Beer Style Guide: Get to Know Vienna Lager with Em Sauter
The Vienna Lager is a style on the rise thanks to the popularity of lagers. This elegant amber lager is a great anytime beer in all four seasons that demands more respect.
Vienna Lager’s origins trace it to Austria in the 1840s when Anton Dreher, an Austrian brewer with his own brewery, started using a new pale modified toasty malt style we now know as Vienna malt. This malt could be used to make 100% of the beer and created a deeply satisfying deep golden/light amber-colored beer.
The beer became popular in Austria until golden lagers and more mass-produced beers supplanted it in its home country. Going to Vienna to look for a Vienna Lager now will yield limited results. If you are looking for where Vienna Lagers thrive, it’s in Mexico in the late 1800’s many European immigrants came to Mexico and brought their brewing traditions with them. Many modern dark Mexican beers that would have been called Vienna Lagers back in the day now fall into the International Amber or International Dark Lager categories, see earlier columns about these styles.
For lovers of Marzen, you’re in luck as Vienna lager is the “non-fest” strength (over 5.8% ABV) equivalent that is brewed year-round so you don’t have to wait for autumn. Vienna lager has similar flavors to a Marzen like bread crust, herbal/floral hoppiness, and a pleasing grain malt taste.
Food Pairing
Because of its popularity in Mexico, Mexican foods are an ideal pairing for Vienna Lager. Spicy foods like tacos or enchiladas are tempered by this amber lager and help you set your palate for another bite.
Beers to Try
The most famous Austrian family in America, the Von Trapps, (the real life family from the musical/movie “The Sound of Music”) have a brewery adjacent to their resort in Stowe,VT and their flagship beer is a Vienna Lager obviously. This toasty brew is excellent all year round and is one to seek out if you enjoy this style.
The original Samuel Adams beer is kind of its own style but essentially it’s a Vienna Lager. Easy to procure, easy to drink, Boston Lager has been delighting beer fans since its inception in the 1980s.
Hood River, OR-based pFriem brews some of the best lagers in the country hence their Vienna Lager is a must-try. Worth a visit, their tasting room abuts the Columbia River where you can watch daredevil kite surfers while you sip your beers.