What Is An American Lager?
American Lager’s and their more commonly found American Light Lagers originated in Europe and were brought over by German immigrants in the late 19th century. They were made with a combination of corn and barely malt.
American Lagers are now commonly made from barley and are considered to be a pale lager with a golden light appearance. They will typically be unhazy and filled with bubbles from a higher carbonation.
A select few are made using rice and are all made by the same company, Anheuser-Busch.
American Lager Flavor Profile
Usually neutral in flavor American Lager’s will have a low to medium-low grainy flavor profile. With a low hop bitterness, it can give the malt a sweet corn-like flavor.
Sometimes referred to as having a toast or grainy flavor, many beer reviewers reference the flavors of crackers. The overall dry and crisp finish is often created by the high carbonation.
The typical mouthfeel will be more watery for this style of beer and usually considered the go-to beer during hot summer days.
American Lager Alcohol Content
While this will vary by beer and brewery, the typical American Lager focuses less on alcohol content and more on drinkability. Typical ABV (alochol content) will be between 3.9 and 5.5 percent.
The lower alcohol content and easy drinking of the American Lager plays a large role in why you will find these bottles and cans littering parking lots after football games and in the fridge of any college student due to their relatively low price point.
American Lager Bitterness (IBU)
American Lagers are brewed using bottom fermenting yeast at cold temperatures and typically for longer periods of time compared to Ale styles. This creates a beer with lower bitterness and a crisper flavor.
The average IBU of an American Lager will be between 5-19 on a scale of 0 to 100.
They tend to have just a touch of hops and malt, making them exceptionally palatable to most tastes. Although all lagers are different, many have a pleasant toasty, grainy flavor and some fruity elements.
Most Popular American Lagers
While most craft and micro breweries stay away from this beer style, your macro breweries are no stranger to American Lagers. In fact a large percentage of macro brewery beer produced falls into this category.
Some of the most commonly consumed by Americans are Yuengling (considered Americas oldest brewery), Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, PBR and Coors Light to name a few.
What Is The Ideal Drinking Glass?
American Lagers are perfect for the taller pilsner style glasses. Lagers will typically lack a strong aroma or flavor. The tall thing glasses help to push out the aromas as there will be less liquid in contact with the bottom of the glass causing the bubbles to rise and releasing whatever aroma there might be.
