Dry Lager

What is Dry Lager?

Dry lager is a beer with a very low sugar content, where residual sugars are either totally absent or exist in very low quantities. This is achieved through the use of specific yeast strains or by extending the fermentation process, ensuring that all sugars ferment into alcohol.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that dry beers are stronger than regular lagers as this method is typically employed to achieve a specific taste rather than an increased alcohol content.

Dry lagers are generally light-bodied and refreshing with virtually no lingering aftertaste.

Dry beer can be made using any beer style as its base, although lager is most commonly used.

Origin Story

Dry beer is a relatively new phenomenon in the beer world. Although the term "dry beer" wasn’t used back then, the first similar beer was brewed by Joseph Owades in 1976 at Rheingold Brewery in Brooklyn. Owades developed an enzyme capable of further breaking down starch, resulting in a product with fewer carbohydrates.

The style gained wider recognition with the release of Asahi Super Dry in Japan in 1987. Marketed as a completely new type of beer, it became a sensation in Japan, prompting other Japanese breweries to quickly introduce their own versions of dry beer.

It didn’t take long for dry beer to reach the international stage, with several well-known brands, such as Corona and Budweiser, releasing their own versions. However, dry beer didn’t achieve the same dizzying success in other countries as it did in Japan.

Today, dry beer can be found worldwide, and although it may not receive as much attention as it did 20 years ago, the style continues to evolve and gain popularity, especially in the craft beer sector. It is especially popular in Australia.