Question: Pils and Helles both are golden lagers. So, why brew both?
Because almost all beer brewed in the U.S. before 1980 was a golden adjunct-lager with 5% ABV and 10-15 bitterness units (IBUs), there is a tendency for Americans to assume that all pale lagers taste the same. But, nothing could be farther from the truth.
To prove this point, we launched Helles when we opened KC Bier Co. in 2014. While Helles also is a golden lager with about 5.0% ABV, it differs from domestic lagers primarily because it is adjunct-free and brewed with 100% German malt.
Adjuncts are un-malted grains, such as corn and rice, that are added to beer to provide a neutral-tasting source of carbohydrates for the yeast to ferment into alcohol to lighten the flavor without adding much body. Because hop bitterness is used to balance the sweetness of malt, the bitterness in domestic lagers also is mild. Over time, Americans grew so fond of these golden, light-bodied, lightly hopped, low-impact golden lagers that U.S. breweries focused almost exclusively on producing them to the exclusion of almost every other beer style. Several generations of Americans grew up believing that all beer looked and tasted only like a domestic lager.
A golden lager also is the most popular beer style in the southern German state of Bavaria, which Bavarians call Helles, meaning “pale” or “bright.” In Bavaria, adjuncts are prohibited by law under the Reinheitsgebot of 1516 (Purity law). The use of 100% barley malt not only contributes to a richer malt flavor than in adjunct beers, but German malt also tastes different than domestic malt. Compared to growing conditions on the Great Plains, Central Europe has a cooler, damper climate that produces plumper barley kernels with a fuller, rounder flavor than domestic barley.
The hard, alkaline water in Bavaria that causes a harsh tasting bitterness is probably why Bavarians add only modest amounts of hops to Helles. Furthermore, beer remains a basic food stuff in Bavaria, and the bread-like maltiness of Helles conforms to the viewpoint that beer is liquid bread.
So, it’s no surprise that another golden lager, Pils, also is the favorite style in northern Germany. Pils descended from the original pale Pilsner beer brewed in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Because only a beer brewed in Pilsen can rightly be called a Pilsner, the Germans named their golden lager “Pils.” Pilsen has very soft, non-alkaline water, which is beneficial in creating the pale color and the delicate but assertive bitterness of Pilsners. After 1841, concurrent advances in water treatment, malting, and fermentation science contributed to the worldwide popularity of pale lagers. From Budweiser, Heineken and Spaten, to Tsingtao, Kirin, and Corona, pilsner-like lagers still dominate beer sales around the globe.
Pils also is about 5% ABV, but it has less residual sugar and therefore is drier with a lighter mouthfeel than Helles. With about 30-40 bitterness units (IBUs), Pils also is more bitter than Helles and has considerably more hop aroma too. So, domestic lagers, Helles, and Pils are three golden lagers, each with their own unique heritage, flavor, and appeal.
KC Bier Co. brews Helles and Pils with 100% German malt and hops. Both beers are decocted, fermented and conditioned slow and cold, naturally carbonated, and unpasteurized. They are easy-drinking and refreshing, and although they may look like a domestic lager, they remain distinctly different and uniquely delicious.
Pils and Helles are available year-round in our Bierhalle, in 6-pack bottles and on draft in bars & restaurants throughout our distribution territory. Find it near you.
