Lager

Lager in General

A lager is a beer brewed in cool conditions using a slow-acting, bottom-fermenting brewers yeast, and then stored (or "lagered") for a period in cool conditions. The cool conditions and longer brewing time enable particles and various flavour compounds to self-filter. The result is a very clean tasting beer. The word "lager" itself stems from the German verb "lagern" (to store). Unlike ales, which can be brewed in a couple of weeks or less, lagers typically take five weeks or more.

Lagered beers run the spectrum from sweet to bitter, and from pale to black. There are basically four types of beer that fall under the lager category: pale lager (the dominant American type), pilsner, light lager and dark lager.

Typically pale lager is more carbonated than other types of beer. It tends to be light in both color and body. Budweiser and Coors are examples of a pale lager. Pilsner is another pale-colored lager. However, pilsners tend to have more distinct flavors and are often more bitter than American style pale lager thanks to particular types of hops and water used in the process. In America, light lager beers have less hops and barleys in them (typically substituting rice instead). This reduces the caloric content of the beer. It also has lower alcohol concentration than regular beers. In Europe "light" refers to a beer light in color rather than calories. Dark lagers are made dark through the use of roasted barley and hops, and therefore have richer flavor, a very dark color and a full-bodied taste.