Pale or dark?

Despite the ubiquity of Pilsner Urquell in liquor stores and bars, Czech lagers are difficult to come by unless you visit the source — the neighboring photo of a světlý ležák (pronounced svet leh lay zhak) and a tmavé pivo (pronounced t’ ma veh PEE voh) was taken at the restaurant Zdroj in Český Krumlov.

Though there are a few variants as far as strength and color, most Czech lagers are either pale or dark. Wild Provisions follows suit with Premium Pale Lager (PPL) and Czech Dark Lager (CDL). Made entirely from floor-malted Pilsner malt and Saaz hops, PPL is triple decocted with three separate Saaz additions. CDL is primarily Pilsner malt but with floor-malted Bohemian Dark malt and CaraBohemian, with some dehusked Carafa Special 2 added during the sparge process. Boldt does this “to reduce pyrolytic flavor contributions but still darken the color and push aromas of bakers chocolate.”

Like the PPL, the CDL is boiled for two hours with three separate Saaz additions before the journey to the coolship, fermenter and maturation tanks.