For some people, a beer is beer. It’s nothing more than the perfect beverage to accompany a football game and wash down a bowl of chips. But savvy beer drinkers actively search out and sample the near-infinite styles under the two primary types of beer: ales and lagers. You have porter, stout, pale ale, India pale ales (IPAs), amber, Kolsch, pilsner, gose, and the list goes on.  

Let’s choose one type — lager — and dive into what lager beer is all about. 

Lager is the beer style most people know, serving as a launchpad for newcomers to the craft. Pretty much every culture has its own traditional version. Like most beers, lager is brewed using yeast, hops, and malted grains like barley, although some producers used whatever was available, rice, wheat, or corn. The mix is fermented for carbonation, and the process converts the naturally occurring sugars into alcohol. 

What sets lagers apart from ales is the fermentation process. Lagers are created with bottom-fermenting yeast at colder temperatures of 35˚ to 50˚F. In contrast, ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeast at slighter warmer temperatures than lagers. Bottom-fermenting yeast takes a bit longer to brew, which gives lagers a lighter and smoother taste than other brews.

Depending on the brewing process and ingredients, you can find several variations. Some examples of lager beer varieties include American, Vienna, pale lagers, dark lagers, Dortmunder, India Pale Lager (IPL), doppelbock, dunkel, and helles.  

Are you ready to broaden your beer drinking experience? We’ve got a selection of some of the best lager beers in the world for you to taste. Grab your brew passport and fasten your seatbelt; we’re ready to take off and discover some of the best lager beer available.

1. Yuengling Lager 

The classic original lager from America’s oldest brewery, Yuengling Lager, is famous for its rich amber color and medium-bodied flavor. Roasted caramel malt instills this brew with a subtle sweetness and, when combined with cluster and cascade hops, delivers a crisp, refreshing beverage that’s as at home on the back deck as it is in a posh tavern.

2. Moosehead Lager

Established in 1867 by Susannah Oland, Moosehead Breweries is Canada’s last independent Canadian-owned brewing company. Their flagship beer, Moosehead Lager, offers a fine balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness. Brewed with 100% Canadian two-row pale malt and Moosehead’s own lager yeast, this brew is cool-fermented and cold-aged to impart its award-winning flavor.

3. Landshark Lager

Born in Margaritaville, this island-style lager is a complex blend of hops and two-row caramel malts with a light, refreshing taste and a hint of malty sweetness. It’s the perfect beer for the beach, the pool, the lake, or whenever you’re in the mood for summer. Landshark Lager helps you keep that beach feeling whenever and wherever you go.

4. Corona Familiar

Everyone knows Corona Extra, but have you tried Corona Familiar? A bright, golden Mexican lager brewed in the Mexican style, this beer has a more robust flavor than your usual Corona. It’s complete and crisp, with initial notes of malt and cereal sweetness finishing with a delicate hoppy bitterness.

5. Kona Longboard Island Lager

Ride a wave of refreshment with Longboard Island Lager. Enjoy a smooth, refreshing lager fermented and aged for weeks at cold temperatures to unleash its exceptionally polished flavor. This brew’s delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements its earthy, malty body. Celebrate what makes life good with Kona.

6. Beck's Lager

Beck’s German Beer is a classic European lager with a creamy head and golden color. This complex, full-bodied beer is sweet and soft-balanced with a clean, dry hop finish. Beck’s tradition of quality is inspired by the almost thousand-year brewing tradition of Bremen, Germany. This golden lager is perfect for sharing with friends during a backyard barbecue or steak dinner.  

7. Devil’s Backbone Vienna Lager

Vienna Lager is the beer everybody, including professional beer judges, just seems to dig. This lager has a smooth, medium-bodied, semi-sweet flavor that’s not too heavy or bitter. Its blend of four imported malts balanced by two Germanic hops takes five weeks to meld into an award-winning amber lager with a mild, toasted caramel flavor inspired by the best of Munich’s Oktoberfest beers.

8. Miller High Life

As one of the most popular lager beers in the United States, Miller High Life is considered the Champagne of Beers. This American-style lager is crisp and drinkable, delivering a balanced and slightly sweet flavor thanks to a blend of malted barley, Galena hops, and Miller yeast.

9. Veza Sur Brewing Spanglish Lager

Veza Sur’s Spanglish Craft Beer is a light lager beer with Latin inspiration. This beer has a bright, hoppy aroma and a light to medium body that’s both crisp and refreshing. With its reduced amount of alcohol, you can enjoy this craft beer anytime you need some refreshing drinks. It’s ideal for a hot day, happy hour with friends, or a barbecue with family. Spanglish is the crowd-pleaser for any pachanga.

10. Stella Artois Midnight Lager

Introducing Stella Artois’ limited edition Midnight Lager. This beautifully dark lager has a medium body, balanced drinkability, and a surprisingly crisp, dry finish that helps make winter feel original again. Midnight Lager is an ode to 600 years of Belgian brewing expertise, combining subtle notes of dark chocolate, freshly brewed espresso, and a hint of smoke in the finish, perfect for a cold night in.

11. Nashville Brewing Lager

Nashville Original Lager is a traditional Bavarian Helles brewed in a time-honored fashion dating back to the late 1800s. Helles in German means “bright,” and this beer truly lives up to its name. Weyermann Pilsner malt and Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops combine to give this brew its distinctive golden color and delicate malty mouth-feel that balances its spicy hop characteristics.

12. San Miguel Red Horse Beer

This extra-strong lager brings you a pure alcoholic experience direct from the Philippines. Its deep hue delivers a distinctive, sweet taste, perfectly balanced by a smooth, bitter finish. Excite yourself with this unique-tasting beer. Red Horse Beer is an Australian International Beer Award and Monde Selection winning lager that’ll deliver a real kick.

