Pale lager

German Leichtbier

BJCP 5A

A German light beer that keeps the hop character instead of removing it, which is why it works where the American equivalent tastes of nothing. Under 3.5% and still recognisably a pils.

Vital statistics

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

Original gravity

1.026 - 1.034

Final gravity

1.006 - 1.010

Bitterness

15 IBU - 28 IBU

Colour

2 SRM - 5 SRM

Alcohol

2.4% - 3.6%

Colour also 4-10 EBC

What goes wrong

Watering down a helles. A leichtbier is mashed and hopped for its own gravity; dilution just makes a thin helles.

Commercial examples

Autenrieder Schlossbräu LeichtGreif Bräu LeichtHohenthanner Tannen Hell LeichtSchönramer Surtaler SchankbierWaldhaus Sommer Bier

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

American Lager

4.2-5.3% · 8-18 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

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