There are two main types of beer, ales and lagers. Although ale beers have been around much longer, lagers are the most popular type of beer in the world. Today, we will dive into the best lagers of all time. In order to understand what makes a great lager, it is helpful to know what defines a beer as a lager. The word lager comes from the German word ‘lagern’, meaning ‘to store.’ Hundreds of years ago, the Germans would store their beers in cold cellars to keep it fresh. The long storage process has become the defining principle of the lager. Lager beers are often stored for several weeks or even months before they are ready to serve. In addition to the storage process, lagers use bottom fermenting yeast, meaning the yeast settles at the bottom, as oppose to the top fermenting yeast used in ales. The final difference in making lagers is that they are typically fermented at much colder temperatures, generally below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are several styles of lagers including pilsners, bocks, and pale lagers. Lagers are usually golden-brown in color, but can be much darker, especially in Europe. Due to the longer, colder fermenting process, lagers typically have a smoother, crisper taste than ales. Here are my top ten lagers of all time:
10. Longboard Island Lager, Kona Brewing Company (5.50% Alcohol By Volume) – Kona brews their Longboard Lager for five weeks at cold temperatures. As a result, this lager is exceptionally smooth. It is pale-yellow in color and it has just a hint of citrus sweetness to it. It is a perfect beer for a hot summer afternoon.
9. Landshark Lager, Margaritaville Brewing Company (4.70% ABV) – Landshark is another smooth lager. It is golden-brown in color and has a sweet, hoppy smell to it. It has a sweet citrus-lime flavor with just a hint of bitterness from the hops. This is a great beer for enjoying on the beach.
8. Heineken, Heineken Nederland B.V. (5.00% ABV) – Heineken is probably one of the most popular lagers in the world and for good reason. This beer is golden-yellow and smells like sweet hops. The taste is a crisp, pale malt flavor. This lager is easy to enjoy.
7. Stella Artois, Stella Artois (5.20% ABV) – Stella is a premium lager imported from Belgium. It is most often served in a stemmed chalice. It is a pale yellow in color and has a flowery scent to it. The pale malts give it a crisp, smooth taste and some prominent hops add more bitterness than most other lagers.
6. Paulaner Original Munich Lager, Paulaner Salvator Thomasbraue AG (4.90% ABV) – This German Lager is golden in color and smells of malt and citrus. It is somewhat of a sweeter lager, with a definite hint of citrus. This is another good beer for a hot summer day.
5. Nastro Azzurro, Birra Peroni Industriale S.p.A (4.70% ABV) – This is a lager I first enjoyed while in Italy, but is widely available in the United States. Nastro Azzurro is a golden-yellow color with a bit of a skunky aroma. It has a crisp, sweet, lemony flavor with a nice bitter finish.
4. Rolling Rock Extra Pale, Latrobe Brewing Company (4.60% ABV) – This is one of my favorite lagers and is a nice alternative to the typical American lagers like Budweiser and Coors. It is pale yellow in color with just a hint of corn and hops in the aroma. The taste is crisp and sweet and it is lighter than most other lagers.
3. Sam Adams Boston Lager, Boston Beer Company (4.75% ABV) – The premier beer of the Boston Beer Company, this lager has a copper color to it. The dominant scent is the malt. It is earthy with just a hint of sweetness. It has a malt flavor mixed with some caramel and fruity flavors.
2. Pilsner Urquell, Plzensky Prazdroj, a.s. (4.40% ABV) – This Czech beer is the original pilsner beer in the world. Its name “Urquell” means ‘original source’ and it was first produced in 1842. It is golden in color with a little bit of a skunky and sweet aroma. It tastes of sweet malt with a bitter finish.
1. Yuengling Traditional Lager, Yuengling Brewery (4.40% ABV) – Yuengling, hailing from the oldest brewery in America, is my favorite lager. It is amber in color with an earthy malt aroma to it. It has a smooth, crisp flavor with some sweet malts and a hint of citrus. This is definitely one of the best value lagers available.
