A brew much misunderstood
Its reputation was ruined by marketing hype. But, says Michael Donaldson, there’s a lot to love about lager.
Lager… it’s almost a dirty word these days. Somehow beer’s most dominant global style has also become the most hated-upon beer in certain circles.
Converts to craft, who love the big flavours of hoppy pale ales, fruity IPAs and rich imperial stouts, often spurn lager as a flavourless, bland, industrial brew. But that’s largely because lager is a misunderstood style.
That, in turn, is largely the doing of the global beer giants who peddled the stuff through the mid to late-20th century using marketing over flavour as a way to sell oceans of pale, cold, bland, watery beer.
Lager in its broadest sense is none of these things. It is not pale by definition: colours can range to mid-brown doppelbocks, to the jet black schwarzbier. The alcohol doesn’t need to sit at a lightweight 4 per cent… some of the best lagers are up to 6 and 7 per cent. And it certainly doesn’t have to be flavourless.
The problem for lager is that pale lager has become shorthand for all varieties of the style. In some ways, pale lager represents the pinnacle of industrial brewing. In the first half of the 20th century as malting techniques, brewing knowledge and refrigeration methods improved, brewers were able to perfect a super pale beer that could be reliably brewed at the cold temperatures preferred by true lager yeasts. The finesse in brewing a light, refreshing beer which delicately balanced sweet malt against subtle hop was difficult to achieve until all these factors came together.
Pleasing to look at, easy to make, and even easier to drink, pale lager rode the back of Mad Men-esque mid-century marketing to dominate global markets. From Budweiser to Steinlager, from Carlsberg to Corona, lager ruled the world’s thirst.
The thing is, there’s no need to sell your indie soul to appreciate great lager.
A great pale lager pirouettes on the edge of a coin. On one side: an elegant body that should be grainy but not sweet; on the other, just enough hops to create a dry, refreshing finish. The best examples are just what you need at the end of a hot day or a busy night out. Some Kiwi gems to get you started this summer:
• McLeod’s Longboarder Lager: Champion international lager at this year’s Brewer’s Guild Awards. Ticks all the boxes – grainy, flint-dry minerality, citrus hop, firm finish.
Epic Lager: Like all things Epic, the flavour is zingy, yet it keeps the balance between bready malt and grassy hop.
Hawke’s Bay Pure Lager: Clean as a whistle with delicate orange blossom and elderflower notes. The bitterness is flinty and subtle. Charming bottle. Garage Project Beer: A stroke of marketing genius: a white can with four letters on it that aren’t XXXX … sometimes keeping it simple is best. Sprig & Fern Tasman Reserve Lager: Pushes out the boat at 6.5 per cent ABV. Shows that even pale lager can’t be easily categorised. A rich but clean malt base and hop notes tending to passionfruit. beernation.co.nz