American-style lager

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American-style lager beer is a common variety of beer, a type of pale lager, traditionally made and drunk in North America, but also popular in much of the rest of the world. It derives ultimately from the Czech(Bohemian)/German Pilsner, but is characterized by a much lighter color and body and the frequent use of rice or corn as adjuncts. Worldwide, the best-known example is likely Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser, though prominent brands are also made by Coors Brewing Company (United States), SABMiller (South Africa/United States/United Kingdom), Molson (Canada), Corona (Mexico), and others. American-style lagers are very closely associated with large corporate/industrial brewing and the globalization controversy, though some are made by relatively small breweries to appeal to a higher-end market.

American-style lager is often the subject of ridicule among beer cognoscenti, being considered rather characterless in relation to most European styles of beer. It is nevertheless particularly popular in warm climates, and is sometimes referred to in American slang as "lawnmower beer", that is, a beer ideally suited as a thirst-quencher after a day of yardwork. Despite its low reputation, it is actually a difficult style to brew consistently, since the light and delicate character of the style offer the brewer very little room for error or off flavors.

1 Characteristics
2 Related styles
- 2.1 Ice beer
- 2.2 American pilsner
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Characteristics

The style is categorized by a light-gold or straw color, moderate alcohol content (4-6% abv), and muted to nonexistent hop character (carried to an extreme in dry beer). Malt flavor is generally rather light, with a very light-bodied mouth feel.

The use of rice or corn as adjuncts seems to stem from the high protein content of American six-row barley, which can be more difficult to clarify than European two-row, the standard for most European beer styles; the use of the adjunct therefore dilutes the protein haze from the six-row barley as well as lightens the body of the beer. The use of rice in particular has an effect similar to the use of candi sugar in Belgian brewing, allowing the brewer to increase the alcohol content of the beer without changing the flavor or mouthfeel of the beer; the use of corn, on the other hand, gives a detectable flavor of corn that is not always desirable, but sometimes is specifically sought out (especially in examples meant to emulate pre-Prohibition American beers). It is often the case that such adjuncts are used to reduce the production costs of the beer as well; in addition, hop additions have been decreased in mass-market beers over the years due to a desire to make a product more acceptable to a large number of people.

Some "premium" beers made in this style use only barley malt, with no corn or rice at all, though they are considered more or less the same style.

[edit] Related styles

Malt liquor -- a high-alcohol variant of the American lager; generally associated with inner city drinkers and poverty.
Ice beer -- A beer that has been partially freeze-distilled to concentrate flavor and alcohol. The technique is based on that used to make Eisbock, but the two styles share no stylistic similarities (apart from both being lagers) otherwise.
Light beer -- A beer made with reduced alcohol and/or carbohydrate content. Though the term is not limited to American-style beers, many of the best known light beers are in fact American lagers.
Dry beer -- A Japanese style based on American lager; the yeast is encouraged to consume more fermentables, resulting in a crisper finish and an unusually subtle hop flavor.

[edit] Ice beer

Ice beer gained popularity in the United States during the 1990s. Miller introduced Icehouse under the Plank Road Brewery brand name at that time, which is still sold nationwide; Molson introduced "Molson Ice"; Budweiser introduced "Bud Ice" (5.5% ABV) in 1984 and it remains one of the country's top-selling ice beers, Bud Ice has a slightly lower alcohol content than Natural Ice and other competitors and it retains more of the character/flavor.

Many lower-end beers such as Busch Ice (5.9% ABV) and Natural Ice (5.9% ABV) also use the freezing process. Natural Ice is the No. 1 selling ice beer brand in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] American pilsner

The American pilsner or "classic American pilsner" is a direct descendant of the American lager, but is brewed in a distinct fashion. The technique was developed in the 19th century by German immigrants in response to the barley that was available to them in the United States. American six-row barley had a higher tannic acid and protein content and had greater husk per weight than the continental European barleys. In addition, the Tettnanger and Saaz hops of Europe were not available. Therefore, the grain mixture was adjusted by adding up to 30% corn to the barley malt mash. However, the beer was brewed to full-fledged European strength and to the practices of a pale lager style. The result was a full-bodied and slightly sweet beverage that can be immediately distinguished from its less flavourful descendant. The style was commercially destroyed by Prohibition, and when beer production resumed in the USA, it was a lighter, thirst-quenching style with up to 50% corn or rice content that came to dominate the market.

Currently, there are no large-scale commercial representatives of the pilsner style in the United States, although there are several Canadian brands, such as Labatt's Blue.