Classic Styles See Rise in Craft Beer, Pils Celebration Planned

For craft beer, the classic styles of Lager seem to continue their upward trend in 2017. Many breweries are pounding out crisp and clean versions along with a few variants as well.

“Pils is so drinkable and delicious,” said Oxbow Brewing founder Tim Adams. “Many beer drinkers have become exhausted by ridiculously Hop-saturated IPAs and super complex mixed-fermentation beers. Pils is a style one can always fall back on when it’s time to just chill and drink some refreshing beer.”

Teaming with Italian craft brewery Birrificio Italiano, Oxbow will host the inaugural “Pils & Love” festival this July in South Portland, Maine. More than 40 of the world’s top producers of the Pilsner style will be on hand, which even Adams admitted is quite a niche beer tasting event.

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“It won’t appeal to everybody, but those who it does appeal to are extremely psyched,” he said, noting that he expects about 50 percent of the fest goers to be those from the beer industry.  I bet the attendance will be at least 50 percent beer industry folks.

Birrificio Italiano, who swapped brewers earlier this year with Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing, has hosted “Pils Pride” in Italy for 12 years now. The celebration has grown over the past decade and Oxbow was chosen because Adams said his brewery is ‘quite involved’ in Italian craft beer and it was a natural fit.

“Their love of Pils is so inspiring and the number of drinkers they have turned on to the style is incredibly impressive,” he said. “We hope that by presenting this same level of enthusiasm to the American public we can help create a passion for Pils which rivals the energy found in Italy.”

Many of the beers are not usually available in Maine and some have never even made their way to the US before, Adams noted. So most will only be licensed for one day to be poured at the event. That means lots of paperwork and communication.

“As with anything alcohol-related in this country there are always plenty of hoops to jump through, but we have a hardworking and experienced team so we are used to conquering the red tape,” Adams said.

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