Ask craft brewers about well-made hoppy lagers, and Pivo Hoppy Pils, the infamous beer brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Company in Paso Robles, California, is bound to come up. Here are five brewers’ odes to Pivo…and (when pressed) some of their other favorite hoppy lagers.
Justin Baccary
Founder and president at Station 26 Brewing Co. (Denver, Colorado)
“My favorite hoppy lagers are Pivo, followed by Pivo, and in third place is Pivo. It’s crisp, clean, bitter, and simple on the surface but with layers of subtle flavor—Pils malt, floral and noble hops flavor and aroma. Craft beers can be pretty intensely flavored, but sometimes I just want a simple, clean beer. It’s my go-to beer when I don’t want to study a beer list and make a decision.”
Derrick Morse
Brewmaster at Mantra Artisan Ales (Franklin, Tennessee)
“Jever Pilsener (Jever, Lower Saxony, Germany) is one of the original hoppy lagers that originated in Germany. I’m German, and I grew up on it. Even now when my mother comes to visit, instead of making her bring me bottles of Cantillon, I make her bring me bottles of Jever. The combination of a clean bottom fermentation, the well water, and large doses of hops creates a perfect hoppy lager. We brew a lot of Belgian-inspired beers with crazy fermentations, but there isn’t a beer on the planet that I respect more than Jever Pils. It is just so perfectly balanced.”
Jared Long
Brewer at Black Tooth Brewing Co. (Sheridan, Wyoming)
“I love Hopfen Pils from Zwei Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colorado). It’s so wrong, but so right. Wrong because of its over-the-top American hops flavor and aroma. It’s way out of style, but absurdly good.”
Vince Tursi
Head of Brewing Operations at Burial Beer Co. (Asheville, North Carolina)
“When I think hoppy lager, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers (Framingham, Massachusetts) is the first brewery that comes to mind. They make a few super-hoppy lagers that are better than most local DIPAs and are just bonkers-delicious. My favorite is Hoponius Union. Their yeast provides such a clean character that everything else shines, and this has allowed them to do a fantastic job at displaying great hops presence in all their lagers. Plus, I’m a huge sucker for the classic American IPA hops profile of citrus and grapefruit with a touch of resin. The brewery was always very accessible back up in Massachusetts, and the team is chock-full of very talented individuals who churn out great beer very consistently.”
Jeffrey Green
Owner and brewer at Very Nice Brewing Company in Nederland, Colorado
“Former Future (Denver, Colorado) Gadabout IPL is phenomenal! Sure, it’s extremely crisp and refreshing—as any lager should be, of course—but with the dank citrus hops that really live up to the tastes that come to mind in the heads of hops freaks when they see ‘IP’ in front of any style. The clarity of the light lager malt bill is perfectly taken advantage of to put the hops on display as the star of the beer.”