Thoughts On Lagers Not Being Synonymous With Craft

Picked up some NB Shift earlier this week (which is great), and Hops & Grain from Austin has a lager called "The One They Call Zoe" (fantastic). I'd consider lagers a subset of craft beer. This isn't aleadvocate.com, after all.

 

Hey, maybe that's why IPL is a rapidly emerging style...

 

See Metropolitan from Chicago. Great lager brewery in craft batches.

 

I think the answer is that most people choose ales over lagers. I tend to agree, while there are some good lagers, Dopple and Eisbocks, and also true Baltic porters. I still think ales are better for the most part and find myself drinking far more ales than lagers. I think many people likely agree and I have to ask, look in your fridge and cellar right now what's the ratio of Ales to Lagers?

 

I'm sure location also plays a part. If you are located where excellent craft lagers are available (SEPA, Great Lakes area), then it is more likely that you will get exposed to quality examples to the point where they become a part of your overall experience. Hopefully the rest of the country will catch up some day.

 

It's not a competition.

 

Exactly. It isn't illegal to add hops to a lager, but nobody ever does it. With our culture seeming to be hop-heavy, lagers just lag behind.

It just doesn't make sense for most craft breweries to brew lagers because of the time and costs of doing so.

 

It took me awhile to come back to lagers. Years of drinking crappy macros had burned me out. Now, after essentially resetting my palate, I can enjoy a good lager, including a pilsner.

 

I drink about 50/50 ales or lagers. It would be about 65/35 in favor of lagers but have you ever heard of SNPA.

 

Given Lagers are:

1) more expensive to produce (longer turnaround time)

2) more likely to have a failed batch (can't cover up the flaws of fermentation)

3) require greater technical skill


Perhaps lagers are the real craft beers then? ;-)


Putting on my helmet now for protection against the hate mail.

 

While possibly a topic for another time/thread, I do always find it funny when people say that they like some lagers and immediately list off 3-4 beers that are 8%+ ABV. Sometimes I fear for the next generation of craft drinkers.
Fortified beer is just around the corner.

 

An old friend of mine, and always will be!

 

They'll get there- at least they're dipping their toes in the water

 

Also still selling in sizable volume are Sierra Nevada Summerfest and Samuel Adams Octoberfest- so that has to account for something.

Then factor in the positive feedback that Firestone Walker has gotten for their Pivo Pils- hopefully that can be the start of something to provide more counterbalance. I really like what they did with this beer- it is clear that they intended to put their own spin on the style, but they went about it in the right way. You really can tell that there is also a foundation of respect for the tradition of what makes Pilsners great that their recipe and process are built upon.

And, reason to be cheerful, part 3- Anchor's surprise success with their 'throwback' California Lager, so much so that it has become their #2 seller already.

 

And, with the new Brewers Association "craft" definition, Yuengling Traditional Lager will easily leapfrog SABL and SNPA to the top of the list, and Shiner Bock is also among the top five craft brands.

 

buzzkill...

 

I say theres nothing like a nice pilsner on tap.

 

Love that 90% of the time in the city wherever I am, I can probably grab a Brooklyn Lager even at music venues like Webster Hall.