14 Popular Lagers That Are Made In America

While we're riding the wave of an IPA boom, lagers are still considered the most popular beer in the world. Many beer styles fall under the lager umbrella, though as long as the beer uses the Saccharomyces pastorianus strain of yeast, it's part of the lager family. Pilsners have a slightly bitter hit of hops, for example, while a helles is more malty. Meanwhile, American lagers are simple and light and Mexican lagers tend to have more flavor. Check out our list of lagers to try (and some to skip) if you're new to the category.

Here in the U.S., lager-specific breweries are gaining popularity in the craft beer scene. If you're looking for local, American-made lagers, we put together a list of some popular, well-regarded takes on the category. We searched through Reddit, Beer Advocate, and used our personal experience to select these lagers. Stalwarts such as Budweiser, Coors, and Miller aren't on this list; everyone already knows them from every grocery store beer aisle. Some of these may be hard to find across the U.S., but keep an eye out for them if you live near one of the breweries below!

Every Portlander knows the pFriem pilsner — almost every bar in the city has it on tap. At 4.9% ABV, this is my go-to easy-drinker. Even dive bars, where you expect only to find a Bud Light, carry this award-winning beer. BeerAdvocate rates it as "outstanding." The grassy, floral taste is followed by a pleasant lemon flavor — everything a person could want while sitting on a patio during the short summers of Portland, Oregon. The pFriem brewery started in nearby Hood River, Oregon, but you can now find it throughout the West Coast.

Taco Truck Lager is brewed by Dust Bowl in Turlock, California, surrounded by agricultural heartland where taco trucks abound. At 4.7% ABV, the beer is light and easy for a hot Central Valley day. This isn't a complex beer, just crisp and sweet, with little bitterness. It earns a "very good" from BeerAdvocate. You can find this lager in select states throughout the U.S.

Out in Bend, Oregon, the state's outdoorsy adventure capital, Deschutes Brewery opened in 1988, before the current craft beer boom. After a day of hiking or mountain biking, a hoppy, floral, 4.8% ABV pilsner is sure to hit the spot. The brewery's King Crispy pilsner is exactly that beer to sip around a campfire in the woods. On Reddit, the question was asked, "What's the crispest beer you know?" Multiple commenters gave King Crispy the nod. Deschutes distributes to all 50 states, so enjoy King Crispy in whatever type of outdoors you live near.

Timbo Pils, the beer that Highland Park Brewery says started the West Coast pilsner style, is one of my all-time favorites. It's a hoppier pilsner, using Mosaic and Citra hops, but the crackery malts aren't overpowered. The 5.8% ABV is a little higher than most on this list, but it's still light and refreshing. On Reddit, a poster wrote it's "worth the hype," adding, "Delicious hop flavor, but it does not clash with the lager yeast at all." "Clean, crisp, and hoppy," wrote a commenter. The Los Angeles-based brewery's beers are hard to find outside Southern California.

Another early craft beer success story, Brooklyn Brewery was founded in 1988 with its flagship lager. When it opened, there were no major breweries in Brooklyn, a borough that had 48 companies brewing beer in the 1800s. Brooklyn Lager is a flavorful amber lager with a 5.2% ABV and both caramel and grapefruit notes. BeerAdvocate gives it a "good" grade, with over 4,000 ratings from users of the site (most others on this list have around 100). The beer is distributed throughout all 50 states.

With sweet malts and floral hops, Two Women lager is a classic helles — a German style that's delicate, simple, and balanced. Deb Carey and her husband, Daniel, opened Wisconsin's New Glarus in 1993, making it the first woman-led brewery in the U.S. From beer's birth in ancient Sumerian times until the late 1700s, when the drink became a source of profit, brewing was dominated by women. To brew this beer, New Glarus collaborated with another woman-led company, Weyermann Malting (hence "Two Women"). The beer is 5% ABV and gets a "very good" on BeerAdvocate. New Glarus only sells in Wisconsin.

