West Coast Pils

Volatile, fleeting, and polarizing, sulfur compounds are as welcomed in certain forms as they are reviled in others. And with the rise of hop-forward lagers, brewers are targeting their presence or absence with increasing precision.

As today’s brewers explore the subtleties of hop-forward lagers, they’re finding ways to balance proper fermentation time with the brightest possible hop expression.

From Corn Coast Brewing in Lincoln, Nebraska, here’s a recipe for the West Coast–style pils that we named one of our Best 20 Beers in 2025.

You don’t want your water to get in the way of hop-saturated flavors. Here, North Park founder and head brewer Kelsey McNair sketches out a few different water profiles that depend on style—and why he might adjust those profiles, depending on choices made elsewhere.

North Park founder and head brewer Kelsey McNair shares his approach and various techniques for achieving fully saturated hop flavor in IPA, West Coast pilsner, or any hop-forward style.

Evan Price, cofounder and head brewer of Green Cheek in Orange, California, details how pH, water chemistry, hop varieties, and grain choices are all among the knobs you can turn to shape your ideal perception of bitterness in West Coast–style, hop-forward beers.

How did we get here? Green Cheek cofounder and head brewer Evan Price traces the recent history of IPA in the West Coast style, as it’s moved away from caramel and fully embraced pilsner malt.

From a word on water to dry hopping, fining, and carbonating, cofounder and head brewer Evan Price shares an overview of Green Cheek’s process for West Coast–style beers.

Evan Price, cofounder and head brewer of Green Cheek in Orange, California, lays out the thinking and process behind their bright, bitter, and highly drinkable West Coast pils, IPA, and double IPA.

From 12 West Brewing in Gilbert, Arizona, here’s a recipe for their Citra-Mosaic lager that scored a 98 with our blind-review panel and went on to become one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023.

Arizona’s 12 West racked up the honors from Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine last year, including a score of 98 for their Radial Spines West Coast–style pils and a nod as one of our Best 20 Beers of 2023. In this episode, head brewer Justin “Gully” Gullickson and assistant brewer Andrew Cooper outline the design and process behind that beer as well as their high-scoring IPAs.

From cofounder and head brewer Kevin Stafford and the team at Finback in Queens, New York, comes their take on the contemporary hoppy pilsner—“a nice balance of new and old school.” (It was also a hit with our blind-review panel, tops in its class at 98/100.)