The History of Lager – Enjoy a Cold One

Beer has been around for thousands of years but did you know that lager has been less than six centuries in the making?

Throughout history, beer has traditional meant ale. Yet despite, the ancient practice of brewing beer at warm temperatures, in the Middle Ages Southern Germans discovered a great appreciation for enjoying a “cold one”. German brewers in Bavaria became accustomed to storing their beer in the icy cold caves of the German Alps, which helped clarify the beer; meaning the cold temperature made the suspended dead yeast cells that would normally cloud their ales fall to the bottom, making it easy to remove.

Centuries later, either through natural mutation or hybridization cold hearty yeasts capable of fermenting beers over a long period in the cold temperatures of the caves naturally developed. Evolution apparently has its benefits in the beer world. What began as simply storing beer in the icy cold caves (the German word for storage being lager) had developed into a new beer style.

Lager became the rage of breweries across Europe, especially in Northern Europe where the caves were sufficiently cold to produce the style. Even regions, such as Bohemia, previously known for ales, switched to lager. Thank goodness for lovers of great beer, as one of the first new lager styles that emerged was Pilsner. The Bohemia style of Pilsner, which utilized the fragrance of the local Saaz hop to great effect have since become the standard all Pilsners are compared to. Budweiser name can even trace its name to the region.

Even England, a country still known for ale production, got into the lager act. Carlsberg was the first lager brewer in England. Thanks to refrigeration lager is now produced in almost every country around the world. Enjoying a cold one has never been so easy.