Lager, the Reformed Character?
For many years Lager has had a negative stereotype in the UK and has
often been misunderstood and overlooked by many a seasoned
ale drinker. During the 1980’s and 90’s Lager was something more
associated with football violence and rowdy brits abroad than
something you would pair with a spicy curry or a beautiful fish dish.
The term ‘Lager Lout’ certainly didn’t do anything to boost
this image. It could be argued that poor publicity and a lack of
education was responsible for this, fortunately the tide appears to
have turned.
What is Lager?
Lager is often wrongly labelled as a style of beer, in fact lager is not
a style, but a whole subsection. Lagers can be pale, amber or even
dark, ranging the light coloured Pilsner right up to the stout like
Schwarzbieri.
The term ‘lager’ comes from the German, Lagern ‘to store’ii,
and ‘lagering’ aka ‘maturation’ essentially means to store in
cold temperatures, generally around 1 or 2C. Unlike ales which are
top fermented in warm conditions, lagers are bottom fermented at
cooler temperatures. Due to this Lagers require a slightly different
strain of yeast although ale and lager yeasts are both closely
related.
Historically lagers originate from Northern Europe, in the areas of
Germany, Czech Republic and Austriaiii,
some of the most popular styles of Lager such as Pilsner, Helles and
Vienna find their origins in this region. The city of Pilsen in
Czech Republic is the location of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, the
birth place of the first pale lager, hence the name Pilsner.
The UK’s relationship with Lager
Some argue the UK’s love of Lager was borne from the increase in
package holidays to continental Europe during the early 1970’s.
Brits were returning having drunk lager on their holidays and began
to demand something different to the traditional British cask ale.
Also the crisp, citrus flavour of the Pilsner lager was seen as
slightly more suited to the female palateiv.
Suddenly there was another option at the bar, the Brits loved it,
the love affair continued and in 1989 lager outsold real ale for the
first time.
However like most things, with popularity came controversy. Lager
was relatively cheap and easy to drink; this made lagers and more
correctly the Pilsner, the drink of choice for those that wanted to
drink a lot in a relatively short space of time. This earned lager
nicknames such as ‘Wife Beater’v
due to links between excessive drinking and domestic violence. During
this time lager also often had a higher ABV than some of the more
traditional British cask ales which didn’t help this stereotype.
Brands like Carlsberg, Stella Artois and Heineken became household
names, with popularity also came mass production. To keep up with
demand and the fierce competition for space on the supermarket
shelves and bars, brewers had to resort to increased mechanisation
and shorter maturation periods.
This had two key effects, a price war and a perceived reduction in
quality and flavour. Both of these could be subjects for articles in
their own right. Suffice to say lager became cheaper and consumption
increased!
In addition the distinction between the various lager styles became
blurred. The term ‘lager’ became a common place term when
referring to a Pilsner, and as a result other styles of lager such as
the Munich Helles, Vienna lager and classic Bock struggled to
compete.
The Revolution Begins…
The ‘craft beer revolution’ was driven by a number of breweries
in the USA and a small, but ever increasing number of new breweries
in the UK. West Coast and New England IPAs were appearing in pubs
and specialist bottle shops across the country. Initially lager did
not play a large part in this, perhaps in part due to the image of
lager created by the media and the perception by some that lager was
a second class drink.
As the popularity of craft ales increased however, some of the new
craft breweries as well as some of the more established American
brewers started introducing lagers to the market. In 2010 Camden
Brewery was established, and shortly after this they started to
produce Camden Hells their signature lager which actually combines
two different styles the Helles and the Pilsner. This was followed
in 2012 when Samuel Adams struck an agreement with Kent based Shepard
Neame to start brewing their flagship Boston Lager. Samuel Adams is
a Vienna Lager, darker in colour than most in the UK were use too.
The fact that some of the first ‘craft lagers’ to hit the pubs
and bottle shops of the UK were not Pilsners may have been the
catalyst for change. Ordering a lager in Wetherspoons didn’t
automatically mean ‘pilsner’. Those who would have traditionally
reached for a malty, citrusy and frankly flavourless macro lager were
being presented with the option of deeper more flavoursome beer.
This situation improved further when in 2016 Brooklyn Lager from New
York began distributing their Lager in Europe.
Personally I first discovered craft beer around 2014, however the
thought of drinking a lager just brought back memories of my teens,
memories of drinking cheap, fizzy macro lager. This was until a
friend returned from a trip to Dublin and informed me that Guinness
had started to brew a lager. Initially I was sceptical, but he said
‘try it’ and that’s exactly what I did! The lager in question
was ‘Hop House 13’, a 5% ABV dry hopped lager brewed using
Galaxy, Topaz and Mosaic hops. I remember trying it for the first
time. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised, I hadn’t realised
that a lager could taste that flavoursome. Caramel, bready and
slightly floral, maybe there was more to lager than I had released.
Like me, many others were being educated and converted to this new
breed of lagers. Guinness and Camden were soon joined in this lager
revival by the likes of Brewdog with ‘Kingpin’, Meantime with
‘London Lager’ and Beavertown with ‘Beavo’.
As the popularity of these new lagers increased so did the
availability; they were now available in the supermarket aisles
alongside the more established macro brands. These new lagers were
also helping rebuild the image of lager, top chefs, beer writers and
other columnists were now talking about lager in a different light.
Many craft brewers in the UK have experimented with lagers in some
form, lots even have a lager as part of their core range.
In early 2019 I was introduced to two breweries who solely produce
fresh British lagers. Cotswold Brew Co from Gloucestershire and
Utopian Brewing from Devon both focus on using the best British malts
to produce Germany and Czech inspired lagers. Cotswold have started
experimenting with long maturated Helles and Pilsners’ in an
attempt to deliver even more flavour from their brews, whilst Utopian
have focused their brewing around sustainability and using 100%
British Ingredients.
When I tried both the Cotswold and the Utopian I can honestly say how
impressed I was by the depth of flavour they delivered. Proof that
when you use quality ingredients and have a skilled and passionate
brewer lager is much more than just a fizzy alternative to a cask
ale.
Whilst it is still possible to go to your local supermarket and buy
18 cans of Stella for £15.00 it is also true that the UK consumer
now has much more choice; not only in the quality of lager they buy
but also the style. Pilsners, Helles, and Vienna lagers all sit side
by side on bars and supermarket shelves across the country.
Education is the key, if the public become aware of the exciting
flavours and super fresh lager alternatives available, maybe, just
maybe they’ll think twice the next time they order their regular
pint!
v
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lobbying-company-tried-to-wipe-out-wife-beater-beer-references-6284622.html
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