# 2. Pale Lager Style Guidelines



## bradsbrew

*2.1 Australian Lager*

*Aroma*: Little to no malt aroma. Hop aroma may range from low to none and may be flowery. Slight fruity aromas from yeast and hop varieties used may exist. No diacetyl.
*Appearance:* Very pale straw to pale gold colour. White head. Carbonation medium to high. Clarity good to excellent.
*Flavour:. *Crisp and dry flavour with some low levels of sweetness. Hop flavour may range from low to medium. Hop bitterness low to medium. Balance can vary from slightly malty to slightly bitter, but is usually close to even. No diacetyl. No fruitiness. Finish tending dry.
*Mouthfeel:* Low to low medium. Well carbonated. Slight carbonic bite on tongue is acceptable.
*Overall Impression:* Light, refreshing and thirst quenching.
*Vital Statistics:*
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1040-1050 1004-1010 10-20 2-4 4.2-5.1%
*Commercial Examples:* Fosters Lager, Carlton Draught, XXXX, and Tooheys New.

*2.2 Australian Premium Lager*

*Aroma: *A mild, malt aroma, which may be supported by low to moderate, possibly noble, hop notes. Estery fruitiness, diacetyl, and phenolic or yeasty notes should be absent.
*Appearance:* Straw to pale gold. Bright, with a reasonable head. Darker than common Australian lagers, due to the use of less adjuncts.
*Flavour:* Low to moderate mild malt flavour may be supported by low to moderate hop flavours. Bitterness can range from low-medium (lagers) to high-medium (pilsners), resulting in a neutral to slightly bitter malt/bitterness balance. Medium to medium-high carbonation. Crisp and dry. Any fruity flavours, phenolics, yeasty flavours, diacetyl, astringency or harshness, should be penalized.
*Mouthfeel:* Light to light-medium.
*Overall Impression:* A clean, crisp lager, designed basically for quaffing, but containing more interest and more malt and hop character than the typical Australian session lagers.
*Vital Statistics:*
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1045-1055 1008-1012 15-25 2-6 4.7-6.0%
*Commercial Examples:* Malt Shovel Pilsner, Boags Premium Lager.

*2.3 Pale Continental Lager *

*Aroma:* A low mild malt aroma, supplemented by a very low to low pleasant, preferably noble type hop aroma. Very clean, well-balanced. Low DMS OK. Estery fruitiness, diacetyl, and any phenolic or yeasty notes should be absent. Any caramel notes, pungent hoppiness or off-aromas should be penalized.
*Appearance:* Light straw to straw. Paler than Czech or German pilsners, due to greater use of adjuncts. Bright, with a reasonable head.
*Flavour:* A low to moderate mild malt flavour may be supported by low to moderate hop flavours. Well attenuated, with a medium perceived bitterness. Medium carbonation, good malt/hop balance. Dry, crisp finish. Any estery flavours, phenolics, yeasty flavours, astringency or harshness should be penalized.
*Mouthfeel:* Light to light-medium.
Overall Impression: A pale, clean, crisp easy drinking pilsner.
*Vital Statistics:*
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1045-1055 1008-1015 15-30 3-6 4.5-5.7%
*Commercial Examples:* Grolsch

*2.4. Munich Helles* [BJCP]

*Aroma:* Pleasantly grainy sweet, clean Pils malt aromas predominate. Low to moderately-low spicy noble hop aroma, and a low background note of DMS (from pils malt). No esters or diacetyl.
*Appearance:* Medium yellow to pale gold, clear, with a creamy white head.
*Flavour:* Slightly sweet, malty profile. Grain and Pils malt flavours dominate, with a low to medium-low hop bitterness that supports the malty palate. Low to moderately-low spicy noble hop flavour. Finish and aftertaste remain malty. Clean, no fruity esters, no diacetyl.
*Mouthfeel:* Medium body, medium carbonation, smooth maltiness with no trace of astringency.
Overall Impression: Malty but fully attenuated Pils malt showcase.
*History:* Created in Munich in 1895 at the Spaten brewery by Gabriel Sedlmayr to compete with Pilsner-style beers.
*Comments:* Unlike Pilsner but like its cousin, Munich Dunkel, Helles is a malt-accentuated beer that is not overly sweet, but rather focuses on malt flavour with underlying hop bitterness in a supporting role.
*Ingredients:* Moderate carbonate water, Pilsner malt, German noble hop varieties.
*Vital Statistics:*
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1045-1051 1008-1012 16-22 3-5 4.7-5.4%
*Commercial Examples: *Weihenstephaner Original, Hacker-Pschorr Münchner Helles, Paulaner Premium Lager, Spaten Premium Lager, Andechser Hell, Augustiner Lagerbier Hell, Stoudt’s Gold Lager

*2.5. Dortmunder* [BJCP]

*Aroma:* Low to medium noble (German or Czech) hop aroma. Moderate Pils malt aroma; can be grainy to somewhat sweet. May have an initial sulfury aroma (from water and/or yeast) and a low background note of DMS (from pils malt). No diacetyl.
*Appearance:* Light gold to deep gold, clear with a persistent white head.
*Flavour:* Neither Pils malt nor noble hops dominate, but both are in good balance with a touch of malty sweetness, providing a smooth yet crisply refreshing beer. Balance continues through the finish and the hop bitterness lingers in aftertaste (although some examples may finish slightly sweet). Clean, no fruity esters, no diacetyl. Some mineral character might be noted from the water, although it usually does not come across as an overt minerally flavour.
*Mouthfeel:* Medium body, medium carbonation.
Overall Impression: Balance and smoothness are the hallmarks of this style. It has the malt profile of a Helles, the hop character of a Pils, and is slightly stronger than both.
*History: *A style indigenous to the Dortmund industrial region, Dortmunder has been on the decline in Germany in recent years.
Comments: Brewed to a slightly higher starting gravity than other light lagers, providing a firm malty body and underlying maltiness to complement the sulfate-accentuated hop bitterness. The term “Export” is a beer strength category under German beer tax law, and is not strictly synonymous with the “Dortmunder” style. Beer from other cities or regions can be brewed to Export strength, and labeled as such.
Ingredients: Minerally water with high levels of sulfates, carbonates and chlorides, German or Czech noble hops, Pilsner malt, German lager yeast.
*Vital Statistics:*
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1048-1056 1010-1015 23-30 4-6 4.8-6%
Commercial Examples: DAB Export, Dortmunder Union Export, Dortmunder Kronen, Ayinger Jahrhundert, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Dominion Lager, Gordon Biersch Golden Export


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