Portland's Lager Roster

TECHNIQUE

May 8

Without bushels of hops to hide behind, Portland brewers are cranking out full-flavored, session-able lagers.

“Lagers are the Texas BBQ of the beer world,” says Brewer Kevin Daley of Wayfinder Beer, a lager-centric brewery that opened in Portland last year. “They should be brewed low and slow, giving the beer plenty of time to mature—no shortcuts, no extra sauces. Like barbecue, it highlights the raw ingredients and process.”

Lagers aren’t the easiest or the cheapest style to brew. They ferment at cooler temperatures for longer and take up more days of valuable tank space than ales. Unlike an IPA, brewers can’t hide flaws under hops. Despite the challenges, breweries in Portland and around the country, are adding lagers to their rosters.

At Culmination Brewing, they started brewing lagers 18 months after opening. Now, their Pilsner is their third best-selling beer. They’ve also started a seasonal lager line: “I love drinking German lagers when I’m away from the brewery,” says Rising Star Brewer Conrad Andrus.

Brewers Ben Parsons and Richard Hall of Baerlic Brewing Co. have made lagers since their homebrewing days, and Parsons believes “there’s no better way to convert a macro-lager drinker to a craft drinker than by giving them a more full-flavored, better version of what they already love. Craft beer and the broader American beer scenes are finally starting to speak the same language—lagers are at the forefront of that.”