Pilsner Urquell was exported to the United States for the first time in 1871, around the same time German immigrants were also bringing their own examples of bottom-fermented beers.
What they didn’t realise was American six-row barley was quite different from European two-row spring barley, so they developed a similar tasting pilsner by adding corn (a style that died out during Prohibition). But these pilsner beers had already started their own revolution in America, and soon the industrialised light lagers were being brewed all over the country.
So that’s how the pilsner style spread – it was so well-liked and inspired so many people that the term pilsner eventually became a generic term around the world for any bottom-fermented golden beer sold as 'pils' or 'pilsner' – whether it comes from Plzeň or not.
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