Lagers

Bobsy · Post by **Bobsy** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:06 pm

Now here's a misunderstood beast. When I was growing up in the UK I was conditioned to hate all lagers, which was probably a good thing considering the quality of the macros over there. However, since living in North America I've been forced to reassess my opinion.

I've recently been craving a good lager - not a crap one, not a corn and rice-ridden one, and certainly not a macro one brewed by molson, labatt or their ilk. I was wondering what bartowellers believed were the better lagers on the Ontario market - both at the lcbo and on tap?

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:12 pm

i posted this at 1:30 on the RB forums.

"I’d really love it if craft brewers started makeing more amazing lagers. I’m lucky to have Grand River and Creemore as great local options and Prima Pils is gonna hit our local shelves soon.

Christoffel Bier and Pilsner Urquell have permanent spots in my fridge and I’ve recently rediscovered Köstritzer Schwarzbier.

Does anyone else want craft lagers to be the next big thing?

Pimp your fav lagers on this thread!"

great minds think alike bobsy!

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:18 pm

local reccomendations:

Grand River (all 3 are great)
Nickel Brook (organic and pils, both very solid on tap, hit or miss in bottles/cans)
Mill St Pils
Niagara Falls Millstone Lager (great on tap, ive never seen a fresh bottle)
Muskoka Lager (best value at TBS, makes for a very cheap session)

if your ever in Waterloo:
Gold Crown (all 3 are good, the Kings pils is the best value)
Lion Brewery and Restaurant (same building as Gold Crown, super fresh well made lagers on tap)

Bobsy · Post by **Bobsy** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:20 pm

matt7215 wrote:great minds think alike bobsy!

That's freaky - the weather must be driving us to lager! The Christoffel is a damn solid choice, by the way.

lister · Post by **lister** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:28 pm

Brooklyn Lager.

kmallett · Post by **kmallett** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:35 pm

There's some pretty decent lagers around:

Grand River Galt Knife
Creemore Lager & Pilsner
King Pilsner - one of my favourite summer beers when I can find it.
Neustadt Lager - especially on tap (like at the Top End Tavern in Neustadt)
F&M Stonehammer Pilsner

Brooklyn Lager is definitely my favourite, but I can never seem to find it anymore in the LCBO so now I'll usually get Grand River.

lister · Post by **lister** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:08 pm

kmallett wrote:Brooklyn Lager is definitely my favourite, but I can never seem to find it anymore in the LCBO so now I'll usually get Grand River.

Lots in Toronto. As I posted in the "Favourite OCB" thread, put in a request at your LCBO to transfer some Brooklyn Lager in from elsewhere.

I plan on doing that with Grand River and Beau's since we'll likely be getting neither of their stuff here in Toronto. I want some Bumbleberry Wheat while relaxing at the cottage.

Philip1 · Post by **Philip1** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:51 pm

Stone Hammer Pilsner is worth a try. Budvar and even Kozel from the Czech Republic too.

sstackho · Post by **sstackho** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:56 pm

Last year, I would have recommended King Pilsner in a heartbeat. But this year, I've had it twice on draft and one six-pack and was quite underwhelmed. Did something change? (Possibly me.)

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:04 pm

This is a topic I've felt strongly about since first getting into craft beer. I've always been a strong advocate of good lagers, and seeing them perpetually under-rated just for being themselves is one of my biggest pet peeves. They really are misunderstood. I can see where the prejudice comes from, given that they happened to be misfortunate enough to be the style that macro brewers prefer.

My favourite style (if forced to pick one) is Dopplebock. I also have an affinity for Baltic Porters. But when it comes to Pilseners or things of the more pale sort, Budvar ranks highest, but honourable mention goes out to:

Grand River Galt Knife
Warka Strong
Urquell
Kozel
Creemore (on tap)
Hacker-Pschorr Braumeister Pils (a particular favourite of mine)
...and I could list dozens more.

Kudos to Bobsy for bringing this up. I posted a similar thread a long time ago on Ratebeer and basically got slammed for suggesting that a pale lager could ever be good. It's pretty frustrating sometimes. My other pet peeve is something that I see happening sometimes with some brewers, making something with lager yeast that is all other aspects is an ale, then proclaiming that 'lagers can be good!' IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, I feel that that is kind of spitting on what a genuine lager is, as they basically bastardized it to make it 'good' to them (a specific example of this would be Sly Fox Pikeland Pils). This is all just my opinion though, based on my own experiences and personal tastes, please don't take any offense.

Bobsy · Post by **Bobsy** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 7:07 pm

JesseM wrote:This is a topic I've felt strongly about since first getting into craft beer. I've always been a strong advocate of good lagers, and seeing them perpetually under-rated just for being themselves is one of my biggest pet peeves. They really are misunderstood. I can see where the prejudice comes from, given that they happened to be misfortunate enough to be the style that macro brewers prefer.

Jesse, this rings true with me. Lagers are extremely undervalued on the rating sites, and I've always seen it as one of the greatest flaws of BA, RB and others. On the one hand, they're not helped by the flood of substandard and adjunct filled offerings we have available, but on the other they attract a level of disdain from people who should know better. I think the lager that opened my eyes was the Great Lakes Dortmunder - a beautifully crafted, near flawless beer.

Its good to see beers like the Amsterdam doppelbock and the Mill Street Pils get some attention and praise. I hope this trend continues.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:11 pm

Denison's Dunkel is really great stuff, but it will forever be in the shadow of its other sibling.

I love the Grand Rivers; I'm a fan of Creemore (still anxious to try their keller-in-a-can).

I'm not a fan of Saaz, but I really like the Stratford Pils when it's fresh on-tap.

Steamwhistle is good when it's fresh as well.

A craft brewery cost money, and lagering facilities cost even more (additional cooling & space). But with all the German settlers here, it's surprising there aren't more, like Wisconsin & Pennsylvania.

Tapsucker · Post by **Tapsucker** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:55 pm

I finally tried Neustadt Lager for the first time (I was hiding under a rock or something). Anyway, it's a mighty fine beer.
I've never been able to understand the enthusiasm for, or warm up to King Pilsner, but then again, I like a Steamwhistle on occasion.

But ultimately, if you are going to bark up this tree, I vote for Stonehammer and Creemore.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:23 pm

Creemore Kellerbier. It is the best lager I've tried in a long, LONG time. I've been eagerly awaiting next week's LCBO release ever since trying it at the launch party a couple of weeks ago. If the cans are anywhere near as good as what we had on tap, it's going to seriously blow people away.

velovampire · Post by **velovampire** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:28 pm

Good locals (to echo others, and in order this time):
1 - Grand River Galt Knife (yes, yes, YES!!!)
2 - Mill Street Pils
3 - Denison's Dunkel
4 - Saint Andre Vienna
5 - Neustadt Lager
6 - Creemore (Lager & Pils)
7 - Stonehammer Pils
8 - Muskoka (like Matt said, a great value lager)