Lager unjustly gets a bad wrap. If you’re into hops and grain, a lager is a great expression of that without all the additional flavors an ale brings to the party. Get out there and celebrate National Lager Day with any of these 8 diverse options.
Lager is the warm-fermented equivalent of ale, meaning it’s a blanket category in which plenty of other beer styles fall. That makes it impossible to truly represent in a single list, but it’s worth a shot. I tried to cover the full spectrum of lagers, from red to imperial to light lager.
Red Lager
Clown Shoes – Swagger
No one likes clowns, but it’s hard not to get a kick out of their shoes. Now picture someone peacocking down the street with those big red shoes. That, my friends, is this inspiration for this awesome red lager, Swagger.
Amber Lager
Brooklyn Lager
Did you know that Brooklyn Lager is huge in Sweden? There I was, drinking vodka at the Ice Hotel, and sitting behind the bar was none other than Brooklyn’s finest lager. If this amber lager is good enough to travel across the ocean, it’s good enough for you.
Imperial Pilsner
Dogfish – My Antonia
Not all beers start in some guys garage or the brewery where they end up. My Antonia was first brewed in Italy but continued on at Dogfish Head. This imperial Pilsner is continuously hopped like an IPA and is packed with citrus.
India Pale Lager
Samuel Adams – Double Agent IPL
Beer geeks fawn over any IPA, so why not try an IPL? It might not be the beer that the original double agent, White She Devil from Undercover Brother, drank, but it’s grapefruit and citrus flavors combined with the clean taste of a lager will leave you enjoyable confused.
Imperial Helles Lager
Southern Tier – Krampus
There’s nothing better than naming your beer after the evil kidnapping Santa. This imperial helles Lager crisp, bitter, and generously carbonated, but it’s only around at Christmastime so don’t sit around waiting for a reindeer to take you to the beer store.
Steam Beer
Anchor Steam Beer
This is sort of a cheap category to include. Anchor is the only brewery allowed to make a “steam beer” because they’ve trademarked the term. Thankfully the beer is so delicious that it’s easy to look past that fact.
Light Lager
Cisco Brewers Inc. – Sankaty Light
Sometimes you need to drink 12 beers (responsibly) in an afternoon. Those occasions call for a light lager. Cisco, no relation to the silver haired dragon, keeps it interesting with their crisp and surprisingly hoppy Sankaty Light.
American Adjunct Lager
Budweiser Project 12
Like the steam beer, this might be somewhat cheap to include. I’m pretty sure the Project 12 beers aren’t categorized as adjunct lagers, but they stand head and shoulder above the rest, so I did anyway. It’s my arbitrary list. If you’re going to reach for a Bud, definitely check these out.