If barley be wanting to make into malt,
We must be content and think it no fault,
For we can make liquor to sweeten our lips,
Of pumpkins, and parsnips, and walnut-tree chips.
— American Poet, 1630
from Drinking in America by Mark E. Lender and James Martin (Simon & Schuster)

The beer that came over on the Mayflower was probably a hoppy, alcoholic porter. How, then, could such a historically significant beverage end up as bland as the all-American beer, American pilsner?

When English settlers first came to America, they subsisted in large part on the fruits of their own labor. They grew their own fruits and vegetables, they sewed their own clothes, and they made their own beer.

Although barley grew well in the fertile soil of the New World, the landscape was barren of the skilled maltsters needed to make fine beer. Being the inventive people that they were, Americans managed to brew beer with the available ingredients.

If you think it was the large nationals who ruined American beer, keep in mind that they were only following a precedent set by brewers like the above poet. Endemic to America, corn was surely among the beer ingredients tried by early American brewers. Unlike parsnips, corn was a starchy grain and good mash adjunct that resulted in a relatively inoffensive beer not to mention a potent bourbon.

America was a country of ale drinkers until 1840, when John Wagner, a German brewmeister, introduced lager yeast to Philadelphia. Sparked by a large influx of German immigrants, lager soon became the national favorite. The desire for a colder, lighter-tasting beer coupled with German brewing know-how resulted in a unique golden brew that would be the predecessor to modern American pilsner. Of course most brewers were turning their backs on old Reinheitsgebot by including corn in their mashes. Nitrogen-deficient corn complemented the protein-rich six-row barley that was preferred by farmers and consequently reduced protein haze. Naturally high in diastatic enzymes, six-row malt beckons for the addition of enzymatically impotent adjuncts. Besides being cheaper than malt, corn also lightened the body and color of the beer while adding a subtle sweetness.  

Breweries boomed across the United States, peaking at more than 4,000 in 1873. Consolidation resulted in the closings of many of these small breweries by the turn of the century. In 1920 Prohibition reared its head and put a damper on the whole industry, forcing many breweries out of business for good. After 13 long, dry years of Prohibition, breweries reopened in 1933 in the midst of Coca-Cola and the beginnings of mass marketing. In 1941 World War II worsened the situation by undercutting any pride American brewers still took in German brewing methods. A handful of large national brewers began to replace regional breweries. As one might expect, the domination of a few powerful breweries resulted in a less diverse beer selection for the consumer. Economics also drove national brewers to use a higher percentage of corn and/or rice in the grist, some as high as 65 percent.  

This brings us to the beer with which we have grown up. While these beers are well made with a high level
of control and consistency, they tend to lack in flavor. Compared with the earlier American pilsners, they are paler, lighter, less bitter, and less alcoholic. Brewing professor Michael Lewis of the University of California, Davis, likes to refer to them as “pain beer” for the sharp bite of the high carbonation.

Homebrewing American pilsner may be a frustrating experience. Because the final product has little in the way of flavor complexity, it also does not mask off-flavors very well. The key word here is clean. All of the equipment used must be kept very clean to avoid contamination and the resulting funk it can impart.

The ingredients for American pilsner are easy enough. You will need a grain bill of 60 to 80 percent six-row malt, with corn or rice making up the difference. The key to making your adjunct work for you is gelatinization. Gelatinization is the thermal decomposition of the starch molecule that allows amylase enzymes to attack. The gelatinization temperature of corn falls in the range of 143.5° to 165° F and is 142° to 172° F for rice. Traditionally brewers dealt with this by using the decoction-like American double mash method, which calls for the boiling of the adjunct.  

For the double mash take all of the adjunct in the recipe and a small amount of the total malt and mix with water. Ramp the temperature up to 158° F and hold for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the rest of the malt is mashed in separately and held for a protein rest at 122° F. After the conversion rest the first mash is boiled for 15 minutes and then slowly added back to the second to raise the entire mixture incrementally to the range 155° to 158° F for a 30-minute conversion rest.

