8 best European lagers that have made their way across the Channel

Celebrating its 530th anniversary this year, Stiegl Brauerei pours centuries of experience into its beers. The classic Stiegl goldbräu, for instance, is brewed with water from the Untersberg region, hops from upper Austria and barley from lower Austria, with the resulting beer brought to the UK. The result is a glorious Austrian Märzen that’s delicious and full-bodied with unrivalled balance. With a crown of soft foam, Stiegl’s goldbräu has ripe fruit and sweet malt aromas with just a whisper of honey, while malts dominate the palate with a bready savour, light hoppiness and faint bitterness which lingers on the eminently refreshing finish.

Typically cloudier than classic lagers, Schremser keller pils is a perfect example of a superlative kellerbier. With the yeast unfiltered and remaining in the bottle to provide the cloudiness essential for a beer to be classed as a kellerbier, Schremser keller pils is full-bodied with pronounced maltiness. With its heritage dating back to the 15th century, the family-owned brewery in Schrems, Austria, uses modern technology to produce its beers, with all ingredients locally sourced. An all-natural process is also used. For the Schremser keller pils, aroma hops are joined with light pilsner malts, which are gently mashed and fermented, producing a highly-carbonated beer with honey, floral and floral hops notes alongside some spiciness and a lightly dry finish. Outstanding.

Brewed in Munich, according to the German Purity Law, Augustiner lagerbier hell is an exemplary helles lager. A German pale lager style typically brewed in the south of Germany, helles (or hell) takes its name from the German terms for “bright” or “pale” in English. In addition to being full-bodied, helles lagers are traditionally light in colour, slightly sweet and with low bitterness.

Still enjoyed from wooden barrels at Oktoberfest, Augustiner lagerbier hell is extremely popular, and for good reason. A long secondary fermentation provides a crispy, smooth taste and a light hoppy finish, joining bold aromas of German hops, plus bready notes and light sweetness perfectly balanced with some dry bitterness on the finish.

A family-owned brewery, Brauerei Hirter has been operating for over 750 years. Brewed according to ancient Bohemian recipes, Hirter privat pils uses soft mountain spring water from the Hanslbauer spring directly opposite the brewery. The beer has a mild carbonic acid structure to ensure optimum flavour and is highly fermented, which results in a naturally slender taste, with the beer carrying some sweet bread notes, light floral hop savours, sweet honey and semi-dry bitterness on the finish. In addition to being an exceptional pilsner, Hirter privat pils is also GMO-free, non-pasteurised and entirely natural.

Since 1455, the Andechs monastery brewery has been combining Benedictine brewing tradition with up-to-date technology. While the traditional brewing processes used do take longer than conventional methods, the beers produced define the brewery’s quality philosophy, with only select raw materials used throughout the elaborate brewing process. Brewed with a traditional multiple mashing process, Andechser hell has plenty of lasting foam alongside a soft malty aroma with hints of floral hops. On the palate, Andechser hell is clean and fresh with mild sweetness, balanced by soft hop bitterness on the round finish.

Located in the medieval town of Kutná Hora in the central Czech Republic, Kutná Hora brewery began brewing during the 15th century, quickly becoming renowned for its excellent beers. In more recent years, the brewery was bought by Heineken, but soon closed, causing much frustration among beer drinkers and the local community.

Fortunately, a local entrepreneur decided to revive the brewery and restore it to its pre-Heineken glory, with the brewery now in high demand. The Kutná hora 12 is even considered one of the best pilsner type real Bohemian lagers on the market, with its full-bodied flavour and bitterness that’s slightly higher than typical, with pronounced richness and fine balance between bitterness and inviting honeyed sweetness, complete with hoppy grassiness on the finish.

An independent, family-run brewery with a deep respect for nature, Krombacher has been producing its beers exclusively in the small town of Krombach, central Germany, since 1803. To make the company’s beer, which adheres to the German Beer Purity Law of 1516, Krombacher employs 55 master brewers who combine time-consuming traditional methods with state-of-the-art technology. The finest two-row summer barley is combined with Siegel hops from Hallertau and the brewery’s own specially cultivated Krombacher pilsner superioris yeast used in one brew only. Local Felsquellwasser water is also sourced from within three kilometres of the brewery. Fruity hop aromas give way to a balanced malt backbone, complete with a crisp, clean finish with a light bitterness that lingers.

A family-run brewery in the Flanders region of Belgium, Haacht has been brewing since 1898. Now available in the UK, Haacht’s signature beer, primus pilsner, is still brewed to the exact same recipe as the original created in 1924, maintaining its original taste and authenticity. With a golden complexion, Haacht primus pilsner has grassy hop and lager yeast aromas, with a characteristic pilsner bready flavour and mild hop bitterness rounded by a pleasant sweet note. On the finish, the beer is dry, lightly bitter and thirst-quenching.