American-Style Light Lager

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Location:North American
Category:Lager
BJCP Comparable Category:1A - American Light Lager

Beer Style Description

This is the description of how the American-Style Light Lager style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the American-Style Light Lager beer style.

Corn, rice or other grain or sugar adjuncts are often used. These beers are high in carbonation. Flavor attributes typical of beer are usually very low when present. Calories should not exceed 125 per 12-ounce serving. Low carb beers should have a maximum carbohydrate level of 3.0 gm per 12 oz. (355 ml).

  • Color: Very light to pale
  • Body: Low with dry mouthfeel
  • Malt Flavors & Aromas: Very low
  • Hop Flavors & Aromas: Absent to very low
  • IBUs/Bitterness: Absent to very low
  • Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters are usually absent but may be present at very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present. These beers are characterized by an extremely high degree of attenuation. Final gravity is often less than 1.000 (0.0 ºPlato).
  • Common Ingredients: Two- or six-row barley with high percentage (up to 40%) of rice or corn as adjuncts. Additional enzymes can further lighten the body and lower carbohydrates.
  • Commercial Examples: Bud Light, Coors Light, Keystone Light, Michelob Light, Miller Lite, Old Milwaukee Light

Brewing Properties of American-Style Light Lager

These are the functional brewing properties of American-Style Light Lager beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.

ABV
The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have.
3.5 - 4.4%
Bitterness
The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer.
4 - 10 IBUs
SRM
SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more »
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1.5 - 4 SRM
(2 - 8 EBC)
Original Gravity
Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer.
1.024 - 1.040
Final Gravity
The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete.
0.992 - 1.008

If you see an error in our data, please let us know!

Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.