Lagers and Ales... can't we all just get along?!

Though I am a noob compared to probably most of you, I made the decision a couple years ago that I would buy something new every time I got beer. I've had just over 300 different beers of every style I could possibly find in my area. The range of flavors and textures has really amazed me! That being said, I can understand why you'd shy away from lagers. There are so many cheap ones that give lagers a bad name, and the stigma is carried on by the bud, macro thing. Now that being said, there has been a handful of lagers that have blown me away, German and czech ones.

 

It's not about comparing and trying to say what one style is better than another, it's understanding how all styles are different and good in their own ways. If you like RIS simply because it knocks you over with big flavor and alcohol, you're discounting all the more mellow, lighter and smoother beers you could be enjoying -- once you understand that their goodness is just as good, only different.

 

How about Oktoberfests and Doppelbocks? It's nearing Maibock season too. And let's not rule out a good Schwarzbier -- in sticking to just bigger and bolder lagers.

 

I happen to like the flavors in ales a bit more than lagers. I will embrace a cold SN Summerfest in the Summer and a solid Octoberfest come fall time. Otherwise, it's IPA's and Pale Ales that get my attention the most Spring-Fall (not including pumpkin ales and other seasonals. Winter for me is a lot of barleywines, stouts and old ales.

 

I stayed away from lagers for a long time. Odell's Double Pilsner was an eye opener for me. So was my first dopplebock, which was Wolfgang from Great Divide. I'd suggest that one, and ask for more suggestions as well. I'm still not well-educated on lagers.

 

I've had arcadia ales shipwreck baltic porter and like it but I don't know if this one is an ale or a lager since I've been told they can be either.

 

I do really enjoy the occasional doppelbock (usually aventinus or celebrator) but at the moment I just happen to prefer things like stouts, barleywines, or ipas. That's just me though, and I'm not one to trash-talk an entire style. Too each their own : )

 

The OP hit it right on the tee. Surely, people have a style they prefer over others but, what's most important is to judge a beer based on the context of it's particular style.

 

I shunned Lagers until this came along:

 

Lagers are the comfort food of the beer world,not always going to wow you but it will bring a smile to your face and sometimes an Ahh moment,don't try to understand why,just enjoy. Simple ales are the comfort of the ale world,such as Bass ale,we only sometimes assume that ales are the most flavorful.The frig should be full of both esp. heading into spring and summer seasons.Cheers the England world of fine ales.Hail to the lager world that will always kickass.

 

This is how they get us. They divide us into ales and lagers, and then they conquer us.

 

Whether or not a beer is a lager or ale doesn't matter in the least to me. Have 100 people try something like a Schell's Emerald Rye blindfolded and see if they correctly determine whether it's an ale or a lager. I'd bet it'd be a near 50/50 split.

The sheer quantity of excellent craft pilseners is reason enough to throw belonging to one camp or the other out the window.

 

Where's herrburgess in this conversation? Did he just black out from rage from that last lager thread? Dude's always got good suggestions and insight on lagers.

 

I just find it interesting that the OP states his desire to see lagers and ales equally appreciated...and that we should end the debate and simply enjoy both...let's all just get along.

And with that, CREATES and participates in a debate on the subject with clear lager-defensive comments.

I too congratulate you on your genius. You got exactly what you were really wanted.

 

Lagers and ales get along just fine in my fridge, kegerator, carboys, and favorite breweries. What's more, my all-time favorite beer, Schlenkerla Maerzen, packs as much unique (and big) flavor as any of my favorite (D)IPAs. But it's not that punch of pungent smoke that makes Schlenkerla my favorite beer, it's the combination of the smoke with the underlying toffee, treacly Maerzen character, which really shines after #3 (or 4 or 5) in a single sitting. And that, for me, is the beauty of lagers: while they can be hugely flavorful, they have a rounded, refined and subtle fullness of flavor that makes settling in with them so, so easy -- and rewarding.

I think one of the reasons for the love of hops here in the U.S. craft scene (proof that BAs don't hate lagers, but rather really love citrus/fruity hops, can be seen in the major love for Jack's Abby), is that geography too often prevents us from getting the freshest beer possible, and an abundance of hops helps "preserve" a sense of freshness. A lot of BAs have caught on to this, as they now go to great lengths -- and even travel long distances -- to obtain (D)IPAs at their freshest. German geography means that people are pretty much assured of getting the freshest beer possible -- which is just as essential for lagers as it is for (D)IPAs.

Maybe people realizing that traveling to get the freshest (D)IPAs is hugely rewarding will also realize that doing the same for the world's great lagers is equally rewarding. And maybe when they sit down with 3 or 4 of them in a row, they'll forget for a while about ticking and finally settle in with the style -- and the fact that the world's traditional brewing nations have worlds of flavor to explore and appreciate.

 

I think a lot of it has to come down to A) many craft breweries don't brew Lagers so you don't see as many of them B) for the ones that do, are there REALLY that much differences between them (or maybe more accurately, perceived to be between them)? C) palates change over time. I love Lagers, they will forever have a special place in my heart and in the past I would grab a Lager over an Ale about 80% of the time. But lately, many that I loved have lost some of their "oomph" to me so I gravitate towards other things a little more often than I used to.

But BOTH Lagers and Ales seem to have a spot in my fridge at any given time.

 

It often seems to be the case that the line between ale and lager gets drawn at some hypothetical boundary between boldness of flavor. Generally the logic seems to go something like "the boldest beers out there are ales, I want bold beer, therefore I drink ales." It's an easy path to take when much of the impetus in getting into good beer is drinking beer that's more robust; I know I did. This logic is of course flawed in reality given the existence of some Baltic porters and doppelbocks on one hand, and some pale ales and dry stouts on the other. If boldness of flavor is the criteria for goodness, then one ought to be drinking a mix of ales and lagers, and neglecting different mix of ales and lagers.

But I think even that misses the real point. Plenty of people offer up bold examples of lagers to justify the merits of the lager in general to those that shun them. I know I don't drink lagers because those examples exist, and, indeed, most lagers aren't that extreme, nor do I think lagers should have to be extreme to gain popularity (eg. the irksome imperial Pilsner). Well-made lagers do, however, offer a different kind of flavor many ales just don't, and I think this is the point that is most important. The clean, bready malt flavor of a Märzen or the aroma of noble hops in a Helles just aren't qualities you get in most ales. It'd be a shame to miss out on them just because they're often not remarkably intense, because intensity isn't what it's about.

 

I love beer.

 

Me too.

 

I like plenty of lagers/pilsners. Prima Pils, Noble Pils, My Antonia, SA IPL, etc.