A Reddit user asked for the best lager-centric breweries in the U.S., and multiple commenters responded "Bierstadt." BeerAdvocate calls the brewery's Slow Pour Pils "world-class." Bartenders at the taproom take their time serving the beer with a large head of foam, giving the beer its name. The process concentrates the aromas, removes some carbonation to create a smoother mouthfeel, and warms the beer to allow the flavors to shine. Remember, it's a myth that beer tastes better cold (unless the cold is hiding off flavors). You can only find this 4.7% ABV pilsner in Denver, Colorado.

Heater Allen is another well-regarded lager-centric brewery, this one specializing in German and Czech styles outside of Portland in McMinnville, Oregon. The beers are made with German malts and Czech, German, and Oregon hops, and are unfiltered, creating a smoother mouthfeel. Does it work? BeerAdvocate gives the brewery's Czech-style Pils an "outstanding" evaluation, and it's mentioned as a top lager producer in the U.S. on Reddit. The beer is moderately light at 5.1% ABV. The brewery self-distributes in Oregon and Washington, and works with distributors in California.

Portland, Oregon's, Wayfinder is the originator of the Cold IPA, an India pale ale made with lager yeast at higher temperatures meant for brewing ales. Wayfinder's former head brewer, who developed the Cold IPA, now helps run nearby lager brewery Heater Allen. On a Reddit thread asking for lager-centric breweries, Wayfinder is another name that comes up multiple times. Wayfinder's 4.9% ABV Hell Lager receives an "outstanding" from BeerAdvocate, where reviewers say it tastes "bready" and "citrusy." You can find the brewery's beers up and down the West Coast.

The beers brewed by the team at Dovetail in Chicago are largely lagers made using old-world techniques, such as decoction mashing and open fermentation, and imported hops and malts. The "Core 4" beers coming out of the brewery are a helles lager, Vienna lager, kölsch, and hefeweizen. The last two break the lager pattern — a hefeweizen is an ale, while a kölsch uses lagering techniques and temperatures with ale yeast. The 4.4% ABV helles brewed here earns an "outstanding" from BeerAdvocate. Light and simple, the beer is highly drinkable.

BeerAdvocate scores Suarez Family Brewing's German-style pilsner as "world-class," where reviewers note its light, floral hop presence, crisp mouthfeel, and bready maltiness. Based out of the Hudson Valley in Livingston, New York, the brewery is a small, family-run business. As such, the beers can be hard to find, especially after the brewery taproom switched to being open only three times a year for two weeks at a time. On Reddit, a person asked if the brewery was "worth the trip." The commenters were unanimous in saying it was worth the drive.

Russian River's Pliny the Younger triple IPA is famous as a beer that's nearly impossible to find, but Velvet Glow, which  BeerAdvocate calls "outstanding," is easier to track down. It's a 4.75% ABV German helles lager, and quaffable, crisp, and refreshing. One Reddit poster wrote that it's "hands down the best American-made lager I've ever had." "Yeah that beer is perfect," agreed a commenter. You can find the brewery's beers in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maine.

No list of American-made lagers is complete without an India pale lager. Jack's Abby Craft Lagers is a brewery in Framingham, Massachusetts, that specializes in lagers, and brewed one of the first IPLs. Hoponius Union uses Citra and Centennial hops to add more citrus and tropical fruit flavors to a typical lager's cracker-and-malt profile. BeerAdvocate gives this 6.5% ABV beer an "outstanding" rating. Jack's Abby distributes its beers through much of the Northeast and occasionally in Oregon.

An American lager with a crisp mouthfeel and 4.8% ABV, Lager for the Lakes is brewed by Bell's in Kalamazoo, Michigan. First opened in 1985, Bell's is a longtime craft beer leader. BeerAdvocate gives the lager a "very good" designation, where a reviewer calls it "Everything a lager should be: crisp clean refreshing. Flavorful but not overpowering." The brewery distributes to all 50 states, so you can find this lager anywhere in the U.S. you happen to be.