For many people — myself included – Fourth of July means firing up the grill for a backyard cookout featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, apple pie for dessert and, of course, beer to wash it all down. For many years, the big, multinational breweries practically owned the holiday, because their light-bodied and low-calorie light lagers were arguably ideal for an outdoor gathering in July. Even when craft beer began appearing in the 1980s, most of the beer from small breweries were ales, which tend to be heavier and hoppier than most lagers.
Broadly speaking, beers mainly fall into two categories — ales and lagers. In the simplest of terms, ales are beers made with top-cropping yeast at warmer temperatures, while lagers use bottom-cropping yeast and are stored at lower temperatures for longer periods of time. In the early days, when small brewing equipment was either prohibitively expensive or non-existent and had to be hand-built, ales were significantly easier to brew, and almost all of the early craft breweries made ales exclusively.
But 40 years later, that’s no longer the case. Even the smallest breweries can make lagers thanks to technological advances and the proliferation of new equipment. That’s why we’ve seen an explosion in craft lagers over the past 10 years. Now they’re so popular, they’ve started giving IPAs a run for their money.
So you can go with the cheapest gazillion-pack of mass-produced lager this Independence Day. Or you can pick up one of the many outstanding American craft lagers brewed here in California by independent craft breweries.
You might even argue it’s what one of our Founding Fathers wanted. A few years after becoming our third president, Thomas Jefferson said about American beer: “I wish to see this beverage become common.” I’d say his wish came true.
Today there are more than 10,000 American breweries, and all but three states are home to more breweries than existed in the entire country in 1990. California has somewhere between 1,100 and 1,563 breweries (depending on how you define them) and most now brew a great lager that rivals any of those from big-name multinational companies. Here are a few of my favorites to try this Fourth of July.
Amendment Lager, 21st Amendment Brewery
The very patriotic logo for Amendment Lager features a bald eagle wearing denim overalls and a banner in its mouth that reads: “Beer. We. Want.” At a modest 4.4% alcohol by volume (ABV), it’s a great all-day beer. Other good backyard choices from 21st Amendment include Hell or High Watermelon, El Sully (a Vienna-style Mexican lager) and El Sully Lime.
Glamorous Life, HenHouse Brewing
Glamorous Life is HenHouse’s 3.8% ABV Lite Lager, brewed with Loral hops for a lightly floral, citrus and herbal character. Also try HenHouse’s Indie Darling, a German-style pale lager brewed with Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops, or Matinee Idol, a Vienna-style lager.
HenHouse’s Glamorous Life is a 3.8% ABV Lite Lager. It’s brewed with Loral hops and has a lightly floral, citrus and herbal character. (Courtesy Jay R. Brooks)
Lunatic Lager Beer, Moonlight Brewing
Lunatic Lager is Moonlight’s take on easy-drinking European lagers, brewed with Noble hops and boasting a biscuity, cracker-like malt character. You can also pick up Moonlight’s Pale Dry Lager Helles-style beer or their Side of Rice rice lager.
Maize Runner, Original Pattern Brewing
Maize Runner is Original Pattern’s American lager brewed with flaked corn. Also worth checking out is their Yamagata, a rice lager, or Hella Grüngeist, their version of a Helles with passionfruit and peach notes.
1970s Lager, Faction Brewing
Despite Faction brewmaster Rodger Davis being known for his hop-forward beers, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better craft-adjunct lager than his 1970s Lager, which is brewed with corn in the malt build for that old-school taste. Also try his Faction Pils or rice lager.
Pre-Pro Lager, East Brother Brewing
East Brother’s pre-prohibition lager is a classic take on the way they made lager before 1933. It’s brewed with barley and corn along with the old-fashioned Cluster hops, one of the oldest hop varieties grown in the U.S. Also pick up their Red lager, a Vienna-style lager, or their flagship Bo Pils.
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Velvet Glow, Russian River Brewing
Velvet Glow is brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo’s take on an old beer in the Helles style brewed by Grace Brothers Brewing, a Santa Rosa brewery that closed in 1966. Also try Russian River’s STS Pils.
Wondrous Hell, Wondrous Brewing
Emeryville brewer Wynn Whisenhunt brews Wondrous Hell, his unfiltered version of an authentic German Helles that’s loaded with flavor. For something a little hoppier, try his Wild Hartt, a West Coast Pilsner.
Other options
A few more to keep an eye out for locally are: Light Lager from San Francisco Brewing; Fort Point’s Ganada, a Korean-style lager; Ghosttown Brewing’s Helles Awaits; Alvarado Street Brewing’s Monterey Beer, subtitled The Local’s Lager; Other Brother’s Seaside Lager; and Devil’s Canyon’s La Cañada del Diablo Lager Especial.
Contact Jay R. Brooks at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.
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