Lager: an underappreciated beer with a major brewing difference
If there’s one drink you can’t go wrong with, it’s the classic American brew, otherwise known as beer. Whether you like ales, stouts, malts, or even cider beers, there are a wide variety of tastes and flavors that can satisfy just about any beer-drinker, and you don’t have to be an aficionado to enjoy them.
However, if there’s one beer type that’s slightly underappreciated, it’s lagers. I can guarantee that if you’ve ever had a beer, you’ve probably had a lager, but you might not have known it. If you’re not the aforementioned beer aficionado, then you might be wondering what the difference really is between styles of beers, and I’m here to break that down.
Now, I know what you’re thinking; lager beers, like Sam Adams Boston Lager, right? Well, of course. Sam Adams isn’t the only lager, though, and it may not even be the best. Some other popular brand names include Yuengling (my personal favorite), Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Busch, Corona, and Heineken, to name a few.
Now, back to the difference: According to Fred Eckhardt from allaboutbeers.com, the main difference between lagers and other types of beers, like ales, is the temperature at which the fermentation process occurs; lagers are fermented at much cooler temperatures. In addition, bottom-fermenting yeast plays a key role, too, after temperature. Essentially, bottom-fermenting yeast ferments much slower, and with the addition of cooler temperatures, it produces a beer with a more mellow and flavorful taste.
Fun fact: The word “lager”, of German origin, actually means “storeroom”; lagers tend to be stored longer in order to produce the crispier flavor and mellow taste. Eckhardt explained that lagers originated during the Middle Ages, when Bavarian beer brewers learned that beer continued to ferment when it was stored in ice caves, hence the storage-related name.
However, it wasn’t until the latter half of the 19th century that scientists began to experiment with different types of yeast in beer, and it was also when lagers really took off. And boy, was it revelatory.
No discussion on lagers would be complete if I didn’t offer some insight into a few different brands, which is precisely what I plan to do. I stopped by Publix to build my own six-pack in order to sample a few lesser-known lagers to see how the tastes stack up.
The first beer I sampled was New Belgium Black Lager. Appearance-wise, this beer holds true to its name; it’s probably the darkest brown beer I’ve seen in my one and a half years of legal drinking. The taste was extremely crisp, but it was also smooth. It had hints of chocolate, which was surprising but pleasing. New Belgium Black Lager packs a bit more of a punch with almost six percent ABV, but you wouldn’t know it from the taste.
The second beer sampled on my lager expedition was Margaritaville Brewing Co.’s Landshark Lager. It’s extremely yellow in color, almost gold, and it’s packaged in a clear bottle. It was very smooth, but it was a bit too carbonated. It had a bit of a hop upon the first sip, but that faded quickly. Overall, it didn’t have a ton of taste, but it is cheap, so that’s a plus.
Guinness Blonde American Lager is the third and final beer on my brief journey. It has a gold-amber color, and it almost smells a little bitter, but it certainly doesn’t taste that way. It’s smooth, crisp, and bold. It also has hints of honey and caramel, making the Guinness Blonde my definite favorite of the three.
All in all, the Bavarians were onto something when they stored their beers for longer in cooler temperatures; myself and lager fans everywhere give thanks to that accidental discovery of an age-old style of brewing delicious beer.