Tim Newman
While lager is typically thought of as beer at its most basic, in actual fact it represents brewing at its most technical and stylistically broad. The intricate process of cool fermenting and conditioning demands precise control of time and temperature, and (when desired) the resulting beer can be some of the most diverse in the world. As strongly as its image may be associated with chilli bins and sports bars, the true scale of what lager is and isn’t is much grander.
Brewing itself may precede even the earliest histories, but lager is a (comparatively) modern invention that can be traced back to 1400’s Bavaria, where beer was stored in caves to prevent spoilage over the summer. This extra period of subterranean conditioning would garner the beer both it’s name (lager being simply the German translation of storage) and the smooth and clean characteristics that would eventually see it become the most popular beer in the world.
That vast popularity led to lager becoming ‘the’ beer that the big breweries around the world produced, and that largely remains so. Even understanding that, it’s more pervasive than many realise. Even beers that are specifically named otherwise (Speights Gold Medal Ale, for instance) are most often brewed with the same yeast and processes of lager. That doesn’t mean these mega-scale beers are intrinsically inferior to craft brewed examples though, as it’s precisely that technology and capacity that lager demands.
However, there is so much more to the style than what typically emerges from a given twelve pack. The thin outer spectrum of lager hides beers that can be dark, strong, curiously yeast driven or even smoked. But to find them you’ll have to eschew the big brands and look to craft brewed options, or even seek out German brewed examples for the truly weird stuff. Here are some that provide a very narrow vertical slice through the incredible diversity of craft lager.
Mcleod’s: ‘Longboarder’ Lager 5.0%abv
If a craft brewery is going to produce an ‘ordinary’ lager, then it damned well better be a good one, because the price comparison when set against the large producers is extreme to say the least. Longboarder is one such beer, with a long list of awards including multiple Brewers Guild Trophies. Focused and precise, with citrus hoppiness softened by just a hint of melon and gooseberry pungency.
Shining Peak: Octopus Clamp Dark Lager 5.2%abv
This dark lager (or Schwarzbier) is about the closest thing to a total inflection of every aspect of the typical style. Jet black, with a rich array of roasted malt and dark chocolate flavours and a hint of fresh stone fruit hoppiness. Smooth and refreshing, just like any other lager, but infinitely more complex and satisfying.
Sawmill: ‘The Doctor’ Doppelbock 6.5%abv
On the very outermost fringe of the lager frontier lies Doppelbock, a strong, sweet and decadently rich style of beer that many would not believe shared the majority of it’s brewing DNA with a bottle of Heineken. Deeply roasted malt, black forest chocolate and a distinct aroma of freshly baked pumpernickel rye bread. When someone refers to a beer as liquid bread, this is what they mean.
