Peruse beer menus at craft breweries across America and alongside the usual suspects — mostly IPAs and an imperial stout or two — you’ll see an emerging craft category, the hoppy lager. These lagers turn up the volume on traditional inspirations, with brewers allowing hops to be the star of the proverbial show. Along with riffs on German and Czech classics Americans know and love, an additional geographical marker is becoming a bit more prevalent on chalkboard lists and online shops across the country: the “Italian”-style pilsner.

Casual beer fans may believe the pilsner style is synonymous with “beer-flavored beer.” This is understandable, given Americans’ top-selling lager brands. However, in reality, “lager” can mean many different things, the pilsner style alone spawning iterations of itself around the globe.

Read the full article at: vinepair.com