North American Origin Lager Styles
Lager · Dark copper to dark brown with ruby or garnet highlights
Medium to medium-high complex bready, toasty malt aroma and sweetness from addition of darker specialty malts; light caramel, toast, nutty, and/or toffee flavors may be present.
Reading guide · The complete guideline attributes below preserve the source’s qualifications.16–30
Dark copper to dark brown with ruby or garnet highlights · Illustrative colors on the shared, uneven SRM scale.
Explore styles overlapping this color range4.5–5.8%
Reference scale, not a limit on official guideline values.
12–28
Measured bitterness; perceived bitterness is described in the guideline below.
Brewers Association 2026 · Printed guideline page 44 · PDF page 53. Color graphics are illustrative.
Official style attributes, including what may be present and what should be absent.
Medium to medium-high complex bready, toasty malt aroma and sweetness from addition of darker specialty malts; light caramel, toast, nutty, and/or toffee flavors may be present. Low aromas and flavors from corn and/or rice may be present.
None to low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Very low to low
Medium to medium-high with dry finish
Appearance should be clear with creamy beige to light brown foam. Chill haze should not be present
Dark copper to dark brown with ruby or garnet highlights
Clean fermentation profile; low fruity esters may be present; sulfur may be present at very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present.
Grain bill may contain Munich and/or Vienna type base malts. May also contain corn and/or rice. Small amounts of toasted and crystal and/or dextrin malts may be added for color and slight sweetness.
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.048-1.053 (11.9-13.1 °Plato) • Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.009-1.012 (2.3-3.1 °Plato) • Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.6% (4.5%-5.8%) • Hop Bitterness (IBU) 12-28 • Color SRM (EBC) 16-30 (31-59 EBC)