Pale lager
Czech Premium Pale Lager
The original golden lager. Soft water, floor-malted Bohemian barley, decoction, and enough Saaz to leave a bitterness that is firm but never sharp. The finishing gravity is deliberately high, which is where the body comes from.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.044 - 1.060
1.044 - 1.060
Final gravity
1.013 - 1.017
1.013 - 1.017
Bitterness
30 IBU - 45 IBU
30 IBU - 45 IBU
Colour
3.5 SRM - 6 SRM
3.5 SRM - 6 SRM
Alcohol
4.2% - 5.8%
4.2% - 5.8%
Colour also 7-12 EBC
What goes wrong
Fermenting it too dry. The high FG is the style, and a Czech pale lager that finishes at 1.008 reads as a German pils.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
The rest of the pale lager family
American Light Lager
2.8-4.2% · 8-12 IBU
1BAmerican Lager
4.2-5.3% · 8-18 IBU
1CCream Ale
4.2-5.6% · 8-20 IBU
2AInternational Pale Lager
4.6-6% · 18-25 IBU
3ACzech Pale Lager
3-4.1% · 20-35 IBU
4AMunich Helles
4.7-5.4% · 16-22 IBU
4BFestbier
5.8-6.3% · 18-25 IBU
5AGerman Leichtbier
2.4-3.6% · 15-28 IBU
5BKolsch
4.4-5.2% · 18-30 IBU
5CGerman Helles Exportbier
4.8-6% · 20-30 IBU
5DGerman Pils
4.4-5.2% · 22-40 IBU
Plan a batch to these numbers.