Malt
Pilsner malt
The palest base malt, with high enzyme activity and a clean, delicate grain flavour — the foundation of lager and Belgian ale.
What it does
Base malt. Fully modified, gently kilned malt with enough enzyme activity to convert itself and some adjunct. Forms the bulk of a grist.
Kilned at low temperature, typically below 85 °C, to preserve enzyme activity and keep colour minimal. The gentle kilning leaves more S-methylmethionine in the malt, which is why pilsner malt needs a vigorous rolling boil to drive off DMS.
Specification
| Colour | 1–3°L |
|---|---|
| Grain | barley |
| Enzyme activity | high |
| Fermentability | high |
| Typical share of grist | 50–100% |
| Flavour | light grain, fresh bread dough, faint honey |
Commercial examples
Weyermann Pilsner, Best Malz Pilsen, Bohemian Floor-Malted Pilsner.
Listed as examples rather than equivalents. Colour, kilning regime and flavour differ measurably between maltsters, and two products sold under the same name can be several degrees apart.
Substitutes
- Pale ale malt — A close substitute, slightly darker and more biscuity.
Used in
- International pale lager
The global mainstream lager: pale, clean, lightly hopped and built for consistency and refreshment above flavour intensity.
- Czech pale lager
The Czech everyday lager: lower in strength than the premium version but keeping the soft bready malt and generous Saaz hopping.
- Czech premium pale lager
The original pale lager: rich bready malt, generous Saaz hopping and a rounded bitterness that soft Bohemian water makes possible.
- German Pils
Pale, dry and firmly bitter, with a crisp finish and a spicy-floral noble hop character — Germany’s answer to the Bohemian original.
- Munich Helles
Bavaria’s everyday pale lager: soft, bready and malt-forward, with just enough hop to balance and nothing to distract.
- Dortmunder Export
A pale lager sitting between Helles and Pils: fuller and firmer than the first, softer and less bitter than the second.
- Festbier
The golden, stronger lager actually served at modern Oktoberfest — malt-forward and smooth, but pale rather than amber.
- Kellerbier
Unfiltered, gently carbonated lager served young from the cellar, with a soft yeasty fullness filtration removes.
- Märzen
A rich amber lager brewed in March for autumn drinking, with deep toasty malt and a clean, firm finish.
- Schwarzbier
Nearly black but remarkably light on the palate: smooth roast, clean lager finish and none of the heaviness the colour suggests.
- Czech amber lager
A Bohemian amber lager balancing caramel malt against Saaz hop character, sitting between the pale and dark Czech beers.
- International amber lager
A light, commercially-produced amber lager, most familiar in its Mexican form, with gentle caramel over a crisp body.
Questions
Why does pilsner malt need a longer boil?
Low kilning temperatures leave more of the DMS precursor S-methylmethionine intact. During the boil it converts to dimethyl sulphide, which smells of cooked sweetcorn, and only a vigorous uncovered boil drives it off. A short or covered boil with pilsner malt is the classic route to a DMS fault.