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Lager
Lager in German means a storeroom or warehouse and is a type of beer that is conditioned at low temperatures, normally at the brewery. It may be pale, golden, amber, or dark.
History
Although one of the most defining features of lager is its maturation in cold storage, it is also distinguished by the use of a specific yeast. While it is possible to use lager yeast in a warm fermentation process, such as with American steam beer, the lack of a cold storage maturation phase precludes such beer from being classified as lager. On the other hand, German Altbier and Kölsch, brewed with a top-fermenting yeast at a warm temperature, but with a cold storage finishing stage, are classified as obergäriges Lagerbier (top-fermented lager beer).
In the 19th century, prior to the advent of refrigeration, German brewers would dig cellars for lagering and fill them with ice from nearby lakes and rivers, which would cool the beer during the summer months. To further protect the cellars from the summer heat, they would plant chestnut trees, which have spreading, dense canopies but shallow roots which would not intrude on the caverns. The practice of serving beer at these sites evolved into the modern beer garden.
The rise of lager was entwined with the development of refrigeration, as refrigeration made it possible to brew lager year-round (brewing in the summer had previously been banned in many locations across Germany), and efficient refrigeration also made it possible to brew lager in more places and keep it cold until serving. The first large-scale refrigerated lagering tanks were developed for Gabriel Sedelmayr’s Spaten Brewery in Munich by Carl von Linde in 1870.
Until the 19th century, the German word Lagerbier referred to all types of “bottom-fermented”, cool-conditioned beer, in normal strengths. In Germany today however, the term is mainly reserved for the prevalent lager beer styles of southern Germany, “Helles” (pale), or a “Dunkel” (dark). Pilsner, a more heavily hopped pale lager, is most often known as “Pilsner”, “Pilsener”, or “Pils.” Other lagers are Bock, Märzen, and Schwarzbier.
In the United Kingdom, the term lager commonly refers specifically to pale lagers, many of which are derived from the Pilsner style. Worldwide, pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. It is often known primarily by its brand name, and labeled simply as “beer”.