13. Budweiser Discovery Reserve

One of the best-known lager beer brands, Budweiser, has brewed its Discovery Reserve with Voyager barley malt to craft a toasty lager. Notes of caramel and vanilla characterize its nose on the initial pour. It then transfigures into a rich and fruity finish. Medium in body, with toffee-like barley sweetness, this is a hearty lager that fans of bock beer will enjoy.

14. Lucky Buddha Lager

Lucky Buddha Lager has a clean, classic style with a crisp finish. Brewed in Australia using Czech Saaz hops, this Asian-style lager is fermented at a cool temperature, making for an aromatic, light lager. It’s a natural fit with Asian food and special occasions. Enjoy it straight from the bottle, and be sure to rub off some of the good fortune that comes from drinking Lucky Buddha.

15. Spaten Märzen Oktoberfest

Take a sip of the official beer of Munich’s Oktoberfest. Spaten Märzen is an amber-colored, medium-bodied beer that balances roasted malt flavor with a delicious hoppiness for an impeccable taste. Its rich texture and underlying sweetness are true to German brewing traditions. Pair it with sausage for an authentic taste experience, or let it quench the heat of a spicy meal. Whatever you choose, Prost!

16. Tiger Beer

Tiger Beer was born on the hot streets of Singapore — a tropical island city-state and busy trading destination. It’s the melting pot of Asian, Indian, and British influences and cultures. Tiger Beer is equally complex, fusing these disparate influences into a brew that is bravely creative and deliciously unpretentious.

17. Zywiec Lager

Delight in Poland's best-selling bee. Zywiec Brewery was established in 1856 and has maintained its original recipe with a hoppy nose and hints of Western hops. It’s a European pale lager with a slight herbal and floral aroma and a light body. Malty flavors come through early and finish crisply with the bitterness of hops. The result is a smooth and balanced flavor that only comes from tradition. 

18. Cusqueña Peruvian Lager

What happens when you mix European brewing traditions with innovative Peruvian brewers? You get a smooth, refreshing, straightforward lager to satisfy even the pickiest beer connoisseur. Brewed using pure water from the Andes, Cusqueña is a pale gold lager with a light, dry, and faintly spicy flavor. It ends with a trace of sweetness that makes it a refreshing choice for hot days in the sun.

19. Hofbrau Dunkel

This is the refreshing dark lager that Munich is famous for. Hofbrau Dunkel is an easy-drinking, traditional dark beer with a light malty flavor and toasty finish. It’s a bottom-fermented dark brew that has been quenching the thirst of Munich residents for generations. It’s always the right time to enjoy some Munich deliciousness. 

20. Michelob Amberbock

Possibly one of the best American lagers, this brew from Michelob pours to a clear, deep reddish-brown color; it hits the nose with a slight hint of roasted malt. It’s a crisp brew with a touch of sweetness, plenty of carbonation, and some hop bitterness. Amberbock is a highly drinkable dark beer that won’t weigh you down.

FAQ

Which lager beer is best?

It can be hard to settle on which lager beer is the best with all the choices available. Some people think that the best beers come exclusively from small craft breweries, while others believe international brews from Canada or Europe are superior to American beers. 

The fact is a great lager can come from anywhere. What sets one beer from another is the quality of its ingredients. The three main components — yeast, malted grains, and hops — are of primary importance to the quality of a beer. 

Barley, wheat, rice, and corn are processed into malt to release the sugar that drives fermentation. How the grain is malted impacts the final product’s flavor. For example, Vienna and Munich barley malts are dried at a higher temperature than other lagers, but the German version is dried longer. This gives Munich bier a nutty, bready, maltier taste, while Vienna-style lagers have a light, toasty flavor.

Quality hops are another point of differentiation. Hops are integral to developing lager’s foamy consistency upon its initial pour and helping maintain the beer’s freshness. It also adds a bitter flavor that balances out the malt’s sweetness. European beers generally use noble hops from Germany or the Czech Republic, while American brews use a mix from various producers to craft their unique flavors.

The final component, yeast, is probably the most important when crafting a good lager. Because it’s cold-brewed, lager yeast needs to be active at a lower temperature for longer to ferment the beer properly. The length of time affects both taste and mouth-feel of the brew. 

These components meld to create a brew that, hopefully, people will like. And that’s what determines which beer is best. Is this a lager you reach for at the start of an evening with friends? Or, after a long day of work? Is this brew something you look forward to drinking? If the answer is yes, don’t let any beer snob convince you that their newly discovered craft lager is better than your trusty favorite. 

What is a popular lager beer?

At GoPuff, we have a wide selection of lagers from every corner of the world. Here are some of the most popular brands from our website.

Most Popular American Lager: Miller High Life

Most Popular Vienna Lager: Devil’s Backbone Vienna Lager

Most Popular Seasonal Lager: Stella Artois Midnight Lager

Most Popular Asian-style Lager: Lucky Buddha Lager

Most Popular German Lager: Hofbrau Dunkel

Most Popular Light Lager: Veza Sur Brewing Spanglish Lager

Beer tasting is an activity that can be a lot of fun. Why not gather a group of friends to test out a bunch of new-to-you brews to discover new brands and varieties to love?

Which brand is a lager beer?

Most breweries offer at least one lager within their product range. Budweiser, Coors Light, Corona, and Michelob Ultra are all examples of classic American lagers. 

Lager is characterized by its mild flavor; it has a sweeter and smoother taste than other beers like ales, making it a more refreshing choice on a hot day. It’s also distinctly more transparent and lighter in color, although there’s some variation in hue, ranging from pale gold to amber to a dark brown.

With so many options and variations to explore, you certainly won’t get bored if you decide to drink only lager for the rest of your life. Raise your glass and enjoy the trip!