Is this the golden age of lager beer festivals?
Lager Beer Catches Up to the Craft Scene
Beer festivals are nothing new, and niche events have been around for decades. That there are now at least a half dozen lager-specific festivals in the craft beer space is something to examine.
When microbrewing, now known as craft, started in the late 1970s, grew in the 1980s, and then hit its stride in the early 2000s, it was largely done on the back of ales. India Pale Ale came into mainstream fashion, and small brewery tap lists were filled with stouts, porters, extra special bitter, wheat beers and amber ales.
There were several reasons why small brewers embraced ales. Ales require less time in fermenters than lagers, meaning it can be served quicker to keep up with demand. Ales are also better at hiding flaws, like off flavors.
Lager beers, often made by large multinational brewers who had the process down to a science, were derided as simply making fizzy yellow water, ignoring the dominance on shelves and wider consumer preference.
As craft brewers matured, they started making lager beers of their own. They improved their skills, scaled their equipment down and started to notice that their customers wanted a craft alternative to the traditional lager brands.
It’s also what they were drinking themselves. At conferences, at beer festivals and during post-shifts, it was not uncommon to see brewers drinking light beer from major brands.
Years ago, at Hunahpu's Day, an imperial stout focused festival, brewers were in their designated lounge drinking the brewery’s lager while the crowds drank double digit ABV ales under the searing Tampa, Florida sun.
“I think it's pretty clear at this point that the maximum-flavor-at-all-times bubble has burst,” says one brewery owner. “Don't get me wrong, the IPA is far from dead but lager is finally having a moment. Brewers have long been calling for a resurgence of lager brewing and more importantly drinking, but the drinker is finally here for it.”
A Philadelphia-based brewer agrees. He started Logjammin’ in 2020, using a loophole in the city’s COVID-era restrictions. He says that the drinker who comes to his festival, which is now an anchor event of Philly Beer Week, is looking for something different from the endless hazy IPAs or adjunct stouts that dominated small events for the last decade and a half.
“If you’re coming to a lager festival, you like beer and also understand the difference between the different kinds of lager, you can taste the nuance, and appreciate the skill,” he says.
Outside of festivals, there are now small breweries around the country that are solely focused on lagerwhic h give drinkers a small batch, well-crafted fix.
