What is Lager Beer? Popular Types of Lager on the Market

Lager beer currently dominates the global beer market, accounting for over 90% of total consumption. The reason for this dominance lies in its refreshing, clean, easy to drink flavor and, most importantly, its quality stability. For international importers and supermarket chains, this stability is a key factor, making lager the ideal product for large scale production and long distance shipping.

This article will provide a detailed answer to what lager beer is, explore popular commercial lager styles, clarify the industrial production process, and outline the international export standards that A&B Vietnam applies to deliver high quality products to 70 countries.

What Is Lager Beer?

Lager beer is a type of beer produced using the bottom fermenting method with the specific yeast strain Saccharomyces pastorianus. This process requires strict temperature control techniques. The primary fermentation occurs at low temperatures, typically ranging from 7 to 13°C.

Most importantly, after fermentation, lager must undergo a cold conditioning period known as lagering (from the German word lagern, meaning to store). This process lasts from 4 to 8 weeks at temperatures near 0°C.

This cold lagering phase allows the yeast to settle completely, cleans up volatile compounds (like esters and phenols), and stabilizes the flavor. The result is a beer with a characteristically clear, clean, crisp, refreshing, and highly stable profile, ideal for export.

Comparing lager and ale

To understand the commercial value of lager beer, importers need to clearly distinguish it from the other major beer category, ale. The fundamental differences lie in the yeast and temperature, which lead to significant variations in flavor and target markets.

With its stable profile, refreshing taste, and suitability for large scale production, lager is the product that dominates the global mass market. However, lager is not a monolithic product; it is a diverse category. For importers, understanding the key commercial lager styles will help you pinpoint the right strategic products to meet the specific demands of your target customer segments.

Popular Commercial Lager Beer Styles

The lager beer market is very diverse. With our R&D capabilities and modern factory systems, A&B Vietnam can research, provide OEM services, and mass produce all lager styles that are in high demand on the international market.

Pale Lager

This is the most popular beer style in the world, characterized by its signature pale straw color and a light, clean, and refreshing taste.

• Alcohol by volume (ABV) 4% to 6% (Can be adjusted per OEM requirements).
• Flavor balanced, light, easy to drink, clean finish.
• Color pale bright straw.

This is a core product, accounting for the majority of A&B Vietnam’s OEM and large volume export orders. The refreshing nature of Pale Lager is ideally suited for hot climates, such as those in Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

Pilsner

Pilsner is a premium lager style originally from the Czech Republic. This style is notable for its bright golden color, clarity, and the characteristic aroma of noble hops (often Saaz).

• Alcohol by volume (ABV) 4.4% to 5.5%.
• Flavor (IBU) distinct but balanced bitterness, aromatic hop fragrance.
• Segment Premium.

Pilsner serves a consumer segment that demands a more refined taste. Our R&D capabilities allow us to develop OEM Pilsner recipes using specific hop varieties as requested by our import partners.

Dark Lager

This style uses roasted malts to create a reddish brown or dark brown color. Unlike other dark beers (like Stout or Porter), Dark Lager retains the smooth, clean finish of a lager and is not overly heavy.

• Alcohol by volume (ABV) 4% to 6%.
• Flavor roasted malt, caramel, light chocolate.
• Bitterness Low.

This is an excellent choice for importers looking to diversify their portfolios. Dark Lager is particularly appealing in temperate or cold climates, where consumers seek slightly more complex flavors.

Bock And Doppelbock

These are strong, full bodied lagers originating from Germany, typically amber or dark brown in color. Both are distinguished by a very rich and robust malt flavor.

• Alcohol by volume (ABV) high, Bock (6.3% to 7.5% ABV) and Doppelbock (7.0% to 10% ABV).
• Flavor very malt forward, sometimes with a light sweetness.
• Segment premium, specialty.

These styles are suitable for niche markets, premium segments, or as seasonal products, all of which A&B Vietnam can produce for OEM batch orders.

Non Alcoholic Lager

This is one of the fastest growing segments in the global beverage market, meeting the health and wellness trend. For importers, this is no longer a niche but an essential requirement. This style opens up access to a vast customer base, including those abstaining for health reasons, drivers, and especially the entire Islamic market.

With A&B Vietnam’s R&D capabilities, we produce non alcoholic lager beer that retains the full refreshing taste of traditional lager.

• Alcohol by volume (ABV) 0% to a maximum of 0.5%
• Flavor retains the characteristic lager taste but without the alcohol
• Mandatory certification HALAL

This product is mandatory when approaching Islamic markets (like the Middle East) or retail channels focused on non alcoholic consumers. A&B Vietnam’s ability to produce HALAL certified non alcoholic beer is a significant competitive advantage for importers.

The Export Lager Beer Production Process

Understanding the production process helps importers correctly assess a supplier’s capabilities. At A&B Vietnam, lager quality is guaranteed through a strict 6 step process, operating on a large scale production line at our 40,000m² factory.

• Mashing: Malt and grains are milled and mixed with hot water. Natural enzymes in the malt convert starches into sugars (wort).
• Lautering: The wort (sugar liquid) is separated from the grain solids (spent grain).
• Boiling: The wort is boiled with hops. This process sterilizes the wort, concentrates it, and most importantly, extracts bitterness and aroma from the hops.
• Fermentation: The wort is rapidly chilled to 7 to 13°C and the Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast is added. The bottom fermentation process occurs slowly, converting sugars into alcohol and CO2.
• Lagering: This is the defining step of a lager. The young beer is transferred to conditioning tanks and cold stored (near 0°C) for several weeks. This stabilizes the flavor, settles the yeast, and creates its characteristic clarity.
• Filtration and packaging: The finished beer is filtered, carbonated, and fed into an automated packaging line (cans, bottles, or kegs) ready for export.

Frequently asked questions

Why Import Lager Beer From A&B Vietnam?

Choosing an (OEM/ODM) producer on the international market is based on more than just the product. For importers and supermarket chains, the deciding factors are reliability, standards compliance, and operational capacity. A&B Vietnam, with extensive export experience since 1990, is the strategic partner that meets these demanding requirements.

• Strict global standards compliance: We understand the technical barriers of each market. A&B Vietnam’s factory holds all mandatory international certifications, including ISO 22000 & HACCP, FDA (US market), and HALAL. This ensures your customs clearance process is always smooth.
• Flexible R&D and OEM/ODM capabilities: We do not just offer existing beer brands. A&B Vietnam’s expert R&D team is ready to co develop private label lager beer formulas based on a partner’s requirements for alcohol by volume (ABV), bitterness (IBU), color, and specific flavor profiles.
• Proven Stable Supply and Logistics: With a large scale brewery and experience managing 1,500+ containers per month, we guarantee a stable supply of lager (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and ale beer for large volume orders. A&B Vietnam has deep expertise in complex customs and logistics procedures, ensuring beer quality is maintained during long-distance shipping.
• Versatile B2B packaging solutions: We offer professional packaging solutions for all types of beer in Vietnam suitable for all your distribution channels, including cans (in popular volumes like 250ml – 330ml – 500ml).

A&B Vietnam is always seeking strategic distributors, importers, and supermarket chain partners worldwide. Contact us today to receive detailed consultation on OEM solutions, a price quote for lager beer, and information on our market development support policies.

A&B Vietnam

Related articles:

• What is craft beer? Exploring the Export Potential of Handcrafted Beer
• What is Bock beer? Popular Bock beer styles.
• What is Dunkel beer? Origins and characteristics of Dunkel beer.
• What is Pilsner beer? Popular Pilsner beer styles.
• What is Helles beer? Popular Helles beer styles.