Vienna Lager

Tier B · BJCP 7A · Lager, fermented cold

ABV

4.7-5.5%

IBU

18-30

SRM

9-15

Serve

45-50F

Glass

Willibecher

Identify

Light reddish amber to copper, and bright rather than hazy. A large off white head that holds its shape. The smell is toasted malt and very little else. No hop punch, no coffee, no burnt edge. Soft and faintly creamy at the front, then much lighter than the colour led you to expect. A firm but modest bitterness arrives late. The finish is clean and dry, and it does not linger.

Place

Vienna, Austria, 1841. Nearly lost at home, carried to Mexico, revived in the United States

Cause

Vienna malt is barley dried a little hotter than pale pilsner malt and a little cooler than Munich malt. That narrow gap is the entire style. The grain browns enough to taste of toast, and not far enough to taste of bread crust or chocolate. The malt is also named after the city, which tells you how central it is.

Confused with

Marzen, which is a shade darker and about a percent stronger. Munich Dunkel, which is clearly brown and tastes of chocolate. International Amber Lager, which looks identical and tastes thin.

Numbers

A Vienna Lager is an amber lager with the flavour of toast and the weight of an everyday beer. It looks like a beer that will fill you up. It does not. That gap is the whole style. Hold it against a light. You should see red in the amber, and you should see straight through it.

Will you like it, Order and Try

Toast, especially the darker corners of a slice. That flavour is the main event in the glass. The skin on a roast potato, or the browned edge of a grilled onion. Same browning, same chemistry. Water crackers, digestive biscuits, or plain shortbread. Gentle grain flavour without sweetness.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

What does not work: very hot chilli, strong blue cheese, and rich chocolate desserts. All three simply flatten the beer, because there is not much weight here to push back with. Bright reddish amber with a large off white head that holds. Toasted malt on the nose, with nothing burnt and nothing sweet.