Lite American Lager

This blog is going to be a start of a series of blogs throughout time breaking down the beers in the 2008 Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Guidelines. What I hope to do with this series is to help educate my readers as well as myself on the styles of beer. So I am starting with "1A" Lite American Lager.

Aroma: Little or no malt aroma, may be grainy or even have corn aroma.  Hops little or none, if present spicy or floral.  Any yeast character is optional if present.  Certainly no diacetyl.

Appearance: From almost clear yellow to a pale yellow.  White head does not persist.  Crystal clear, absolutely no haze!

Flavor: Crisp and dry with barely perceptible grain or corn.  Hop is low to non-existent.  High carbonation provides some acidity.  No diacetyl or fruitiness.

Mouthfeel:  Very light body from use of adjuncts.  Highly carbonated causing an acidic bite.

Comments:  This is the lightest of the lawnmower beers.  It is made to be thirst quenching and to not really have any flavors.  Looking to please the vast majority of the public.  Has up to 40% corn or rice adjuncts added to the base malt of either 2 or 6 row malt.  This is meant to be a session beer, so you can have several at a setting.

Numbers: IBUs (bitterness) 8-12, SRM (color) 2-3, OG (potential ) 1.028-1.040, FG (finished) 0.998- 1.008,  ABV(alcohol by volume) 2.8-4.2%.

Examples:  Bitburger Light, Sam Adams Light, Miller Light, Bud Light, Coors Light, Amstel Light.

Needless to say this is a beer that is very close to water due to the way it is brewed.  At the mega brewers the actual water the beer down to achieve their desired beer.  It is difficult to brew a beer this light.  The adjuncts are added for two reasons first make the beer less expensive to make and second to make it more palatable to the largest amount of people.  Not a favorite of mine but it does sell well in the United States, where Bud Light is the largest selling beer.

QC Beerguy