If you’re only going to drink one beer style in these early fall days (and nights), make it a lager. The style is so much more than simply that crushable, sweet, slightly malty macro-brew your dad and grandfather drank (although we love a good PBR or Narragansett Lager from time to time). Sure, you can find crisp, easy-drinking lagers and pilsners that quench your thirst any time of the year. But the lager umbrella also includes Vienna-style lagers, bocks, California common beers, doppelbocks, maibocks, marzens, helles lagers, dunkels, and more. Simply put, if you didn’t drink any other beer style besides lagers this fall, you’d have so many brews to try that you wouldn’t even spend a second missing the spiced pumpkin ales that seem to be everywhere this season.
The only problem with deciding to make fall a lager-filled season is picking which beers to try. To help you navigate, we asked some craft brew experts for the best lagers to drink during the fall months. From marzens to schwarzbiers to pilsners, they didn’t disappoint with their choices. Keep scrolling to see all of their selections below.
Austin Beerworks Black Thunder
Eric Warner, head brewer at Karbach Brewing in Houston
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Austin Beerworks brews a beer seasonally called Black Thunder. It’s a beautifully made Schwarzbier. Toasty and roasty, but super clean which makes it a great southern drinker with notes of chocolate, coffee, nutty sweetness, and spicy, bright, floral hops.
It’s a very well-rounded, balanced, bold beer to sip no matter where you live.
Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest
James Bruner, director of production at The Bruery in Placentia, California
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
While Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, California is known for making its iconic Pale Ale and Hazy Little Thing, they are definitely rooted in brewing tradition, and their annual Oktoberfest lager release is one of the best in the industry. From 2015-2020 Sierra would bring in a German brewing partner, pairing with the likes of Mahrs Bräu, Miltenberger, and even Weihenstephan over the years of re-establishing themselves in the traditional lager game. 2021 found them flying solo again, but they definitely learned a trick or two, making one of the most exceptionally clean, yet flavorful Oktoberfest beers in the craft beer world.
Toasted bready malts with just a hint of melanoidin character, a light herbal and floral hop underneath, with clean and crisp lager yeast and a dry finish; it brings me back to the tents in Munich, making it easy for me to crush a liter or two.
Shop Beer Crispy
Zach Fowle, advanced Cicerone and head of marketing at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, Arizona
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Fall in Arizona means it’s still 90-plus degrees, and that calls for a crispy boi. Crispy from The Shop Beer Co. in Tempe is brewed with rice for a lighter-than-water body, but it still sports a bright hop flavor that flashes with every refreshing sip. Drink it cold and it’ll almost seem like it’s time to put on a sweater. Almost.
Weihenstephaner Festbier
Dan Schmelzer, head brewer at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: $12.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Weihenstephaner’s Festbier is a rich, full-bodied hoppy golden lager that is lighter in color and specialty malt character than the average assumption of what type of brew is consumed at Munich’s Oktoberfest. Although it is indeed found in plentiful amounts during the famous celebration. Claiming to be the oldest brewery in the world, you certainly can’t argue with over a thousand years of brewing tradition. The malt provides a cracker-like flavor that is wonderfully accompanied by a kneaded bread dough aroma from the lager yeast and a floral, spicy hop bouquet from the use of European noble hop varietals. Prost.
Oxbow Luppolo Pils
Matthew Steinberg, head brewer and co-founder of Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $15.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Why This Beer?
Oxbow Luppolo Czech Style Pils is the lager I constantly crave. It’s perfectly delicate and delivers everything I want in a dry-hopped Euro Pilsner. Unfiltered and brewed with European malt and hops, this memorable pilsner carries flavors like cereal grains, lemongrass, honey, and sweet corn. The finish is crisp, dry, and perfect any time of year. Especially in the early fall.
Victory Festbier
Morgan O’Sullivan, co-owner of FlyteCo Tower in Denver
ABV: 5.6%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Victory Festbier. The lower ABV makes for a good party beer with hints of honey, hops, and spice, which are all balanced perfectly. Brewed with imported two-row Vienna and Munich malts as well as German whole-flower hops, it’s known for its mix of malt sweetness, and lightly spicy hops.
Rohrbach Highland Lager
Chris Spinelli, co-founder and brewer at Roc Brewing Co in Rochester, New York
ABV: 5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Highland Lager, Rohrbach Brewing Company. This is a local favorite. It has a rich malty body with big notes of caramel, with a nice body and clean crisp finish. It is the perfect lager for a nice fall day. Brewed with a combination of Munich, Vienna, and wheat malts, it’s the type of amber lager you’ll drink all autumn long.
Red Oak Amber Lager
Adam Cranford, lead brewer at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont, Colorado
ABV: 5.7%
Average Price: $17.99 for a twelve-pack
Why This Beer?
Red Oak Brewery’s Bavarian Amber Lager is my fall go-to. This was a year-round treat for me growing up in North Carolina but was always my beer of choice once summer turned into fall. Brewed according to the 1516 Reinheitsgebot, this beer has the rich malty caramel and bready notes of a good marzen while being a crisp and easy drinker and absolutely gorgeous to boot. Unpasteurized, unfiltered, and the perfect beer to enjoy on Saturday game days on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill (or wherever you are).