Pale lager

American Lager

BJCP 1B

The full-strength version of the same idea: pale, dry, highly carbonated, and built around drinkability rather than interest. Maize or rice in the grist lightens the body without thinning the alcohol.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.040 - 1.050

Final gravity

1.004 - 1.010

Bitterness

8 IBU - 18 IBU

Colour

2 SRM - 4 SRM

Alcohol

4.2% - 5.3%

Colour also 4-8 EBC

What goes wrong

Substituting the adjunct out. Brewing it as all-malt makes a perfectly nice beer that is no longer this one; the grainy lightness is the style.

Commercial examples

BudweiserCoors OriginalGrain Belt Premium LagerMiller High LifeOld StylePabst Blue Ribbon

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

The rest of the pale lager family

American Light Lager

2.8-4.2% · 8-12 IBU

Cream Ale

4.2-5.6% · 8-20 IBU

International Pale Lager

4.6-6% · 18-25 IBU

Czech Pale Lager

3-4.1% · 20-35 IBU

Czech Premium Pale Lager

4.2-5.8% · 30-45 IBU

Munich Helles

4.7-5.4% · 16-22 IBU

Festbier

5.8-6.3% · 18-25 IBU

German Leichtbier

2.4-3.6% · 15-28 IBU

Kolsch

4.4-5.2% · 18-30 IBU

German Helles Exportbier

4.8-6% · 20-30 IBU

German Pils

4.4-5.2% · 22-40 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.

Bitterness Colour Alcohol