Beer Style: Pale Lager Family
Cerebral Brewing Co.’s Standard Practice clone
Stouts and barleywines aren’t the only styles you should consider aging in barrels. This helles lands on the other end of the flavor intensity threshold and is perfect for any occasion. This beer received a gold medal in 2022 at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers.
Brewing Helles
Brewing a well-made Helles is the ultimate test of skill. The recipe may be simple but the execution is challenging with no place to hide any flaws. But that end result of
1188 Brewing Co.’s Silk Robes and Kimonos Rice Lager clone
A BYO reader stumbled upon their first rice lager at 1188 Brewing Co. and wants to learn more about this highly drinkable brew.
Gordon Strong’s Rice Lager
I like having a good, clean lager on tap, and this one has a refreshing quality while still being interesting.
Home Pale Lager (1915)
Home Brewing Co.’s Assistant Brew Master Alphonse Gosch gives no information as to whether this beer was lagered at low temperature. He does say the beer was racked to casks after eleven days, which suggests it was not further processed.
Gordon Strong’s Italian Pilsner
Compared to a German Pils, the late hops are the first thing to notice. The flavor and aroma hops are more prominent and the aroma can have a freshly dry-hopped character. The hops don’t need to be at the IPA level; just more noticeable than in a German Pils.
Bierkeller Columbia’s Kellerbier clone
An unfiltered Franconian lager with a bready malt character that is balanced by soft carbonation and clean Perle hops.
Rebel Queen
I like to think of this as a transatlantic lager, using a U.S.-inspired malt profile with a single British hop variety (Boadicea). I’ve often thought British hops would be well-suited to lager brewing and I think this proves it. Light and refreshing, this is perfect for summer barbecues.
Gordon Strong’s German Helles Exportbier
This beer is bolder than your typical lawnmower beer, but it is meant to reward a hard day’s work. So go cross something off your to-do list, then grab a cold one, like life was meant to be.
Confluence Brewing Co.’s Blue Corn Lager clone
“Blue Corn Lager is made like a classic American Pilsner with a twist. Blue corn makes a sweet wort, with a little bit of that corn chip flavor.” — John Martin
Mow the Damn Lawn
When a summer thirst quencher is what you are looking for . . . look no further. This is the recipe that made Annie Johnson the 2013 Homebrewer of the Year.
Gordon Strong’s Leichtbier
When I first thought about giving a recipe for this style, I was going to say, “just take your favorite Pilsner or helles recipe, but use more water” – and I wouldn’t be too far from the mark. But there is a little more to it than that.
