The crisp evening air of late summer and early fall is very inviting for darker, heavier beers. Especially the classic Vienna-style lager. This reddish brown, fall seasonal beer is like Austria’s equivalent of the popular Bavarian beer style Märzen (the style of many Oktoberfest beers).
Vienna lagers, named for the famous Austrian city, can trace their genesis back to the early 1800s. Generally speaking, they’re known for their sweet, malty aroma and caramel malt sweetness paired with toasted malt flavors and very little hop bitterness. While they’re made less often in Austria, the brews are widely produced in the US and Mexico.
We’re all about helping you try something different than the usual Oktoberfest-style and pumpkin beers this fall. That’s why we decided to help you out by asking a handful of well-known craft beer experts and brewers to tell us their picks for the best Vienna Lagers to drink this season. Keep scrolling to see all of their malty, sweet, warming choices.
Chuckanut Vienna Lager
John Legnard, brewmaster at Blue Moon Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
From a small but awesome brewery in the Pacific Northwest, Chuckanut’s Vienna Lager is awesome. They have won several GABF (Great American Beer Festival) medals for this beer. Vienna’s that are done well are copper colored, medium in body with a toasty, malty character, balanced with a subtle hop presence.
Holy City Vienna Lager
James Bruner, director of production at The Bruery in Placentia, California
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
The first Vienna lager I ever had still sticks with me as the best one, maybe because of the time and place when I drank it, but I still think it is one of the best examples of the style I have ever had. Holy City in Charleston, South Carolina makes one they just call ‘Vienna Lager], and I still dream of it. A slightly higher ABV comes from a nice malty base, lending flavors of toasted nuts, caramel, and slight vanilla, over a slightly spicy and herbal back end coming from the Vanguard hops, clean and crisp on the finish.
It was perfect in the low country warmth of late summer when I had it originally, so I can only imagine it would go well in any climate.
La Tropical La Original
Jeremy Marshall, brewmaster at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $9.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Why This Beer?
There is a new-ish brewery in Miami’s uber-hip Wynwood arts district called Cerveceria La Tropical that was originally a Cuban brewery with a rich history. As many hopefully know, a lot of the Americas’ and the Caribbean’s lager brewing history was founded by German, Austrian, and Central European immigrants bringing their traditions and techniques with them. La Tropical has a beer called La Original which they say is an amber lager but it is really a Vienna lager. It is bold, malty, silky smooth, slightly hoppy but in a spicy and noble way—not hoppy like an IPA and leaves very little after-taste.
It could send any beer with ‘Negra’ on it beneath the table in terms of flavor and balance.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Jeremy Flounder Lees of Flounder Brewing Company in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Always Sam Adams Boston Lager, just the right balance of clean and crisp with the right amount of bready/biscuity touch in the darker malt, it’s a beer I’ve drank for decades and still enjoy a fresh pour of from time to time. While not listed as a Vienna lager, it fits all the flavor and ingredient requirements to be listed as one.
Negra Modelo
Fal Allen, Brewmaster at Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, California
ABV: 5.4%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Not a lot of folks today make a Vienna Lager. So for the best widely available Vienna lager, I would again go to Mexico. Mexico spent a few years under the domain of the Austro-German Emperor Maximilian, he expressed his love for beer and opened several breweries there. In the late 1800s, many Germans immigrated to Mexico and some of them brought with them the skills and knowledge to brew great German-style beers. Because of these two things the brewing traditions carried on there and today, you will find Viennese-style beer reflected in one of Mexico’s most popular brands, Negra Modelo.
This beer when you find it fresh is a delight. Not overdone, crisp and light, but still malty with a nice roast flavor.
Devils Backbone Vienna Lager
Eric Warner, brewmaster at Karbach Brewing in Houston
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $12.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Devils Backbone Vienna Lager is a truly great representation of the style. Complex malt notes with the perfect kiss of hops lead to a really clean finish. It also makes a perfect companion when tending to the grill on a late summer or early fall night.
Von Trapp Vienna Lager
Kelsey Roth, general manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Von Trapp Brewing has been putting out solid lagers for some time now. And their Vienna is right up there with one of my favorites. Biscuity, bready, with a hint of sweet caramel, and that classic grassy German hop character combine for the perfect beer to enjoy while soaking in those final backyard barbecue days.
Dovetail Vienna Lager
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 5.1%
Average Price: $11.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Why This Beer?
I’m an absolutely huge fan of Vienna-style lagers and it’s a fairly simple beer for brewers to make. That also makes it difficult for a brewer to make something extra exceptional. Alas, Dovetail Brewery does it with their year-round Vienna, showcasing 100% Bamberger Vienna malt and 100% Syrian golding hops. This brew leans closer to the caramel malt, bready sweetness side of the spectrum rather than the water cracker or light spice side of the style. It’s a really inviting beer that can hold up to being paired with food or consumed on its own. Dovetail knows what they’re doing, too. They go through the more laborious mashing process of decoction mashing this beer – and they do it twice – before lagering it in horizontal tanks for five weeks.
This is an unrushed, expertly brewed beer.
Writer’s Pick:
pFriem Vienna Lager
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $3.50 for a 500ml bottle
Why This Beer?
Oregon’s pFriem is one of those breweries that makes nothing but amazing beer. Its Vienna-style lager is no different. Brewed with Gambrinus Pilsner, Weyermann Vienna, Caramunich, Carafoam, and Acidulated malts as well as Perle, Tettnang, and Spalt Select hops, this copper-hued Vienna lager is well-balanced with flavors of toasted malts, buttery caramel, and a gentle, nutty sweetness.
Writer’s Pick:
Great Lakes Eliot Ness
ABV: 6.1%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
This year-round offering from Great Lakes is listed as an amber ale, but it’s a Vienna-style lager through and through. Brewed with 2-row, Munich, Cara 45, and Caramel 30 malts as well as Mt. Hood hops, it’s known for its complex flavor profile featuring toasted malts, toffee, dried fruits, and gently spicy hops at the finish.
