Yellow beer: what do you call it in English?

In the UK yellow beer tends to be called 'Lager', common term used is 'piss water' as it has to be passed by the management before drinking. Tends to be drunk by the lowest common denominator and frequently cited as causing the common 'pub brawl' at chucking out time.

Porky

Is wuz happins, itchie pig, whens the beers has not anuff alchiho.

Hope this helps!

piddy

Well, looks like you're not going to get a serious answer to this one but the correct term USED to be "light", as in "light lager". Just take a look at older beer brand labels- the term "light lager" was often used in the pre-Lite (diet, low calorie) era, especially to distinguish a beer from a "dark" variety. Off hand, the most notably example I can think of was "Prior Light" and "Prior Dark". Once Miller succeeded with Lite but owned that spelling, the word "light" became, well, confused. My favorite example of a brewer having fun with that confusion was Rainier, which for a short time marketed 3 beers- Rainier Light Lager, Rainier Light Light Light, and Rainier Not-So-Light. (Don't know what the beers tasted like- the only Rainier product I ever had was their Ale- but the can collectors loved 'em.)

So, for many years, some people fumbled with terms like "light-but not in the low cal sense" or "light- as in color", etc. Some switched to "pale" which other beer fans might "get" but not the fellow working down at the beer store, necessarily. (It also brings to mind the fact that "pale ales" and "India pale ales" are only "pale" compared to much darker beers, not the lagers that followed them.)

I guess what it's come down to is "regular" (just like gasoline!) when you're talking about a beer with a "low calorie" and/or a "dark" equivelent, but that doesn't necessarily designate the color.

Most of the beers that market yellow and dark versions in the States don't call the light version anything. It's Beck's and Beck's Dark, St. Pauli Girl and St Pauli Girl Dark, Michelob and Michelob Dark, etc. Only the dark one typically gets any special nomenclature.

-Steve

Pils or Pilsner..............

But that leaves out Helles, Koelsch, blond ale, Kristall (filtered) Weizen, and other similarly colored beers. Also, not all Czech lagers are "Pilsners."

What to do, what to do?

Thanks to all who took part in this discussion.

Pisswater.

Yeah, that Anchor Liberty is pure urine.

-Steve

So is Budwater.

Well, duh.

Just pointing out that you can't judge a beer by its color.

-Steve