Why does everybody hate lagers?

That is perhaps one of the most interesting beers I’ve ever had. Unfortunately I did not like it that much, but I had the Helles version and maybe the 2014 vintage wasn’t long enough for it to smooth out. I also wasn’t well-acquainted with usual Doppelbock like Celebrator, so I was wholly unprepared.

 

Because lagers suck??? jk

Actually I think it has to do lot more to do with fact that 75% of the worlds crappiest beer are tasteless macrobrew lagers.

 

Same here. After all the praise heaped on it by fellow BAs I tried it and fell in love. You said it was in a 4 pack--was it by any chance a 4 pack with vintage cans? That was my introduction to it, and now I have a couple of bottles in the fridge in the signature green bottles. It was just as lovely in the bottles as the cans, but I would love to have another 4 pack of the cans. Sadly it's another beer I never see locally or I'd regularly stock my fridge with it.

 

Green bottles? Do they still package it that way for the US?

 

I guess if the green bottles literally never see the light of day, they should be fine. Otherwise, unless you're one of those masochistic Heineken or Corona fans who likes his beer skunked, stick to the cans. Pilsner Urquell is a legitimately great and legendary beer and a quintessential Saaz showcase that for many years was undermined by its packaging.

 

If @WV_Charles_Homebrew 's green bottled PU beers are years old... dating back to before they (supposedly? ) switched to brown glass for the US, then they shouldn't "be fine" no matter how much they've been kept in the dark.

 

I'm apparently in the business of weighing in on some threads I've not weighed in on yet - but too tired to read through all the previous posts (unbelievable! arrogant! whatever!)... so if this has all been said before, apologies for the repetition...

Nobody "hates" lagers, but the big beers (BMC) have created an association with poor quality and mass production that has probably deterred today's "craft" beer crowd from consumption and approval.

That said, there is something about a lager that - personally - I don't dig as much as an ale - I think it's something about the feel more than the taste - but then again, maybe it's because not as many "craft" breweries are dedicated to brewing high-quality lagers since the trend is biased towards ales, and it's all ultimately about money...

A great lager is indubitably as good as a great ale, but today's "craft" market say that ales > lagers, so that's where the attention and interest is focused.

 

Same here. I think it may have taken me longer than some, but I definitely am there now. Initially it was German lagers and American Marzens but now I appreciate a well made lager of whatever variety/ origin. My remaining prejudice is that I am very reluctant to buy expensive domestic lagers--a part of my brain still believes domestic lagers should be relatively cheap. It's not and issues with imports though.

 

The first time I tried it, it was a 4 pack of vintage cans, but the bottles in my fridge are green. It's almost always the green bottles when I'm able to find it but so far I haven't had any skunked bottles. The bottles come in an enclosed cartoon that keeps them from getting light-struck now.

 

Yeah, for the US market, they introduced the 11.2 oz. brown bottles in 2014 (different markets get different bottles and the change to brown happened at different times in other countries). That, of course, was under SABMiller ownership with US importation rights controlled by MillerCoors.

Since then, Plzeňský Prazdroj was purchased by Japan's Asahi but is still imported by MC (a result of agreements made after the ABInBev purchase of SABMiller).

12 packs are "closed", as noted, but the 6 packs are an open "basket" design and I haven't noticed a return to green glass but I usually buy cans when I see 'em "semi-fresh". Bottle labels and the packaging are also date coded with a "Best By" date.

 

Yes they were the vintage cans. I've only had it out of the bottle once, and it was as a single from TW. Who knows how long it had been sitting there, and it was skunked. So I've yet to buy a 12 pack of bottles due to that experience.

 

"No love" != "Hate".

Folks equate lagers to AAL, ie BMC, and that's a showstopper for many/most craft drinkers.

 

Green bottled beers exposed to fluorescent light will become light-stuck in a matter of days, so the length of time since bottling or even being shelved in the singles area if it came out of an open sixpack isn't usually the critical factor.

But the bottles in 12 packs (now [or, at least, "up until now"] in brown glass) haven't been exposed to light.

 

For the general public , maybe, I suppose. But for people "into beer" this is really learning-to-crawl level stuff.

 

Wow I didn't realize it happened in days. Yeah, I've always felt weird buying certain beers as singles from TW that sit directly under their lights. So I tend to try and grab one from the back that's in darkness.

 

It is even quicker when exposed to sunlight, according to The Practical Brewer (Master Brewers' Association of the Americas 1977):

 

I find the green bottles very attractive and stylish. Doesn't mean I'll buy then outside of a sealed carton but they are pretty.

 

It's not that I hate lagers personally, I just don't find them interesting. I much prefer my stouts and IPAs that have a lot more depth and flavor to them than something that's pretty bland.

 

Hmm, but how many of those can you drink in one sitting? Are they suitable for every occasion? I couldn't limit myself to two styles, especially when it involves BIG flavors on opposing ends of the spectrum.

 

I can usually drink 3 or 4 in one sitting if I feel like it, but I've been cutting back on my beer consumption overall though since I'm trying to lose weight. I don't limit myself to 2 styles, those are just my preferred styles. What I'll get if I see one I want to try. Otherwise I tend to drift into amber ales and pale ales. I tend to stick to one beer a day (I'm doing Weight Watchers and beer is high in points) so I want to be able to enjoy that 1 I allow myself.