Today, the US beer market is gloriously awash in craft-brewed pilsners, at least that’s the case here in the Pacific Northwest, but it hasn’t always been like that. Not too long ago, it was rare to find a US brewery outside the mega breweries that created anything resembling the style. And then came Grambrinus and Trumer Pils.
Grambinus Co. opened its Trumer brewery in Berkeley, California, and began producing its Trumer Pils in 2004. Earlier this week, Firestone Walker Brewing announced it is acquiring the rights to the Trumer brand, which means the Trumer brewer in Berkeley will close. Trumer Pils will live on, but Firestone Walker will brew it at the company’s facility in Paso Robles.
The first time I drank a Trumer Pils, it was still a new beer, and the best beer bars had taplists featuring amber, porter, pale ale, and maybe an occasional IPA. I couldn’t quite believe that Trumer wasn’t European. I thought some sort of shenanigans were involved. “Sure, they say it’s an American brewery, but c’mon,” I thought. I learned that I was right. And wrong.
The origins of this beer date back hundreds of years to a small town outside of Salzburg, Austria, and a brewery called Trumer Privatbrauerei. Carlos Alvarez founded Gambrinus and opened the Trumer brewery in Berkeley in 2004. He hired skilled American brewers, imported the European ingredients, and brewed Trumer Pils stateside. It was a departure. Until then, people just imported the finished product. Why brew a pilsner here when they already do it so well over there? Alvarez’s approach, and the success of Trumer Pils, changed everything.
It’s bittersweet. The fabled Trumer brewery in Berkeley is closing, but at least the brand is now in the capable hands of Firestone Walker, a fellow independent craft brewer. In a press release, Firestone Walker’s brewmaster, Matt Brynildson, said, “Pilsner brewing is a discipline built on detail and patience. Trumer Pils is a beer I have admired for many years, and our responsibility is to protect the balance and drinkability that have always defined it.”
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