Little Known Beer Facts: American Lager

  We hope to be able to teach you something new about your favorite pours and encourage you to try new ones with this series exploring different beer styles. Cheers!

Style Spotlight 

American Lager

Overall Taste: A very pale, highly carbonated, light-bodied lager with a neutral flavor profile and low bitterness. Intended to be very refreshing and thirst-quenching. Stronger, with more flavor and body than an American Light Lager. Less bitterness and flavor than an International Pale Lager or European Pilsner.

ABV: 4.2% – 5.3%

Little Known Fact: After WWII, breweries consolidated and promoted a beer style that appealed to a broad range of the population. The dominant beer style for many decades, American Lagers spawned international rivals.


Matchmaking

An American Lager would be a good suggestion for the Bud/Miller drinker looking to branch out in familiar territory, or for the craft beer drinker looking for something light and refreshing.


Beyond the Beer

Featured Beer: Stone Buenaveza

Details: Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager was born in Southern California, which is vibrantly influenced by their neighbors to the south. SoCal’s warm weather lends itself to outdoor activities year-round. From surfing to snowboarding and biking in the mountains, off-roading through deserted lands, or boating and fishing in lakes and rivers, this Baja-inspired lager is the perfect companion. Brewed with just the right amount of lime and sea salt, it’s everything a lager should be – crisp, refreshing and full of flavor.

“The name is pretty simple: we took “Buena” for good and “-veza” from Cerveza. Because we’ve always believed good Cerveza is an important part of a Buena life.”

Stone Brewing was founded by Greg Kock and Steve Wagner in San Diego County in 1996. Now the ninth-largest craft brewer in the U.S., they operate two production brewing facilities on both coasts, in Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA.

Food Pairing: The Chicken Tinga Tacos at City Works and Old Town Pour House make a perfect pair.

 

Chicken Tinga Tacos

House-smoked spicy pulled chicken, avocado mash, pickled red onion, grilled corn, micro cilantro, queso fresco, white corn tortillas

 


Quoting the Experts

“The best thing a craft beer lover can do right now is to be intentional with their beer purchasing. Pick the breweries and brands that you really really want to survive, and support the hell out of them. Shout about them on social media or even to the person hanging out on their balcony across the street!”            – Greg Koch, Co-Founder of Stone Brewing


Fizz Quiz

Those Who Smelt It…Tasted It?

Q: Why is aroma so important to the experience of eating and drinking?

 

nose

 

A: You know your tongue can interpret the 5 basic tastes: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. But did you know that your nose contains about 10 million special receptors that are sensitive to odor molecules, and the brain interprets combinations of receptors to recognize any one of about 10,000 different smells? By working together, your nose and tongue can truly analyze the complexity of flavors in beer and food.


Curious about what type of beer glass to use for your beer? Check out our Beer 101 Series where we go over all types of glasses.