you caught me off guard but I'm still kind of amazed

also, our beer of the week: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock is a lager, too. Granted, you won't see any pilsners, oktoberfests etc in the top 50, but these usually aren't 'big' beers, so they likely won't get the high scores

True that, alot of lager styles are very difficult to brew, because the flaws show through so easily. The subtleties are not quite as pronounced (as bigger beers), and may be tough to pick up sometimes. Some of my favorites, widely available lagers are Pilsner Urquell, Czechvar... which are both spectactular on draft. But the place to look for good lagers are your local brewpubs. These are some of my favored brewpub lager brewers: Victory (world class lager brewer in many styles), Dogfish Head (Prescription Pils), Ottos, Sly Fox, Clipper City (Imperial Pils), Sierra Nevada (Oktoberfest), and McNeills. Another style I wanted to mention was Kolsch. Now, I am not 100% sure, but I think uses an ale yeast. Drinking these really remind me of lager, because they are so light, yet the nuances that can arise in a great one (McNeill's Kolsch) can be pretty damn tasty. So, go out there and taste some lagers!

I'm not sure I understand. When I drink a perfect bottle of Czeckvar, I think it is a big beer. I drank an awesome Polish beer called Okocim and couldn't believe it wasn't higher rated. I love good ale but damn, I GUZZLE good pils and lagers. I must be an anomaly in the beer enthusiast community.

ill take a malt liqour myself

Say what you will, but Pilsner Urquell is still one damn fine beer, as is Salvator and Celebrator. They all deserve more credit, yo.

As much as I have heard that Czeckvar is supposed to be one of the better lagers out there, it just seemed very plain to me. Perhaps something turned me off of lagers entirely, because I have yet to find one to truely appreciate.

quote: Originally posted by foghorn65 I couldn't find one bottom fermented beer in the top 137 beers rated here. Is it me, or does that seem a bit odd? The highest rated lager in the world of BeerPal is Sam Adams Black??? You gotta be kidding me! No Czech or German or American or Danish or plenty of other lager or pils brewers cant make the top 137...137?! I just had to rant.

"Big Beers" is a term thrown around a lot that just means a beer big on flavor. While pilsners like Czechvar are flavorful, they are more about the subtleties than an in your face aggression like an imperial stout, I2PA, or barleywine. Big beers are usually higher rated by beer drinkers and so called experts, simply because they are usually more complex. That said, I agree that some really great lagers are often over looked. As John pointed out though, there are a small handful before Sammy's Black Lager, which, BTW, is a fantastic schwarzbier. Along with the two John mentioned, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock, Heavyweight Perkuno's Hammer, and Kulmbacher Eisbock are all lagers that fall before the tasty SA Black Lager. Some of my favorite beers are lagers though. In fact, although it's not displayed in my profile, my favorites are listed: Favorite Style(s) Baltic Porter, Schwarzbier, D-bock, Impy Stouts Favorite Beer(s) Mönchshof Schwarzbier, Troutbrook Liberator, Newport Storm '03 All of the above are lagers, except the imperial stouts. My nominee for most under rated lager (a PALE lager at that) has to be Brookyn Lager. Anyone had this stuff recently? No? GET IT! The Brooklyn Pilsner just got a face lift too, pretty good if you ask me. In response to E: yes, Kolsch is an ale yeast. Good stuff for homebrewers though, it produces lager-like beers without having to temp control it. IIRC, I think this yeast eats similar sugars as lagers, giving it that thinner, lighter body not typically associated with ales.

Being basically an ale man myself (I live in the wrong country, I know!) there are still lagers, even pale ones, that I truly enjoy. This New Zealand baby is one to look out for: http://www.beerpal.com/Emersons-Organic-Pilsner-Beer/2286/ And of course the Czech Republic has a lot to offer, e.g. this one: http://www.beerpal.com/Svijansky-Rytir-Beer/13597/ Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar) is not my favourite, though - much over-rated due to the fact that it is, after all, much better than American "Budweiser". The dark delights of bottom fermented Baltic porters and Doppelbocks should not be missed by anyone!

Just to emphasize your point, Bob's is the #1 "lager" (the general, catch-all category) on Beerpal, and it is the #163 beer overall. http://www.beerpal.com/Boulevard-Bobs-47-Style-Munich-Lager-Beer/1465/