Is the Pils as good as its reputation? Ökotest drank through the beer range and came across something unappetizing.

Beer is sacred to the Germans. Especially the Pils. Because this is the most popular variety in this country. The offer is huge. But do Beck’s, Bitburger and Co. really deliver the beer quality that the German palate expects? Ökotest filled his glasses and drank his way through the range. 50 popular Pilsner beers were tested, including regional beers and major brands, as well as eight organic beers. Most of them can be poured out with confidence. However, two brands caused displeasure among the testers.

The bottom line is that the result of the quality check is impressive. 45 of the tested pilsners are “good” or “very good”. However, what the testers found in Bioland’s Pinkus Pils is bitter. The beer was contaminated with bacteria. These are not harmful to humans, but detrimental to the taste. “The germs belonging to the lactic acid bacteria spoil the taste of the Pils, according to Ökotest. The result: a buttery bad taste.

Not every pilsner tastes like pilsner should taste

Ökotest emphasizes that beer is generally not very susceptible to microbial spoilage. Due to the low pH value and the bitter substances, among other things, it does not offer good living conditions for most bacteria. For example, salmonella could not survive in beer. Impurities that are detrimental to the quality of the beer could, however, get into the bottles via the bottling plant, among other things. Due to the contamination, Ökotest evaluates the Pilsner from Bioland strictly and deducts four grades. This means that the beer only gets the grade “insufficient”.

The Pinkus Pils is not the only beer in the test that is not completely flawless in terms of taste. The sensory experts tasted slight off-notes in a total of ten beers. A decent pilsner made according to the German brewing method tastes bitter to tart. A “bready note” or “slight aging note” has no place in the beers, but this was one of the things criticized. For example, Bosch, Tyskie Gronie and Kaiserkrone only scored “satisfactory” in terms of taste. Overall, the Norma-Pils Kaiserkrone did not convince the testers either. It is the second in the test to fail. Grade: “inadequate”.

Otherwise, the examiners have little to complain about. Even in the laboratory, questionable ingredients could only rarely be found. However, according to Ökotest, traces of glyphosate were found in twelve beers – but the values ​​are far below the maximum level permitted in the EU. The finds nevertheless caused slight devaluations. After all, all the organic beers in the test were free of glyphosate.

The results of the beer check can be accessed free of charge at Ökotest.de.