In craft beer's early days, flavourful ales offered a stark contrast to the bland, mass-produced lagers that came to dominate the American beer market. But even as ales have driven craft beer growth, lager remains culturally entrenched as a synonym for beer. Quality craft lagers have largely escaped public acknowledgement ... until now. Today, a lager renaissance is underway in the United States and abroad; intrepid breweries are rediscovering the joys of colder fermentation and pushing lagers well beyond the realm of pilsner. Lager offers a complete tasting guide to the full spectrum of lager styles, from Munich Helles and Festbier to California Common and Baltic Porter. Taste along and find your new favorite lager! This book also answers such historical and contextual questions as: Why does lager, not ale, dominate world beer production, despite its comparative difficulty to produce? Why are certain European styles like Vienna lager more associated with brewing in Mexico than on the Continent? What does St. Louis have to do with Ceske Budejovice? What role does lager play in today's expanding craft beer landscape? How are US craft brewers pushing lagers beyond their traditional German and Czech archetypes? For homebrewers, Lager includes key brewing considerations as well as a selection of lager recipes.