The introduction to Germany of modern refrigeration by Carl von Linde in the late 19th century removed the need for caves in which to store the beer and thus allowed many places to brew bottom-fermenting beer which were unable to do so before however, even until recently the Pilsner Urquell brewery still fermented its beer using open barrels in the cellars underneath their brewery. In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trade mark was created to put emphasis on being the original brewery.

In 1859, 'Pilsner Bier' was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Pilsen. Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was soon available throughout Central Europe, and the Pilsner Brauart style of brewing was soon widely imitated. The combination of pale color from the new malts, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, noble hops from nearby Saaz and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which was regarded as a sensation. The Bürger Brauerei recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813-1887) who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, presented his first batch of modern Pilsner on October 5, 1842. Most of this research benefited from the knowledge already expounded on in a German book (printed since 1794, in Czech since 1801), written by František Ondřej Poupě (1753–1805) from Brno. Bavarian brewers had begun experiments with the storage (German: Lager) of beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer's clarity, flavor, and shelf-life. The citizens of Pilsen decided in 1839 to found and build a brewery of their own, called Bürger Brauerei (Citizens' Brewery) (now Plzeňský Prazdroj), which should brew beer according to the Bavarian style of brewing.

The taste and standards of quality often varied to the worse, and in 1838, consumers even dumped whole barrels to show their dissatisfaction.

Until the 1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-fermented, dark and cloudy.

Pilsner beer origin