Brewed under the wrong sign

I thought the use of the word "lager" as a beer style is unique to Britain and for the the rest of world "lager" is something you do to beer.

You're right. 'Lagered' means 'stored'. The proper stuff is indeed fermented with a bottom fermenting yeast in sealed vessels at a low temperature, then 'lagered' (stored) for several months at very low temperature, not very much above freezing in some cases, to allow proper maturing and conditioning.

Much UK so-called 'lager' is not, to put it kindly, made in this way......

When I made your very point about the real meaning of lager to some Bass suits at Highgate Brewery (then Bass owned) some years ago they replied that modern chemical processes negated the requirement for all of that time consuming, expensive lagering!

Well, English-speaking countries. I think the usage of lager to mean any bottom-fermented mass-produced golden beer is too well-established for there to be any hope of rectifying the "error".

And to be honest, I think the majority of "lager" drinkers probably aren't too concerned about what term they should use to describe a top-fermented beer that has been lagered.

d.

UK sure but I've never heard it used in the USA for example.

As I understand it, in the US, the term is used in this way as a category in beer competitions. It might not be used by the breweries or the beer-drinking public, I guess.

d.

Having had the honour of being shown round the Staropramen brewery in Prague by a suit from Bass not long after they acquired the brewery I was surprised to find that it was brewed in open vessels looked for all the world like Yorkshire squares and obviously with a top fermenting yeast.

Stuart Hudson

Do you happen to know if it was fully fermented in this condition, or was it later (sooner, rather than later) run-off into a closed fermenter? KeithS

Fully fermented in open squares. Still is according to the website

In message , hudson writes

You used a spoolchucker, didn't you?

I actually picked that up before I sent it but I did not think that it was worth time worrying over. However the original fault was my spelling and the incorrect correction was the spoolchucker.

Regards Stuart Hudson

I also have to say that I though "defiantly" quite fitted, as that was the first time I had seen traditional stone Yorkshire squares translated into stainless steel Regards Stuart Hudson

In message , hudson writes

I had wonderful visions of a building with Attitude. Maybe even enough Attitude to stare down a real ale yeast cell.

(Morlands told us they had to get fresh lager yeast from the Carlsberg once a month as their own beer yeast tended to dominate the bottom-fermenting weenies.)