All beers are essentially lagers or ales. The term lager comes from the German word, "lagern," which means to store away (cellar). Lagers are brewed using bottom fermenting yeasts at cool temperatures (50-55F) then stored ("lagered") at a temperature near 35F. The lager yeasts produce less byproducts than ale yeasts and normally result in a more simple and crisp flavor. The lower temperatures require longer fermentation periods and these beers are then lagered for weeks before maturing. Most lagers can be subclassified into one of the many lager categories on Beerpal.com. However, hard to place or classify lagers can be found in the generic "lager" category.