An easier alternative is to buy pregelatinized corn or rice flakes that can be used in a simple infusion mash. Extract brewers should look for hydrolyzed corn or rice syrups or powdered extracts to supplement a light-colored malt extract.  

The original gravity of American pilsner should start at 1.038 to 1.048 and finish around 1.008 to 1.013. The alcohol content is 3.2 to 3.9 percent by weight or 4 to 4.8 percent by volume. With a color of 2 to 3 SRM, the brilliantly clear beer is a familiar shade of straw. Hop flavor should be kept to a minimum. The typical bitterness level is 10 to 16 IBUs. Henry Weinhard’s is one of the few American pilsners that has a recognizable hop aroma reminiscent of Tettnanger. Wyeast 2035, American lager yeast, is the obvious choice for this style. Ferment at 48° to 52° F and lager for six weeks.  

Saturday Night Pilsner
(5-gallons, partial mash)

A low hop rate and unassuming ingredients guarantee this beer to be just like mass produced. I’ll take a
24-pack of this easygoing pilsner any Saturday night.

Ingredients:
• 3 lbs. six-row malt
• 1.5 lb. flaked rice or corn
• 2 lbs. hydrolyzed rice syrup
• 1.5 lb. malt extract
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops
(4% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• Wyeast 2035 or other lager yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grains into 1.5 gal. of water. Raise temperature to 122° F and hold for 10 min. Slowly raise temperature at a rate of two degrees or less per min. to 152° F and hold for 45 min. Raise temperature to 170° F for mash-out. Sparge with 165° F water until 4 gal. of sweet wort is collected.

In a 7-gal. kettle, mix in the sweet wort, the extracts, and 2 gal. of water. Bring to a boil and add hops. After a 60 min. boil, cool and aerate the wort. Pitch yeast at 60° F and cool to 48° to 52° F for fermentation.
    

Lager four weeks before bottling.
    OG = 1.043
    FG = 1.009

Cornheitsgebot Pilsner
(5 gallons, all-grain, some corn)

This pre-Prohibition-style lager is brewed in strict accordance to the little-known American beer impurity law of 1840, better known as Cornheitsgebot.

Ingredients:
• 6.5 lbs. six-row malt
• 2 lbs. flaked corn
• 0.5 lb. Munich malt
• 0.5 oz. Perle hops (10% alpha acids), for 60 min.
• 2 oz. Hallertauer hops (4.5% alpha acids), 1 oz. for 30 min., 1 oz. for
15 min.
• Wyeast 2035 or other lager yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grains into 3 gal. of water. Raise temperature to 122° F and hold for 10 min. Slowly raise temperature at a rate of two degrees or less per min. to 152° F and hold for 45 min. Raise temperature to 170° F for
mash-out. Sparge with 165° F water until 6 gal. of sweet wort is collected.

Bring to a boil and add Perle hops. Boil 30 min. and add 1 oz. Hallertauer hops. Boil 15 min. more and add 1 oz. Hallertauer. Boil 15 min. more for a total boil of 60 min. Cool and aerate. Pitch yeast at 60° F and cool to 48° to 52° F for fermentation.
    

Lager four weeks before bottling.

Yankee Doodle Pils
(5 gallons, extract)

Don’t call it macaroni. It’s Yankee Doodle Pils, the hassle-free way to make American Pilsner.  

Ingredients:
• 4.5 lbs. light malt extract
• 3.5 lbs. hydrolyzed rice syrup
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops (4% alpha acid), for 60 min.
• Wyeast 2035 or other lager yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

In a 5-gal. pot bring 3.5 gal. of water to a boil. Stir in malt and rice extract. When boil resumes add hops. Boil for an hour. Top up to 5 gal. with cold water to help cool. Finish cooling and aerate. Transfer to bucket or carboy. Pitch yeast at 60° F and cool to 48° to 52° F for fermentation.    

Lager four weeks before bottling.