Global lagers get a frosty reception

The beer writer Michael Jackson said in the early 1990s that few people entering a bar or restaurant would order wine without specifying whether they wanted red, white or rosé. They might, if they had some knowledge of the subject, ask for Bordeaux or Burgundy, Chablis or Muscadet.

But all too often, he went on, people in a pub or bar will merely say: “Give me a beer”. The world has moved on. Today most drinkers would be more specific and would certainly distinguish between ale and lager. As a result of the craft brewing revolution, ale drinkers are acquainted with such styles as IPA, porter, stout, old ale and barley wine.

But for most pub goers, lager is lager, a cold, pale, carbonated beer, with little to distinguish a Carling from a Foster’s. But there are several types of lager within the family. In Germany, for example, you can sample Dunkel (dark), Helles (pale), Pils and strong Bock. Next door in the Czech Republic, Pilsner Urquell from Pilsen was the first golden lager, brewed in the 1840s, which turned the world of brewing on its head.

But even in that small country, there’s more than Pilsner. The capital, Prague, has its own distinctive style, of which Staropramen is the best known. And in South Bohemia, close to the Austrian border, the famous brewing town of Budweis – now Ceské Budejovice – gave its name to Budweiser beer, world-famous as a result of the long-running trademark dispute with the American beer of the same name.

There was a fascinating discussion about lager and its many variants at the Draft House on London’s Tower Bridge Road during an evening hosted by Budweiser Budvar. The company sent for the occasion the now retired brew master at Budvar, Josef Tolar, and his successor, Adam Broz. They regaled the 60-plus audience with a detailed description of how their beer is brewed and how Czech beers differ from lagers in other countries.

Lager is a German word meaning “storage place”. Traditionally, a lager beer should be stored at a low temperature for a month or more while it undergoes a slow secondary fermentation and develops natural carbonation, while yeast and protein fall to the base of the tank.

I chipped in to the discussion by pointing to the growing and glaring gap between traditional lagers such as Budvar – matured for 90 days – and global brands. At the Baltika breweries in Russia, owned by Carlsberg, the same group’s Finnish brewery, and Heineken’s Zywiec plant in Poland I was given identical information: the entire production process, from starting the mash to the finished beer leaving the plants, lasts just 21 days.

In the United States, Anheuser-Busch says its version of Budweiser is also brewed in 21 days “but this can be reduced at times of high demand”. Where global brands are concerned, lagering or storing beer is a thing of the past. The question arises: should they be called lager when they’re made as quickly as ale?

The global brewers will respond by saying that modern brewing techniques, better quality malts and careful yeast selection combine to make long lagering unnecessary. And yet the high point of a visit to Budweiser Budvar is the descent to the lager cellars where Josef Tolar taps a tank of beer after one month, then a second containing two month-old beer and finally a vessel with 90-day beer ready to be packaged. The difference is amazing. After one month, the beer is “green”, with rough alcohols present. After two months, the beer has purged itself of unwanted alcohols but still lacks the smoothness of the finished product, which emerges velvety, deliciously malty but with a good hop balance after 90 days.

Tolar and Broz emphasised at the Draft House evening that the difference between Czech beers and good lagers from other countries is that the Czech versions are brewed to leave some sugary extract in the finished beer. This explains why Pilsner Urquell has a rounded and creamy malt character even though it has 40 units of bitterness, which is a high number. It’s a hoppy beer but it’s not overwhelmed by bitterness.

Budvar has 20 bitterness units. There’s a delightful lemon and floral note from Czech Saaz hops but, again, the beer has a rich malt balance and great drinkability. To prove the point, Tolar handed round samples of two leading German lager beers, Bitburger and Warsteiner. They are well-made and deservedly popular brands but compared to their Czech counterparts they are dry and noticeably more hoppy and bitter.

We also sampled some Budvar Dark, a luscious black beer with a roasted grain character. In neighbouring Bavaria there are still many dark or Dunkel lagers, with the best known produced by Prince Luitpold at his Kaltenberg brewery sited in his castle a few miles from Munich.

The Draft House evening proved – if proof were needed – that there are some fine lager beers available that have both tradition and flavour on their side. Think local, not global.

Pictured above: Josef Tolar. Main picture: Roger Protz speaking at the Draft House watched by Josef Tolar and Adam Broz. Photos: Cath Harries.

*First published in the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, 23 February 2012.