Franconia Beer Message Board

Lager Categories
Posted by Nick B. on 2016-09-26 04:21:28
What's the BA description for "Vienna lager"? Here's r8beer's:

Amber Lager/Vienna

Your typical macrobrewed Dark Lager, often rendered dark with either brewer’s caramel or black patent malt, but each brewery will have a different approach. Aside from caramelly notes, these beers will not typically resemble other dark lager styles so much as they do the lighter styles, due to low amounts of hops, malt and body. Vienna as a beer style was theorized by Michael Jackson, but his oft-cited example was Negra Modelo, which is a macro dark lager like all the others. Some beers have taken on the idea of a Vienna lager as a distinct style, loosely based on the 1840 Anton Dreher beer, and these can be expected to be all-malt, with a fuller body and more character than the average macro dark.
avg. ABV 4.4-5.4%
avg. IBU 20-33
So clearly an American invention. And I see they explain the Negra Modelo misdirection, and I see BA still cite that.

Looking at r8beer's top beers in the category, I see Brooklyn Lager, which I like well enough, but had never thought it might be considered a "Vienna" lager. Indeed Brooklyn's webbie says:

In the late 1800’s Brooklyn was one of the largest brewing centers in the country, home to more than 45 breweries. Lager beer in the “Vienna” style was one of the local favorites. Brooklyn Lager is amber-gold in color and displays a firm malt center supported by a refreshing bitterness and floral hop aroma. Caramel malts show in the finish. The aromatic qualities of the beer are enhanced by “dry-hopping”, the centuries-old practice of steeping the beer with fresh hops as it undergoes a long, cold maturation. The result is a wonderfully flavorful beer, smooth, refreshing and very versatile with food. Dry-hopping is largely a British technique, which we’ve used in a Viennese-style beer to create an American original.

Yeah, okay, "Vienna-style" beer as brewed in NY decades before prohibition. Bet such beer was made with 6-row barley & adjuncts back then though. 

I can't remember much about locally-brewed lager I've had in Vienna, most of it was modern brewpub stuff and 7 Sterne(?) and 1516(?). Other Austrian lager certainly seems Germanic Hell & pale Märzen though.

Fair enough, loads of Merkun brewers are pumping the stuff out to warrant a category for it. Maybe I would call it "Amber Lager (incl. "Vienna")" with the explanation of the history of Vienna lager in the description, how it's now an American thing.

And I would use English terms, because all those style lists are for Americans, really, as you say. 
 
Followups:
               Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-26 04:33:23
                 Lager Categories by Barry on  2016-09-26 06:17:48
               Vienna Lager by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-26 11:01:52
                   Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-27 00:41:35
                 Vienna Lager by Nick B. on  2016-09-27 02:43:53
                     Lager Categories by Barry on  2016-09-27 06:33:15
                       Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-28 00:37:53
                         Lager Categories by Barry on  2016-09-28 01:08:58
                           Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-28 01:56:43
                           Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-28 03:00:51
                             Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-28 03:08:34
                             Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-28 06:33:51
                               Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-28 07:01:07
                             Lager Categories by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-28 14:56:57
                               Lager Categories by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-28 14:58:42
                                 Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-29 00:20:06
                                   Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-29 00:53:09
                               Lager Categories by Barry on  2016-09-29 04:19:06
                                 Lager Categories by TreinJan on  2016-09-29 04:25:39
                                   Lager Categories by Barry on  2016-09-29 05:55:53
                             Lager Categories by Gunnar H on  2016-09-29 07:08:46
                               Die Mass vs Das Maß by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-29 12:29:20
                                     Lager Categories by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-29 12:30:45
                                 Die Mass vs Das Maß by Gunnar H on  2016-09-29 12:59:02
                                   Die Mass vs Das Maß by Gunnar H on  2016-09-29 13:02:55
                                     Die Mass vs Das Maß by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-29 23:47:25
                                       Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-30 00:25:40
                                       Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-30 00:26:20
                                     Character Map by Nick B. on  2016-09-30 00:27:25
                                       Die Mass vs Das Maß by Nick B. on  2016-09-30 00:34:13
                                         Lager Categories by Nick B. on  2016-09-30 00:35:23
                                           Lager Categories by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-30 01:31:07
                                         Die Mass vs Das Maß by Gunnar H on  2016-09-30 02:39:23
                                         Die Mass vs Das Maß by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-30 03:15:35
                                         Lager Categories by Uncle Jimbo on  2016-09-30 03:19:59
                                           Die Mass vs Das Maß by Jürgen Wening on  2016-09-30 03:26:57
                                       Character Map by Barry on  2016-09-30 04:51:59
                                             Die Mass vs Das Maß by Nick B. on  2016-10-01 01:27:01
                                         Lager Categories by Andy H on  2016-10-09 12:44:03
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