Lager

Amid craft lager’s surge, smaller maltsters are sending up signals for an unlikely trend, producing small batches of unusual smoked malts made with a variety of woods. Brewers dig it, too—but will drinkers follow?

In the hills of rural eastern Ohio, you won’t find Wooly Pig Farm Brewery by accident. Yet with an accomplished brewer who brews only unfiltered lager, sells it all on-site, and feeds spent grain to the hogs, there are plenty of reasons to find it on purpose.

Recent research into a handful of near-forgotten yeast strains reveals the potential for more distinctive hop-forward lagers.

What does it mean to worship at the altar of crisp? For brewers, it means special attention to technique, fermentation, and clarification.

Kevin Ashford, the award-winning brewmaster at Central California’s Figueroa Mountain, has some thoughts on the future of lager and New World hops. Are we already looking at the next pivotal moment in the evolution of craft beer?

While malted corn isn’t always easy to work with, craft maltsters and brewers are figuring out how best to use what is essentially a new and flavorful ingredient. As interest grows, so will the options and the expertise.

A method known to the largest lager brewers and many homebrewers remains relatively rare at small breweries—pressure fermentation. When properly applied, it can be an effective way to trim tank time and control the quality of cleaner-fermenting beers.

In Massachusetts, Notch has carved a niche for traditional lagers and ales of modest strength and for bar service that honors those traditions—and, along the way, its confident approach has had an outsized influence on the industry.

While we have a plethora of options for ale yeast, lager strains have been few and relatively similar. That’s already changing thanks to recent research, and brewers who rethink lager may be the ones who stand out in a tightening market.

In New York’s Hudson Valley, one of the country’s most respected family-run breweries is keeping it small and intentional, making deliberate choices aimed at better living.

A recent release at California’s Firestone Walker may be a window into where IPA is headed, going for clarity and lean fermentation while borrowing hop-saturation hocus-pocus from the hazy grimoire. Brewmaster Matt Brynildson explains.

After 11 years in business in the nation’s capital, DC Brau is banking on a nostalgia-infused mainstream lager and a neighborhood taproom to keep the local love flowing.

At times, Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado, has flirted with becoming a major national player. These days, McGivney as COO and Smitty as CEO are looking instead to dig deeper locally, appealing to a broader base of drinkers in their regional market.

Driven by nostalgia, hometown connections, and the chance to sell some beer at volume, a handful of independent breweries are successfully reviving long-lost local lager brands.

Yeast labs are enjoying sales success with clean kveik strains, since their ability to ferment lager-like beers in much less time has obvious appeal. Besides reduced costs and climate impact, they are potential game-changers for hotter climates worldwide.

Great lager depends upon exacting attention to details—and not only when it comes to fermentation and conditioning. Here we look at brewhouses specifically designed with lager in mind, to better appreciate what makes them different.

Was Heater Allen brewing lager before it was cool? Trick question. Lager has always been cool—it just took the rest of you a while to catch on. Here, the daughter-father team Lisa and Rick Allen lay out their approach to running a lasting niche business.

San Diego lamented the loss of Gordon Biersch’s consistently stellar lagers—until, about $8 million later, Puesto Cervecería opened in the same spot, with a new look, bright Mexican fare, and the same brewer and brewhouse as before.

The VP of global brewing for Canarchy (the parent company of Oskar Blues, Cigar City, and others) shares his thoughts on developing a thoughtful and open approach to the ingredient supply chain.

Be still, my beating heart: There are data to back up the oft-repeated (or is it oft-wished?) observation that lager may be the next big thing.