Pilsner and Lager Beers

You are right, we do, but often we just decide understanding each other is more important

 

I've said before, it's not just a matter of top vs. bottom fermentation. It includes the warmer temperature and shorter time of fermentation, compared to lagers. All three factors together easily distinguish ales from lagers, which are both beers, as you now seem to accept.

 

Americans and the rest of the world except for the UK.

The English terminology creates some interesting difficulties even within their own country. Since they think ales are separate from and different than beer, it follows that the Great British Beer Festival in London doesn't have any ales.

 

Thanks for the tips! I'll look for those. I'm in North Jersey. I actually buy most of my beer in Manhattan though, because that's where I work.

 

Perhaps, but I'd like to get other opinions than your own.

Nothing personal, but your moniker suggests you may be waaaaaaaaaaaay behind the times.

 

Whatever ales you

The added irony is that in Latvian and Lithuanian "ale" and "beer" are represented by the same word (alus), which leads to some interesting confusion on export labels. Samy with Estonian (õlu). Not sure Russian even has a word for ale... Actually, I'm quite sure it does not. Polish is only rescued by borrowing from English (like much of the rest of European languages).

 

If that was true I'd be agreeing with the English.

 

Even after that dastardly Englishman Howard Carter disturbed your rest??

 

I've yet to see a German brewer refer to his Weizen as an "ale." Unless, of course, he's trying to get thru the thick head of an Ami.

 

No problem! Ah okay, I imagine you won't have trouble finding any of those then...I have a lot of friends up that way and head up from time to time, and I don't recall there being any issues. But if you do for some reason and you're ever in the Philly area, you can find them all over the place here.

I also forgot to mention Sly Fox Pikeland Pils and their Helles and add those to the list. Let me know what you think then!

 

That's very true. Conversely, we on the other side of the ocean can also decide how we categorise* what we drink. I'm a big supporter of the right to self determination.



* I spend much of the time with my head stuffed up the past's arse. In 19th century newspapers and books, "categorize" was the usual British spelling.

 

Schell's Emerald Rye lager might be my favorite anytime anywhere beer. Without question the beer I buy the most, and it's one of many reasons I keep coming home with more Schell's beer than anything else.

 

Getting back onto the topic of Lagers . . .

Not a big fan of Pilsner, but Augustiner Helles I really like. Ettaler Dunkles is a cracker, too. Löwenbräu (Buttenheim) do a great Kellerbier, as do their neighbours St Georgen. Klosterbräu, Mahr and Fässla an Bamberg brew a good selection of Lager styles. Hebendanz, Greif and Neder in Forchheim brew some great stuff.

Unfortunately, a lot of these malt liquors aren't available over there. Not sure you get to see the best of central European beer.

 

It's been on shelves for at least a month or two.. I've seen it almost everywhere..

 

I would second the recommendation for Great Lakes Eliot Ness. That just blew me away. I'd add Laurelwood's Portlandia Pils to the discussion, a very hoppy version of Pilsner. Heater Allen from Oregon is making very good lagers across the board. DFH My Antonia is one of my favorite beers they make.

 

The current American Adjunct Lagers.
Classic American Pilsner
Rauchbier
The American Dark lagers like Shiner.

The Czechs have their own lagers that are not well known. Will leave that to Ron P.

Several craft breweries around here are making some fine lagers using American hop varieties, and other ingredient variations that result in beers that do not fit in the styles.

 

Agreed that it's the fermentation and storage temperatures which make the difference. At low temperatures bottom fermenting yeasts work best but aren't essential.Kolsch gets round the Reinheitsgebot by brewing and lagering cold as a lager but top fermented.Hence it's legally a lagerbier.
It wasn't me that said that ales aren't beer , no problem that beer is a catch-all word for all our brews.But porter and stout do not stem from the ale family whatever 20th and 21st century revisionists will tell you.A totally different and separate background and heritage.

 

Ron a number of the beers you listed are imported to the US: Ettaler, Mahrs, Lowenbrau, and Augustiner for example. The US importer for Augustiner (Global Village Imports) is located less than a mile from my house; they are co-located with my local retail beer distributor and there are always big mounds of cases of Augustiner there.

There are also a number of US craft breweries who make high quality German style beers as you can see by reading this thread.

We are fortunate in the US that we have access to many German brewed lagers and well as US craft brewed versions as well.

What a wonderful country we live it!

Cheers!


P.S. We also receive a number of imported lagers from the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. I am a big fan of Golden Pheasant (Zlaty Bazant) beer.

 

Neither Augustiner Helles nor Loewenbrau Buttenheim is imported to the U.S. The Mahr's beers I have had here have, unfortunately, been absolute shadows of their original selves.