Top 10 Vienna Lagers Brewed in America
This Top Ten List of Vienna Lagers is from the results of the U.S. Open Beer Championship, Great American Beer Festival, and World Beer Cup. The best Vienna lagers are copper to reddish brown. Vienna lagers are characterized by malty aroma, which should have a notable degree of toasted and/or slightly roasted malt character. Hop aroma is very low to low, deriving from noble-type hops. They are also characterized by slight malt sweetness, which should have notable toasted and/or slightly roasted malt character. Hop flavor is very low to low, deriving from noble-type hops. Hop bitterness is low to medium-low, clean and crisp. ABV: 4.80% – 5.40%. IBU: 22 – 28
1. Firebrick – August Schell Brewing – Minnesota
2. Eliot Ness – Great Lakes Brewing – Ohio
3. Gustav – Taft’s Ale House – Ohio
4. Vienna Style Lager – Sierra Nevada Brewing – California
5. 914 Vienna Lager – Yonkers Brewing – New York
6. Vienna Lager – Lost Forty Brewing – Arkansas
7. Dynamo Copper Lager – Metropolitan Brewing – Illinois
8. Dock Time – Stony Creek Brewery – Connecticut
9. Von Trapp Vienna Lager – Von Trapp Brewing – Vermont
10. Vienna Lager – Devils Backbone Brewing – Vermont
History of Vienna Lagers
The Vienna lager, a smooth, amber-hued beer with a malty backbone, emerged in the early 19th century in Vienna, Austria, pioneered by brewer Anton Dreher. In 1841, Dreher introduced a new lager style at his brewery in Schwechat, just outside Vienna, blending the crispness of emerging lager techniques with a distinctive malt profile. Inspired by Bavarian lagers and advancements in malting technology, he used a unique “Vienna malt,” kilned to a reddish-amber color, which imparted a toasty, slightly sweet flavor balanced by subtle hop bitterness. This innovation coincided with the development of bottom-fermenting yeasts, allowing for clearer, more refined beers. Vienna lagers quickly gained popularity across the Austro-Hungarian Empire, becoming a staple in beer halls for their drinkability and elegant simplicity.
By the late 19th century, Vienna lagers spread beyond Austria, influencing brewing traditions in Mexico, where Austrian immigrants, including Emperor Maximilian I, introduced the style during the 1860s. Breweries like Dos Equis and Negra Modelo adapted the recipe, incorporating local ingredients and warmer fermentation conditions, which gave Mexican Vienna lagers a slightly darker, fruitier character. However, the style waned in Europe due to the rise of paler Pilsners and the disruptions of World War I and II, nearly disappearing in its homeland. In recent decades, craft brewers in the United States and Europe have revived the Vienna lager, celebrating its rich maltiness and historical significance, with modern examples like Devils Backbone Vienna Lager reintroducing its balanced charm to global audiences.
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