When we describe lagers, it’s difficult not to overuse the term “crisp” because it’s such a defining adjective when it comes to a well-made beer. It’s equally fun to refer to a beer as crispy as it is to refer to one as a “crispy boy” or some other crisp-adjacent slang. And it’s not fake either, when we crack open a lager, we are hoping for a refreshing, flavorful beer with a nice crisp, dry finish. The kind of easy-drinking beer you can just as easily imbibe in the middle of a sweaty summer heat wave to cool you off or as a refreshing respite on a frigid winter night.
Many beers are seasonal but the lager is for… whenever. With spring slowing easing its way in, we decided to take eight of the crispiest, easy-to-find, American lagers and rank them for you. Keep scrolling to see them all.
8) Anchor Crisp Pilsner
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
When you name your beer “Crisp Pilsner,” you’re telling the world exactly what they’re going to get when they crack one open. This German-style pilsner is known for its clean, crispy, slightly hoppy flavor profile. It’s definitely a no-frills, easy-drinking beer.
Tasting Notes:
Basic cracker-like malts, lemon zest, grassy, and herbal hops are the main aromas detected on the nose. The palate is all caramel malts, sweet corn, and citrus. The finish is lightly hoppy, but not very dry. Overall, this is just an okay pilsner — solid but not life-changing.
Bottom Line:
There’s nothing bad about Anchor’s take on a crisp beer style. It’s just fairly basic and unexciting.
7) Narragansett Lager
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $7 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
If this beer was good enough to be “crushed by Quint” in Jaws then it’s definitely good enough for us. Known just as much for its easy-drinking, highly-refreshing flavor as it is for its low price, Narragansett Lager is the kind of beer we always like to have around.
Tasting Notes:
The nose has a ton of sweet cereal grains, corn, honey, and citrus peels. It actually smells kind of generic and mass-produced. The taste follows. It’s slightly sweet with cereal grains, a kind of corny flavor, more citrus peels, and light hops. It’s not the greatest beer ever made, but it hits the spot and it’s very cheap.
Bottom Line:
For the price, it’s difficult to beat this lager. Compared to some of the others on the list and it just doesn’t stand up quite as well.
6) Altstadt Lager
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you randomly happen upon a six-pack of Altstadt Lager in a store, you might assume it’s a beer imported from German. While it certainly has that appearance (and taste), this traditional Munich-style helles lager was actually brewed in Texas using Bavarian hops and German-grown malted barley. It even has yeast from the oldest brewery in the world, Germany’s Weihenstephaner.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find bready malts, honey, cereal grains, and light lemon peel. Drinking it reveals notes of more cereal grains, light citrus, and honey. There’s little to no bitterness from the hops. It’s a refreshing beer, but a little muted in the flavor department.
Bottom Line:
Another beer that has everything crispy beer fans love. It just leans a little too much into the refreshing, easy-drinking realm and out of the complex, flavorful zone.
5) Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Based on the refreshing lagers of Germany and the Czech Republic, Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils is brewed with Pilsner and honey malts and gets its floral, hoppy aroma and flavor from the addition of Saaz and Aramis hops. At 4.7%, it’s a surprisingly crushable pilsner.
Tasting Notes:
The first aromas you’ll notice are those of cereal grains, sweet corn, honey, citrus peel, and light Noble hops. While the palate is slightly less exciting, it does have a great combination of biscuit-like malts, light fruit, spices, and floral, lightly bitter Noble hops. The finish is dry and memorable.
Bottom Line:
Another beer that loses points because its nose is much more potent than its palate, Mama’s Little Yella Pilsner is still the kind of beer you’ll keep in your fridge all year long.
4) Creature Comforts Classic City Lager
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Creature Comforts doesn’t pull any proverbial punches when it comes to their lager. It’s called Classic City Lager and that’s exactly what it is. This 4.2%, highly sessionable lager is available any time of the year and is known for its no-frills, clean, very crisp flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Classic lager aromas of cracker-like malts, cereal grains, lemongrass, and herbal, earthy, floral hops greet you on the nose. The palate continues this trend with bready malts, cereal grains, honey, citrus, grassy, herbal, floral, and lightly bitter hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
Classic City Lager is just that: classic. It has everything lager fans crave. It’s a little thinner than we’d prefer, but that’s to be expected due to its low ABV.
3) Howdy Beer Western Pilsner
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $8.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Howdy Beer is a classic, crisp, refreshing lager from the folks at Colorado’s Stem Ciders. It’s a throwback in a can, not only in flavor but on the classic, cowboy-centric label as well. Referred to by the brewery as a “Western Pilsner”, it’s a 4.5% ABV thirst quencher you’ll want to drink all year long.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is pilsner malts, cereal grains, citrus peels, and floral hops. It’s light, but it draws you in for more. Sipping it reveals notes of wet grass, tangerines, lemongrass, cracker malts, and more herbal, floral, lightly bitter hops. It’s definitely a unique pilsner and a refreshing one as well.
Bottom Line:
Howdy Beer is a great thirst-quencher. Its only downfall is that it’s a little too hoppy for some fans of lighter, more crushable lagers.
2) Sixpoint The Crisp
ABV: 5.4%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Another beer that literally has the word “crisp” in its name, Sixpoint set out to make one of the crispiest pilsners possible and they did just that. Brewed with German Tettnang and Hallertau hops as well as Cargill Pilsner malt, it’s known for its very crisp, crushable, complex flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of grass, bready malts, citrus peels, apples, honey, and floral, Noble hops are prevalent on the nose. Take a sip and you’ll find flavors of Granny Smith apples, caramel, freshly baked bread, and more floral hops. The finish is dry, but not at all bitter.
Bottom Line:
This beer is equal parts light and crushable and equal parts complex and flavorful. It’s a great example of crisp American lagers done right.
1) Highland Pilsner
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’ve never tried Highland Pilsner out of Asheville, now is a great time to do so. Brewed with Pilsner malts as well as Perle, Saphir, Hallertau Blanc, and Hersbrucker hops, this German-inspired pilsner is snappy, crisp, and highly refreshing.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’ll be greeted with a nose of freshly baked bread, lemon peels, pilsner malts, and floral, earthy Noble hops. It’s a very inviting nose. The palate continues this trend with notes of bready malts, caramel, orange zest, light spices, and floral hops. The finish is dry and crisp and leaves you craving more.
Bottom Line:
If you’re only going to drink one snappy, crisp lager on this list, make it Highland Pilsner. It’s complex, dry, and perfect for the first signs of spring.
