Ohio Brewery News

Lager Is Life

Maybe it’s a little bit of wishcasting when brewing industry trend predictors say that “this is the year craft lagers take off.” After all, many craft brewers notoriously adore simple, reliable, refreshing lagers as their drink of choice, even when hop forward IPAs and high octane stouts are oftentimes paying the bills.

Even with an affinity for lager styles and skill in crafting a superior quality product, breaking Big Beer’s stronghold in the category is an uphill battle, if only for its pure economy of scale. Internationally-owned brewing conglomerates can produce as much liquid in a single batch as some small independents produce in a month or even a year.

But craft brewers aren’t the kind of people who back down from a challenge. More and more craft lagers are hitting the market, ranging in styles from the pale yellow American light lager to European-inspired dark lagers. Cleveland’s Noble Beast Brewing is one of a number of Ohio craft breweries that have made ambitious moves into the lager market, offering several distinct beers to suit a variety of tastes.

One of Noble Beast’s earliest lager creations is also among it’s most prestigious: Murder Ballads, a Baltic porter traditionally fermented with lager yeast, won medals at the Great American Beer Festival competition in 2019 and 2020. Union Pils, a crisp, Czech-inspired pale lager, has been a staple of the brewery’s tap list for several years. Earlier this year, Noble Beast debuted a Vienna lager made with a floor-malted Bohemian barley malt, the first North American brewery to use it.

The newest entrant to the brewery’s lager line is Into the Void, a Munich-style dunkel lager brewed with a double decocted mash that amplifies the toasty and rich character of the malt. This dark lager spent more than two months in its maturation tank to enhance the beer’s body, head retention and finish.

All four of these lagers are currently available in cans from Noble Beast’s brewery taproom in downtown Cleveland while supplies last. For more details on these and future lager releases, follow the brewery on social media: instagram.com/noble_beast_brewing