Lager

From shared breweries to shared tables, the zoigl tradition of northeast Bavaria is unlike anything else in modern brewing or hospitality.

This beer style works just fine on its own as a fall or winter party tap—but it also makes a great base for winter-themed fruited or spiced beers.

Fermentation has been around for billions of years, but only recently did a new type emerge—lager fermentation, conducted by an organism that didn’t exist for much of Earth’s history. Here is its story... starting from the very, very beginning.

This international-style dark lager works well on its own as an easy-drinking crowd-pleaser—but it also works well as a relatively base for fruit or other flavor additions.

Ashleigh Carter, cofounder of Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus, focuses solely on lager in her own brewing, and she’s drawn to those with similarly singular approaches. Her chosen six-pack honors intentional commitment to a style, to a single beer, to presentation, and to experience.

Technically, this cold-fermented showcase of expressive Czech aroma hops—brewed by the folks at Sacred Profane in Biddeford, Maine—is a lager. But it drinks like an IPA, so that’s what they call it.

Saaz, Kazbek, and ... Juno? Whether punching up lagers or adding interest to IPAs, newer Czech hop varieties—little known outside their country—are an overlooked source of distinctive flavors.

Both a light lager and a Belgian-style white ale join the party for this flavorful michelada-inspired riff on marinated chicken with a spicy-sweet sauce.

Using information provided by brewers Stefanie and Helmut Bayer, we’ve pieced together a homebrew-scale recipe for the Franconian country lager at Brauerei-Gasthof Bayer in Theinheim.

In Bavaria’s lager-loving Franconian region, the Bayer family’s Theinheim Landbier is integral to their tradition of local hospitality.

From Accra’s Heritage Brewing, Ghana’s first modern brewpub, comes this recipe for their flagship lager—technically an ale, but cleanly fermented—featuring local maize and cassava as the bulk of its fermentables.

Brewing a helles is a worthy challenge. If your process is consistent and your ingredients fresh, you can make this beer sing on command.

A great helles is simple in composition—but simple can be surprisingly hard to get right, especially when there’s nowhere for mistakes to hide. It's a worthy challenge, and the payoff is a beer that pretty much everyone is happy to drink.

Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer, lays out their approach to yeast selection, spunding, managing sulfur, and preserving natural carbonation at Templin Family Brewing in Salt Lake City.

Write it down! Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer at Templin Family Brewing in Salt Lake City, explains how they fine-tune the tiniest details using a dialed-in sensory panel—and why it’s critical to take notes.

New research points toward much greater potential for rice malt in brewing—with varieties that provide color, character, and brewing specs that aren’t so different from barley.

Strict attention to quality throughout the brewhouse, whatever the type of beer, can only help you in competitions—as can thinking ahead on maturation and carbonation. Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer at Templin Family Brewing in Salt Lake City, shares some key tips on how to improve your odds.

Embracing whole-leaf hops at Templin Family means stuffing them into huge game bags from the hunting store and adding them to the whirlpool. Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer, explains their approach to emphasizing that delicate Noble-hop aroma.

Kevin Templin, cofounder and head brewer at Templin Family Brewing in Salt Lake City, lays out his medal-winning approach to producing flavorful lower-strength beers with high standards of quality.

From Barrique Brewing & Blending in Nashville, Tennessee, head brewer Spencer Longhurst shares this recipe from an Anchor Steam–inspired collab brewed with their friends at Von Trapp in Stowe, Vermont.