Schlafly Introduces New White Lager
19 Nov 2015 --- St. Louis — Schlafly Beer, the largest independent and locally owned craft brewery in Missouri, announces the release of White Lager, available now through March 2016. The German-style beer offers an unfiltered twist on traditional lagers. The style dates back to the Middle Ages with a noticeably hazy, golden hue, hint of orange zest, and silky finish.
With 25 IBUs and a strong malt backbone of Europils and wheat, White Lager presents the drinker a smooth and zesty full-flavored beer that clocks in at 5.5% ABV, a welcome departure from the higher-alcohol winter warmers inundating the market this time of year. As another distinguishing characteristic, lagers are usually bright and clear with a clean maltiness and slight hoppiness, yet the Schlafly White Lager takes the focus away from those qualities by retaining its yeast. The result is the perfectly unclear, but clearly balanced beer.
Schlafly created the approachable White Lager to bolster its Lager Loop series, which also includes the popular Summer Lager and an additional upcoming release in Fall 2016.
“Coming off of our Summer Lager, we wanted to make a winter beer alternative for people who are looking for something a little easier to drink than the stouts, porters, and higher ABV beers that you typically see this time of year,” Schlafly Ambassador Brewer Stephen Hale says. “The White Lager has a higher malt bill and is unfiltered, but it’s noticeably fresh with a slight tartness and sweetness.”
Schlafly developed the White Lager as part of their Small Brews program, a weekly experimental brewing day at the Bottleworks location on the brewery’s 12-gallon system. After prototyping the recipe and playing around with the hop profile, the Schlafly brewers decided on adding a mild citrus component in the form of orange peel. White Lager debuted at Hop in the City, the annual fall beer festival at the Tap Room location. Of the 40 styles of Schlafly Beer showcased at the event, White Lager was the first to run out, cuing the company into the beer’s potential in the wider marketplace.
White Lager can be purchased in growlers at the Growler Bar at the Bottleworks location or in six-packs ($8.99 suggested retail) across the brewery’s distribution region. The beer can also be enjoyed on draft at the Schlafly Tap Room or Bottleworks brewery-restaurants as well as select on-premise locations.
