Vienna Lager

Lager

The Vienna Style Lager beer, named after the city it originated in, Vienna, Austria, introduced most of Europe to what modern-day bottom-fermentation is. The Vienna Lager history began when it was brought to the market in 1841 by Anton Dreher, the owner of Schwechat Brewery near Vienna.

The traditional Vienna Lager recipe consists of only Vienna malt, and displays more toffee, bready flavors. Vienna Lager recipes today are likely to contain Munich malt, Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, and dextrin malt, and in certain situations, some brewers call for wheat in their Vienna Lager. Aside from malt, the Vienna Lager hops are German Noble hops and the Vienna Lager yeast is of course bottom fermenting Lager yeast. The Noble hops are used subtly and offer low hop bitterness.

Vienna Lager's are brewed using a three-step decoction boiling process and are mainly characterized by their malty aroma and slight malt sweetness. The Vienna style Lager closely resembles the golden amber Märzen style of Munich, Bavaria. Both of these styles, the Märzen beer and Vienna Lager beer were the first pale lagers in the world coming out merely a year before the Bohemian Pilsner.

The Vienna Lager color ranges from a pale to medium amber with a reddish hue and has a thick off-white head with great retention. The Vienna Lager ABV ranges from 4.5-5.5% and the Vienna Lager IBU ranges from 18-30. The best glass to serve this Lager beer in is a Vienna Lager flute and the best Vienna Lager food pairings are grilled meats and vegetables such as: bratwursts, spicy chicken wings, venison, and fish and chips.

We love including Vienna Lagers in our Craft Beer Club and have included some in the past, one of our favorites being the Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager. Sign up for a membership and try more great Vienna Lagers and other craft beers in each shipment.

So many beer styles and seemingly so little time to explore them all. But don't fret! Becoming a Craft Beer Club member or giving a monthly Craft Beer Club gift is a great way to start. Each delivery includes 4 different craft beer styles for you to discover. When you consider all of the styles-within-a-style and the fact that each brewery has its own, unique rendition of a particular beer style, your 12-month Craft Beer Club membership will introduce you to a whopping 48 different craft beers in a year!

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