Give European Lagers a Try

BY DAVID NUTTALL

The humble lager is a latecomer to brewing, not arriving until the early 17th century, as a new yeast species Saccharomyces pastorianus was discovered, almost surely by accident, in the region of southern Bavaria and Bohemia in Central Europe.

The word “lager” originates from the German word ‘lagern’ meaning “to store”, as this beer required long periods of maturation before being released, in the age before refrigeration. It took a couple of hundred years before yeast activity was fully understood and lagers were perfected, but since then, it has become the most common beer in the world, representing about 90 percent of brewing production. It is the number one category of beer in almost every country, and in some cases, may be the only beer brewed in many nations.

As we’ve talked about before, lagers now come in a multitude of styles, but the most prevalent is the clear, crisp, golden, approximately 5 percent ABV, mass-produced beer one sees promoted on television, online, in stadiums, posted on billboards… well, almost everywhere advertising is allowed. However, even this genre can be divided into a further subset of lagers defined by location and their ingredients. Mexican, Japanese, American, and other regions have their own specific styles, but one that seems to get overlooked is the oldest, the standard European pale lager.

As lager brewing spread through Europe in the age of industrialization, individual jurisdictions began to produce their own beer, usually dominated by one or two breweries in each area. Many of these beers are still being brewed today, made in breweries commonly named after the municipality they are located in. Alberta is fortunate to have dozens of them in the market, but you’ll never see local ads for these beers, and they will only appear on very selected restaurant or bar menus.

Unless you are at an event sponsored by one of the social organizations of a European country, you usually only find them in the single beer section of a liquor store - which is a shame.

What follows is a short exposé of some of these beers available in the Alberta market. To avoid repetition, all of them are clear, yellow to gold in colour, around 5-6.0 percent ABV, with a light body and bready malt characteristics from pale coloured barley malt. What differentiates them from mainstream lagers brewed in other continents is their hop profiles. Most use local hops, others will employ noble hops from Germany or the Czech Republic. This produces the floral/spicy/herbal qualities that distinguish these beers.

Almost all are sold in single tall can formats (although some come in other formats as well) and cost between about $3-5 each. The CSPC code listed is for the single 500 mL can or bottle unless otherwise noted.

Poland

While consumers get caught up in the popular Big Three of European brewing (UK, Germany, Belgium), Poland is the fourth largest beer producing country in the continent after Germany, Russia, and Spain. As with many of the breweries listed below, some began brewing hundreds of years ago, with mass production starting about 150 years ago. Poland is the world’s fifth largest hop producing nation, so each of these beers has a unique flavour, depending on which hop(s) they employ.

Lech Premium, CSPC 726116

Lezajsk, CSPC 106140

Lomza Lager, CSPC 540815

Tatra, CSPC 738141. A top five beer in Poland, it contains glucose syrup and corn along with barley.

Tyskie, CSPC 780395

Zubr, CSPC 803183

Zywiec, CSPC 820071

Spain

Spain is known more for its wine, but it is the eleventh largest beer producer in the world. As a major hop grower (world rank #9), you’d think it would have as good a beer culture as its wine. Unfortunately, for lovers of beer variety, it specializes in and exports mainly pale lagers. Fortunately, for lovers of that style, they are pretty good.

Damm Estrella, CSPC 726693, Spain’s most popular beer is made with barley and rice.

Reserva 1925 Lager, CSPC 638759 6 x 330 mL bottles, $19

Netherlands

The Dutch are major beer producers (world rank #17) but also aren’t known for variety. As the home of Heineken, people the world over know at least one of their beers.

Bavaria Original, CSPC 787381

Hollandia Premium Lager CSPC 746691

Italy

Like Spain, France, and Portugal, Italy is more recognized for its wine than beer. Craft brewery numbers have been growing this century, but the pale lager still dominates, with Big Brewing helping to make Italy number 24 on the world list.

Birrificio Messina Bella Stretto CSPC 838213, 330 mL bottle

Peroni Nastro Azzurro CSPC 738639, Italy’s most popular beer is made with German and Czech hops, barley, and Italian maize.

Czech Republic

A major brewing nation (ranked #19) and hop producer (ranked #3, behind only the USA and Germany), it is also known as the birthplace of pilsner and the home of the renowned Saaz hop. While pale lagers dominate, they also produce great dark beers.

Czechvar Lager, CSPC 863393

Pilsner Urquell, CSPC 255380

Kozel, CSPC 802345 uses a lesser known local hop called Premiant.

Here are a few beers from smaller countries with less production.

Croatia: Karlovacko Beer CSPC 243725

Austria: Stiegl Bier Goldbrau CSPC 714842

Portugal: Coral Branca CSPC 857508, 6 X 330 mL bottles, $22. Its distinct flavour comes from the use of corn in the mash.

Slovakia: Golden Pheasant CSPC 536789, 500 mL bottle

Many of the breweries in this article have been purchased by large international brewing groups. Most keep their brewing production in the original country, but in some cases, the beer is brewed elsewhere to cut down on costs. The recipes attempt to be as true as possible to the original. Below, Carlsberg, Tuborg and Faxe are Danish brands, while Kronenbourg is French. The versions in Alberta are brewed under license in Canada. Interestingly, the beer in Grolsch cans is brewed in Canada, while the bottles come from its homeland in the Netherlands.

Carlsberg Pilsner, CSPC 890296

Faxe Premium Lager, CSPC 130691 568 mL can

Tuborg Gold, CSPC 890297

Kronenbourg 1664 Lager CSPC 105671

Grolsch (Canada) CSPC 883828, 4 X 473 mL cans $15

Grolsch (Netherlands) CSPC 407205, 6 X 330 mL bottles $20

Other European countries with lagers available in Alberta are Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Serbia, and the Ukraine. Give European pale lagers a chance. They are inexpensive, have unique flavour profiles, and deserve wider exposure.