The Story of pFriem's Gold Can Lager
It is hard to make any style of beer to a truly exceptional standard, but might it be the case that Bavaria’s favorite golden lager, that humble half-liter of helles, is the most difficult? Listening to Josh Pfriem describe his new six-pack release, the answer is a qualified yes.
Long before there was a pFriem Family Brewers, Josh was brewing these pale lagers: in Utah at Squatter’s and Wasatch, and then at Washington’s pioneering lager brewery, Chuckanut. As much as anyone, he understands the technical requirements for lager, the right ingredients and process and best practices. Yet it wasn’t until a three-week visit to Germany in 2016 that he felt he understood the difference between one that was merely very good and a special one.
“They’re just beautiful,” he said of the very best (he cited Augustiner and Schönramer). “They start with malt that’s treated well in the brewhouse, but they’re not overly sweet; they’re bright and beautiful and the sulfur, bitterness, and pH is all humming together.” The secret lies in their subtlety, and how elements in a beer with a low-impact flavor can suddenly become “dynamic,” to use his words. “As much as I appreciated helles before that trip,” he said. “I learned the nuance of what makes great helles. It’s quite complex to make, and everything has to be dialed in just right to make a great one that’s interesting and exciting on the palate.”
The Keys to a Great Helles
With most styles, ingredient selection and process are the dominant drivers of excellence. But helles, because it is so delicate and because the flavors are so mild, is very hard to get just right. “Even early iterations of pFriem Helles, they were well-made beers. They were refreshing lagers,” he said. “But, in the sea of helles, why do Augustiner and Schönramer Helles stand out so much?”
Malt is certainly part of it. Americans don’t have access to the range of malt Germans produce, and Bavaria in particular features a number of malthouses. They allow brewers one tool to distinguish their helles from others. To create a unique profile, pFriem settled on a blend of three varieties of pilsner malt (standard Weyermann, Gambrinus, and Canadian Malting). They use a 20-IBU dash of Perle and Tettnanger hops to spice the beer, but that only got them part of the way. Two other elements help focus and sharpen the ingredients.
“What we found out were two things not normally considered ingredients have to be at the table: pH and sulfur. Without considering those, you’re never going to make a great helles. The pH has got to be just right, on the lower side, and in my opinion, sulfur needs to be present. It’s part of the reason you can get away with lower bitterness on these beers.”
Oh, and nodding in the direction of their two-year-old German brewhouse, he added, “Our brewhouse makes really good helles. It’s made for that. That’s a technical advantage we have.”
Arriving Soon in a Gold Can
He folded the insights he took from Bavaria back into pFriem Helles—a beer that had been a regular, but not six-pack, release for years. After a certain point, they weren’t waiting for the beer anymore, they were watching the market. Bit by bit, pFriem has added more and more lagers to their line-up. The Pilsner is already their best-selling beer, along with IPA. With the success of some of their other lagers, they decided to launch helles as Lager, hoping people had come to the place where they can taste those elements in an otherwise delicate beer.
“Craft lager has been on, in a positive way, a slow burn in the United States, but it’s picking up more steam here in the Pacific Northwest,” Josh said. “That’s allowed people to learn what good lager is. The consumer understands and appreciates the nuance. You couldn’t have gotten away with that eight or ten years ago, and you’d have struggled five years ago.”
By re-casting it as “Lager,” pFriem hopes to attract customers who might be put off by a foreign-sounding word they don’t understand. Indeed, with all the old regional breweries we have had in the Pacific Northwest, lager is both familiar and nostalgic. The gold can, which could be flashy or even tacky, recalls those earlier days as well.
It will also land in that common ground between domestic lager drinkers, who will find it full-flavored but recognizable, and lagerheads, who will swirl their glasses looking for that balance. I was out in Hood River recently (though not recently enough to try the collaboration Výčepní lager I did with them), and got a sneak peak of the cans. All the pieces really are there. It’s malt up front, bready with a hint of sourdough, and spritzy and crisp on the back-end, just like you’d expect. But even in the nose, the sulfur adds a slightly savory note that does offer an extra edge that showcases the light lemony hops. As good as Augustiner? Well, you can soon be the judge—six packs will be coming on line now and it will be a year-round beer going forward.
In the end, Josh hopes people will recognize that same excellence he found in Bavaria when they try a can. They won’t have his technical knowledge or trained palate, but drinkers in Bavaria don’t have those, either. But they know a great beer when they taste it.
PHOTOS: pFriem Family Brewers