Pale lager
Pale lager | |
---|---|
Country of origin | Germany, Austria |
Yeast type | Bottom-fermenting |
Pale lager is a
In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British
History
Bavarian brewers in the sixteenth century were required by law to brew beer only during the cooler months of the year. In order to have beer available during the hot summer months, beers would be stored (lagered) in caves and stone cellars, often under blocks of ice.
In the period 1820–1830, a brewer named Gabriel Sedlmayr II the Younger, whose family was running the
The new recipe of the improved lager beer spread quickly over Europe. In particular Sedlmayr's friend
Description
Pale lagers tend to be dry, lean, clean-tasting and crisp. Flavors may be subtle, with no traditional beer ingredient dominating the others.
to lighten the body of the beer.Depending on style, pale lagers typically contain 4-6% alcohol by volume.[1]
Variations
Pilsner
Pale lager was developed in the mid 19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took some British pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany, and started to modernize continental brewing methods. In 1842 a new modern lager brewery Měšťanský pivovar was built in Pilsen, a city in western Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic. The first known example of a golden lager, Pilsner Urquell, was brewed there by Josef Groll.[2] This beer proved so successful that other breweries followed the trend, using the name Pilsner. Breweries now use the terms "lager" and "Pilsner" interchangeably, though pale lagers from the Czech Republic and Germany categorized as pilsner tend to have more evident noble hop aroma and dry finish than other pale lagers.[3][4]
Dortmunder Export
With the success of Pilsen's golden beer, the town of Dortmund in Germany started brewing pale lager in 1873. As Dortmund was a major brewing center, and the town breweries grouped together to export the beer beyond the town, the brand name Dortmunder Export became known.[5] Today, breweries in Denmark, the Netherlands, and North America also brew pale lagers labelled as Dortmunder Export.
Helles
"Helles" or "hell" is a traditional German pale lager, produced chiefly in Southern Germany, particularly Munich. The German word hell can be translated as "bright", "light", or "pale". In 1894, the Spaten Brewery in Munich noticed the commercial success of the pale lagers Pilsner and Dortmunder Export; Spaten utilized the methods that Sedlmayr had brought home over 50 years earlier to produce their own pale lager they named helles in order to distinguish it from the darker, sweeter Dunkelbier or dunkles Bier ("dark beers") from that region.[6][7] Initially other Munich breweries were reluctant to brew pale-coloured beer, though, as the popularity of pale beers grew, so other breweries in Munich and Bavaria gradually began brewing pale lager either using the name hell or Pils.[8]
Pale lagers termed helles, hell, Pils or gold remain popular in Munich and Bavaria, with a local inclination to use low levels of hops, and an abv in the range 4.7% to 5.4%; Munich breweries which produce such pale lagers include
American lager
The earliest known brewing of pale lager in the
Australian lager
Beer from XXXX, various Tooheys' brands, Victoria Bitter (which is classified as a lager), West End, Swan, and Foster's Lager, are Australian lagers.[14] An Australian lager with an amber hue and slightly bitter flavour typically brewed with Pride of Ringwood hops or its descendants.[15][16]
Dry beer
The term "dry beer" has varied with time and region - and still does.
Though the term was not yet used, the first dry beer,
A marketing term for a fully attenuated pale lager, originally used in Japan by Asahi Breweries in 1987, "karakuchi" (辛口, dry),[18] was taken up by the American brewer Anheuser-Busch in 1988 as "dry beer" for the Michelob brand, Michelob Dry.[19] This was followed by other "dry beer" brands such as Bud Dry, though the marketing concept was not considered a success.[20] In Australia, the term "Dry" is used for beers that are lower in carbohydrates.[citation needed]
While all lagers are well attenuated, a more fully fermented (i.e. "dry") pale lager in Germany goes by the name Diät-Pils or Diätbier . "Diet" in the instance not referring to being "light" in calories or body, rather its sugars are fully fermented into alcohol, allowing the beer to be targeted to diabetics due to its lower carbohydrate content.[21] Because the available sugars are fully fermented, dry beers often have a higher alcohol content, which, if desired, may be reduced in the same manner as low-alcohol beers.
Since the 2012 revisions to the Diätverordnung (Ordinance on Dietetic Foodstuffs), it is no longer permitted to label beer as "Diät" in Germany, but it may be advertised as "suitable for diabetics". Prior to this change, a Diätbier could contain no more than 7.5 g of unfermented carbohydrates per liter (a typical lager contains 30-40 g/L), and the alcohol content could not exceed normal levels (5% ABV).
Strong lager
Pale lagers that exceed an
Bock
Bock is a strong lager which has origins in the
Malt liquor
Malt liquor is an American term referring to a strong pale lager brewed to an unnaturally high alcohol content through the addition of such high-carbohydrate adjuncts as corn, rice, and sugar. In the UK, similarly made beverages are called super-strength lager.
Oktoberfestbier/Märzen
Oktoberfestbier is a
References
Notes
- ^ "2022 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines". Brewers Association. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter—The birth of lager". Beerhunter.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter—Beer Styles: Pilsener/Pilsner/Pils". Beerhunter.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Roger Protz Complete Guide to World Beer". beer-pages.com. 4 December 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "all you need to know about beer". beer-pages.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Helles". Germanbeerinstitute.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Münchner Helles". German Beer Guide. 16 May 2002. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780195367133.
- ^ Larry Hawthorne. "The Big Six". beerdrinkersguide.com.
- ^ Ronald Pattinson. "Munich Breweries". europeanbeerguide.net.
- ^ "Spaten Münchner Hell". spaten.de.
- ^ "Spaten Münchner Hell / München / Premium". ratebeer.com.
- ^ LaBan, Craig (19 February 2015). "PA Brewers Take Aim at Teutonic Traditions". TCA Regional News. Chicago. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Ray's Rant: What happened to the good, old-fashioned Aussie lager?". 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Pride Of Ringwood Hops: The Variety From Down Under". Kegerator.com. 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Lagers to pale ales: Australian brewers look to classic beer styles". 14 November 2019.
- ^ www.truthinadvertising.org
- ^ Asahi Breweries | Products | Asahi Super Dry Archived 29 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-8129-6391-1
- ISBN 0-8129-6391-1
- ^ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter—Beer Styles: Diat Pils". Beerhunter.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780195367133. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- ^ Jackson, Michael. "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter—The birth of lager". beerhunter.com. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "Big Six Breweries in Munich". beerdrinkersguide.com. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
Bibliography
- Fix, George J. Vienna Marzen Oktoberfest (Classic Beer Style), Brewers Publications, 1991, ISBN 0-937381-27-6
- Miller, David. Continental Pilsener (Classic Beer Style), Brewers Publications, 1990, ISBN 0-937381-20-9
- Rickman, Darryl. Bock (Classic Beer Style), Brewers Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-937381-39-X