Lagers
For January this year I’ve got some different lagers for ya. Mostly light in body, low ABV & crushable. From German light style lagers like a Helles & a Kolsch, to a hoppy “California” Pilsner, a black lager, a Mexican style amber lager, a rice lager that's been aged in an oak foeder and even a barrel aged sour lager with wine grapes.
The basic difference between a lager and an ale is how they are fermented. Ales are fermented with top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F), and lagers are fermented with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). Lagers can differ in style quite a bit, but don't seem to get recognition for their differences when compared to ales. Here’s the proof, have fun.
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Ghost Town - Haka |
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Location: Oakland CA |
Ghost Town brewed a Japanese style rice lager, then aged it in their huge oak Foeder. |
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Beer style: Rice lager |
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5.3% abv |
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Serve 38-45° F |
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Barebottle - Green Haus |
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Location: San Francisco CA |
Barebottle decided to use a hop build normally found in an american west coast IPA for this pilsner. Light in body but not in hops this will take you to flavor town without weighing you down. |
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Beer style: West Coast Pilsner |
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5% abv |
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Serve 38–45° F |
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Laughing Monk - Santa Chela |
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Location: San Francisco, CA |
Light like a standard lager, but with some subtle toasted bread flavors. Enjoy with or without a slice of lime. |
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Beer style: Mexican style amber lager. |
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5.1% abv |
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Serve 38–45° F |
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Heater Allen - Schwarz |
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Location: McMinnville, Oregon |
This black lager is roasty and full of flavor but keeps it light in body. This is their take on the Bohemian black lager, “Shwartzbier”. |
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Beer style: Bohemian style Schwartzbier (black lager) |
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4.9% abv |
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Serve 40-50° F |
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Cooperage - Helles Lager |
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Location: Santa Rosa, CA |
This German style Helles lager is golden, refreshing and just plain poundable. |
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Beer style: German style Helles lager |
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4.7% abv |
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Serve 38-45° F |
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Original Pattern - Cross Hatch |
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Location: Oakland, CA |
Kolsch! Crisp and clean. Technically a Kolsch has to come from Cologne Germany but whatevs. |
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Beer style: Kolsch |
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5% abv |
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Serve 38-45° F |
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Russian River Brewing - Intinction |
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Location: Santa Rosa, CA |
Russian River Brewing took a pilsner and aged it in Sauvignon Blanc barrels with Brettanomyces (an ale yeast) and fresh Sauvignon Blanc grapes, then refermented it in the bottle. Tart and complex! |
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Beer style: Barrel Aged Pilsner |
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8.25% abv |
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Serve 40-55° F |
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