Lager Beer in the Bar: Michelada, Somaek and Gluten

Lager beer

Also called pale lager, pilsner, cerveza, helles

Cold fermented, cold conditioned beer made with bottom fermenting yeast, from crisp pale lagers and Mexican cervezas to pilsner. In the bar it is the body of a Michelada, the glass a soju shot drops into for somaek, and the top of a Shandy. Brewed from barley, it contains gluten.

crisp malt

bread crust

light hop bitterness

lemon

clean dryness

corn sweetness in Mexican lagers

lively carbonation

Origin

Lager is brewed and conditioned cold with Saccharomyces pastorianus, a bottom fermenting yeast, and takes its name from the German word for storing, after the cool caves Bavarian brewers used. Josef Groll brewed the first pale pilsner at Plzeň in Bohemia in 1842 and pale lager became the most consumed beer style in the world, typically 4 to 6% ABV. Mexico's light lagers, descended from 19th century German and Austrian brewing, are the ones a Michelada expects.

Production and safety

Contains gluten from barley malt (wheat in some styles); list it for coeliac and gluten sensitive guests. 'Gluten removed' beers are enzyme treated barley beers and are not reliably safe for coeliacs; beers brewed from sorghum, rice or millet are the gluten free option. Serve cold (3 to 5 C) and pour gently down the side of the glass when mixing a Michelada so the head does not overflow.

Allergens: Gluten

International

Michelada

Mexican lager, lime, salt and savory sauces over ice

Mexican lager served over ice with fresh lime juice, Worcestershire-style sauce, hot sauce and a chili-salt rim, with optional Clamato for the clamachela style.

BeerBuiltEasy

Lager beer

Origin

Production and safety

Common uses

Pours that use it

Michelada

Somaek

Sources