Why does everybody hate lagers?

My two years of good beer drinking were pretty much lagerless. Since then I find that now that it is pretty much split down the middle. I love a well made czech pils, but I also find that lagers made with single hops are a great showcase to determine if you like that hop. I would like to see more breweries cranking out things similar to this. Founders PC Pils was one I never tried until I was in the Florida panhandle in a Pils desert and found a 15 pack of it. There is also a new wave of straight up AAL's that are being cranked out by most major breweries. So times are a changin

 

That could not be further from the truth. Slim to none at a half-decent retail location? Hogwash...

 

Given the invasion in recent years of silly, cloying, gimmicky beers designed to taste like juice or pastries, being a part of the Top 250 shouldn't be mistaken for an honor or a sign of anything other than being able to blow away the underdeveloped palates of the inexperienced, excitable, and heavily hype-influenced consumers who now dominate the user base of this site and the craft beer scene in general.

That said, the fact that lagers don't make the top 250 doesn't mean people "hate lagers." Most lagers tend to be subtler in aroma and flavor than ales, especially the IPAs, imperial stouts, and occasional sours and Belgians that dominate the Top 250. People tend to award ratings points for boldness of aroma and flavor; hence most lagers are unlikely to achieve particularly high scores even if people enjoy them. Thus, lagers are missing from the Top 250 for the same reason that bitters and ambers (or whatever are your subtle ale styles of choice) are missing from the Top 250. Perhaps if big, bold, and, sadly these days, double dry-hopped or fruit- or dessert-flavored doppelbocks or Baltic porters were in common production, you'd see some lagers inch into the Top 250 (although, realistically, those styles aren't going to match IPAs' or imperial stouts' cachet any time soon).

Keep in mind that lagers generally are significantly more time-consuming to produce than are ales (because, you know, they have to be lagered), and many of the most popular lager styles like pilsner are notoriously difficult to execute properly because any flaws shine through unabated. For those reasons, many small craft breweries (the types of breweries that are hip enough to generate adequate hype to drive their offerings into the Top 250) hesitate to produce them. Consequently, there's a small percentage of lagers relative to ales being produced among craft brewers, and that scarcity makes it hard for lagers to make much of a dent into the ale domination of the top of the rankings.

 

You and me both, man.

My body is ready. Is it July... I mean... September yet?

 

I’m sitting at the gate in PDX. I had many fine lagers in Oregon. The Pilsner at pFriem was so good I went there 3 days in a row, just to drink that beer.

 

I think hate is the wrong word to use. For the average beer consumer macro or other light lagers are the most well liked. For the average “craft” beer drink they aren’t hated but just not preferred to the mass variety of hoppy beers. I think the majority of BA users love lagers like myself.

You can agrue that lagers don’t get enough love and appreciation but there are plenty of lagers available from bottles to draft and from small brewery to big brewery. My local small brewery always has one on tap and even the big breweries like Sierra Nevada always have one available. Yes, lagers represent a small portion of their portfolio but they are Available.

 

I hadn’t been in OR for 3 years, and was happy to see how the amount of lagers has grown. Had some in Eugene, McMinnville, Astoria, Portland, and Hood River. Others I know said they were expecting nothing but hoppy and sour beers, and were pleased with the lagers available. The reason we were in Portland was Homebrewcon last week.

 

That's because it looks like the last best beer list that was just released and every other one before that going back 5-10 years, always the same beers with these stupid lists.

Not exactly a logical inference. Could easily mean that the vast majority of folks who love lagers don't review beers on BA or even use BA.

 

The first time i ever had Rothaus was like magic

 

The weather was perfect for that beer. My two favorite all time beer experiences are Munich Lowenbrau with my dad after golf or basketball, and a Gosser Spezial headed toward Slovenia on a very hot day. Also, the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam, and both Tuborg and Carlsberg in Copenhagen. I loved them all and we were treated like kings!

 

I prefer the Weisn.

Ayep. Anyone with a problem with lagers on BA is gonna have to have a come to Jesus moment.

 

TL/DNR?

Even world-class lagers tend to underperform in the BA rating system. This has to do both with the rating algorithm AND with the people rating the beers.

 

Hhmmm, I guess someone forgot to tell Firestone that everyone hates lagers:

https://www.firestonebeer.com/brewery/pils-and-love.php

 

If one is going by this list, then lagers aren’t the only style "everybody hates"