Lager beers are alcoholic beverages of German origin, taking their name from the German lagern ("to store").

Lagers are brewed principally from malted barley (without cane sugar, an adjunct), hops and water at low temperatures (usually between 5°C and 15°C) that cause bottom-fermentation. The yeast, Saccharomyces uvarum, ferments at these cool temperatures, and flocculates - which is to say that it forms into a cloudy mass - to the bottom of the vat. After fermentation lagers are then stored in refrigerated cellars for lagering (maturing and clarification). Lagers are stored at a low temperature (as low as 0°C / 32°F) for several weeks to several months, clearing, acquiring mellowness, and becoming charged with carbon dioxide. Many popular beers are lagers. There are bitter and aromatic varieties (noble hops).

Lager beers run the gamut from sweet to bitter, and from pale to black. Most lagers are of pale to medium colour, with high carbonation, medium to high hop flavour, and alcohol content of 3–5 percent by volume.

Common varieties of lager

• Dortmund
• Munich (see Helles)
• Pilsner
• Vienna lager
• Steam Beer, also known as California Common Beer (fermented with Saccharomyces Uvarum at room temperature, thus arguably not a lager)

Popular brands of lager

• Pilsner Urquell: the "original", Bohemian, malty, aromatic noble hops.
• Beck's: Germany's most popular pilsener, brewed in the German state of Bremen.
• Flensburg Pilsener : Very bitter pilsener, brewed in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost German state.
• Jever : a popular North-German pilsener, brewed in Lower Saxony.
• Carlsberg: Danish, standard international lager.
• Heineken: Dutch, standard international lager.
• Harp: Irish, standard international lager.
• Carling: English.
• Tennents: Scottish.
• Stella Artois: Belgian, standard international lager.
• Honey Brown : American Lager that's popular in the U.S.
• Tiger beer : the main beer of Singapore

See also

• American lager