.C., here’s a recipe for their popular pilsner, a bronze medal–winner at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival. Easy-drinking yet flavorful, this pils gets subtle extra character from its Cal Common yeast strain.

Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer at Templin Family in Salt Lake City, shares this recipe for their GABF medal-winner that also became one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023.

Courtney Servaes, founder and brewer at Servaes Brewing in Shawnee, Kansas, shares this recipe for a Czech-inspired pilsner base that gets a whole bag of tortilla chips in the secondary.

Based on conversations with Rothaus head brewer and production manager Mario Allendoerfer, here is a homebrew-scale recipe inspired by the modern classic German pilsner from the Black Forest.

With its loyal following in Germany and cult status elsewhere, what is it about Rothaus Tannenzäpfle that resonates with so many connoisseurs as well as casual lager drinkers? We went there to find out.

While the recipe is big for a Czech pale lager—it’s really 14°P rather than the typical 12°—it drinks well below its strength and makes a bright showcase for that floor malt and ample Saaz hops.

Crisp, dry, herbal-bitter, and clean, this is a lager you’ll want to have on tap all year long—but especially as the weather starts to warm.