In a world of hoppy, juicy, hazy IPAs, mouth-puckering sour beers, and bold, robust, oaky, bourbon barrel-aged stouts… sometimes you want a respite. And by that, we mean a simple, no-frills, easy-drinking pale lager. It’s the kind of beer you can crack open, put your feet up, and just relax with while you binge-watch the streaming show du jour. (Succession, obvs.)
When we’re talking about pale lagers, we have to specifically mention European pale lagers. This simple, refreshing lager style is known for its use of Pilsner malt and liberal use of noble hops. Like American pale lagers, some European varieties rely on the addition of adjuncts like corn or rice. Regardless, the result is a light, crisp lager well-suited for any occasion. It’s just as suitable as an accompaniment to your spring grilling or as an end-of-the-workday sipper.
Now that we have a better idea about what exactly a European pale lager is, it’s time to rank some of the most popular. Below, we’ve listed eight of the most well-known European pale lagers that are readily available in the US. We ranked them based on flavor and crushability. Keep scrolling to see where your favorite beer landed.
8) Heineken Lager
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $8 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Brewed the same way since 1873, Heineken is one of the most recognizable beer brands in the world. This crisp, simple beer is brewed with only malted barley, hop extract, and water. But it gets its beloved flavor from the addition of the brand’s Heineken A-Yeast®.
Tasting Notes:
The nose has the unmistakable skunky aroma you either hate or love. There’s also a fruity quality and light sweet corn. There’s more slightly skunk on the palate as well as apple, light citrus, cereal grains, and floral, lightly bitter hops. Overall, fairly watery and muted.
Bottom Line:
Heineken lager is easy to crush. It’s light and fairly watery and goes down easy. Nothing too exciting with this one. It does its job.
7) Harp Lager
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Sometimes only imbibed on St. Patrick’s Day as a break from Guinness and Irish whiskey, Harp Lager deserves to be enjoyed more than one day per year. This simple, clean lager is brewed with water, malted barley, unmalted barley, and hops. It’s known for its citrus, sweet malts, and lightly bitter hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all cereal grains, honey, citrus peels, and floral hops. Fairly muted, it’s still inviting. The palate continues this trend. Albeit kind of watery, this beer does have notable flavors like cracker-like malts, lemon zest, honey, and more floral, earthy, lightly bitter hops. Refreshing, easy to drink, but nothing to write home about.
Bottom Line:
This is yet another easy-to-drink, overall no-frills European pale lager. There’s nothing overly exciting about this beer, but also nothing bad either.
6) Peroni Nastro Azzurro
ABV: 5.1%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This authentic Italian pale lager is brewed with soft water, high-quality barley, bitter and aromatic hops, and Nostrano Dell’isola maize from the Lombardi region. It’s well-known for its crisp, elegant flavor profile featuring citrus, sweet cereal grains, and bitter hops.
Tasting Notes:
The smell is classic grassy, floral hops, cereal grains, corn, and light skunk. Drinking it reveals green apples, lemon peel, honey, sweet corn, cereal grains, more light skunk, and floral, earthy, lightly bitter hops. Overall, a flavorful yet muted beer.
Bottom Line:
Like many of the beers on this list, Peroni is crisp, light, and very easy to drink. It’s more flavorful than some of the lower-ranked beers on this list, but it’s still fairly light.
5) Grolsch Premium Lager
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With its origins in the 1600s, to say Grolsch is a classic European pale lager is an extreme understatement. Brewed with European pale and specialty malts as well as Emerald and Magnum hops sourced from Germany’s Hallertau region, it’s known for its crisp, easy-drinking flavor.
Tasting Notes:
This beer carries aromas of grassy, floral hops, light citrus, honey, and cereal grains. Simple, yet inviting. On the palate, you’ll find notes of cereal grains, sweet malts, light citrus, honey, and grassy, herbal, earthy, lightly bitter hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
Featuring floral Noble hops, this traditional European pale lager is crisp, refreshing, and surprisingly well-balanced.
4) Carlsberg Beer
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This 5% ABV Danish European pale lager is brewed with pilsner malts and a blend of select hops. It’s known for its balance, complexity, and hop aroma and flavor. It’s an easy-drinking beer with substance that you’ll come back to often.
Tasting Notes:
The nose begins with a bit of funky skunk that’s followed by cereal grains, honey, citrus peels, and floral, lightly piney hops. There’s more of the same on the palate and that’s a good thing. Light skunk, pilsner malts, honey, orange peel, and floral, bitter hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This beer is simple in flavor and aroma, but that’s not a bad thing. The sweet malts and floral, earthy hops work in unison to make a crushable beer.
3) Birra Moretti
ABV: 4.6%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Another thirst-quenching Italian beer, Birra Moretti has been brewed nearly the same way since its inception way back in 1859. This easy-drinking European pale lager is made with simple ingredients like water, malted barley, maize, and select hops.
Tasting Notes:
This beer has a really herbal, earthy aroma with yeasty bread, citrus, and floral hops making an appearance. Drinking it brings forth notes of bready malts, yeast, citrus peels, honey, and floral, piney hops. The finish is dry, crisp, and highly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Simple ingredients don’t guarantee a simple beer. It’s clean, crisp, surprisingly balanced, and complex.
2) Stella Artois
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
The Beer:
When it comes to European pale lagers, there are few more popular than Stella Artois. The kind of beer that seems to be available at every bar whether it’s a fine-dining establishment or a dive bar, Stella Artois is a well-balanced, floral, lightly bitter beer perfect for any occasion.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with noble, grassy, earthy hops as well as cereal grains, lemongrass, and sweet malts. The palate continues this trend with light skunk followed by yeasty bread, cereal grains, citrus, and more grassy, floral, subtly bitter hops. The finish is a nice mix of hop bitterness and malt sweetness.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Stella Artois is so wildly popular and it isn’t all advertising. While it’s not going to blow your mind, it has a great balance of malt and hops that will leave you craving more.
1) Kronenbourg 1664
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Named for the year in which the Hatt family founded this French brewery, Kronenbourg 1664 is known for its lightly bitter, floral, highly drinkable flavor mostly due to the addition of the highly coveted Strisselspalt hops.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of cereal grains, honey, lemon peels, crisp apples, and floral, earthy, Noble hops are prevalent on the nose. The palate features sweet malts, cereal grains, lemon, honey, and more floral, grassy hops. The finish is a nice balance of hops, citrus, and cereal grains.
Bottom Line:
You’d have a hard time finding a more complex, balanced European pale lager than Kronenbourg 1664. If you only seek out one beer on this list, make it this one.
