Pilsen, Czechia
The first pale bottom-fermented beer is brewed in Plzeň
A Bavarian brewer, exceptionally soft local water, pale kilned Moravian malt and Saaz hops produced a beer that reshaped world brewing within a generation.
1842
The town had built a new brewery after publicly destroying barrels of substandard beer. The combination that resulted was partly deliberate and partly local accident, and it was so much better regarded than what preceded it that pale lager became, within decades, the most-brewed beer on earth.
Why it matters
The origin of pale lager, which is by a very wide margin the most-produced beer style in the world.
How well this is established
| Certainty | Documented. Supported by contemporary records that survive and are agreed on. |
|---|---|
| When | 1842. Known to the year rather than to the day. |
| Where | Pilsen, Czechia |
Styles this shaped
Traditions
- Bohemian pale lager brewing — The Czech pale lager tradition: exceptionally soft water, Saaz hops, floor-malted barley and multi-step decoction.
Either side of this
← 1839: The railway reaches Burton upon Trent · 1860: Vienna lager survives in Mexico →
See the whole sequence on the beer history timeline.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.