Lager
The world's best-selling beer!
Everyone knows and loves Lager. Although this beer is drunk by many, it is few that know how difficult it is to produce properly. Due to its subtle tastes, even the smallest mistake can ruin the beer, there is nowhere for off flavours to hide! It's a real skill to produce!
Lager and its meaning
Most beer drinkers think lager as a refreshing and light beer of around 5%. Although not wrong, lager is actually a collective name for many bottom-fermenting beer styles, where the colour varies from dark brown to light blonde and the alcohol percentage ranges from alcohol-free to over 10%.
The meaning of the name is largely to do with the way the beer is produced or rather, to be precise, how it is stored. In fact, the word lager derives from German, meaning "warehouse". In order to pto preserve the smooth and balanced tones of lagers, beers of this nature are kept in a cold place for a period ranging from 1 to 3 months.
Characteristics of lager
As just mentioned, lagers are bottom fermented, i.e. produced with yeasts of the Saccharomyces carlsbergensis strain that prefer low temperatures (around 10 ° C). During the process, the yeast is deposited on the bottom of the vat - hence "bottom" fermentation.
Lagers are commonly, although not always, light in colour. See our article about dark beers. Lagers tend to have a clear colour and a white foam, with bubbles that rise to the surface. We suggest drinkng them as fresh as possible to enjoy them at their best.
More on lager
If youre interested in reading more about what a lager actually is and the differences between lager and pilsner then read, Is lager a beer? Or check out, Czech Pilsner for the inside scoop on the Czechs and their long history with beer.
Popular lagers
One of the lagers par excellence is definitely Birra Moretti, with its unique taste and particular blend of hops and fine malts.
Every list of popular lagers must mention the world famous, Heineken! This Dutch icon is a real crowd-pleaser!
Similarly, Desperados, the full-bodied Lager enriched with the taste of tequila, is a must-try!
