Since 2018, Figueroa Mountain Brewing in Buellton, California, has hosted an annual lager-focused festival called Lagerville—the next is scheduled for April 13, 2024—and the beers that breweries choose to pour there may offer some perspective on where lager is headed in the context of American craft.
Figueroa Mountain brewmaster Kevin Ashford, meanwhile, is among the most accomplished lager brewers in the country. Even if the brewery’s top three sellers are IPAs—hey, it’s California—the lagers are right there behind them. Among them is the Danish Red Lager, which we here at Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® named one of our Best 20 Beers in 2022. The bronze, silver, and gold that Danish Red has won at the Great American Beer Festival are among 31 medals the brewery has won there since opening in 2010.
And just to underscore where Ashford’s thoughts often lie, his license plate says LAGERME. So, when he shares thoughts about where lager may be going, we listen.