The 4 distinctly different German bottom fermented styles (lagers) are the following:
Pale lagers; Pilsner, Dortmunder export, and Municher helles;
Amber lagers; Oktoberfest/Marzen, and Vienna lager;
Dark lagers; Munich Dunkel, and Schwarzbier
Bocks; Traditional bock, Helles bock/Maibock, Doppelbock, and Eisbock

The pale lagers all use Pilsener malt as the base malt (and perhaps the only malt in the entire grain bill) and therefore are made using a decoction mash. The Maillard reactions from boiling samples of mash induce a deeper gold colour in the beer than one would see in the American styles of pale lager. The way to differentiate German Pils, Dortmunder Export, and Municher Helles, is the malt/hop balance. The Pilsner, of course, has a hop dominant aroma and flavor. Unlike its Bohemian cousin, the German Pils uses the flowery noble German hops rather than the spicy Saaz (pronounced “zots”) hop. Classic examples of this style are Bitburger, Kulmbacher Moenchshof Pils, Jever Pils, Holsten Pils, and Paulaner Premium Lager. Dortmunder export has an even balance between noble German or Czech hops and pilsner malt. These trademark of these beers is that neither hop nor malt stands out in aroma or flavor. This beer is evenly balanced right down to the lingering after-taste. Examples of Dortmunder Export are DAB Export, Dortmunder Union Export, Kronen Export,and Saratoga Lager. Unlike the first two lagers, Municher Helles focuses on the pilsner malt aroma and flavor. There is just enough hop flavor to balance out the malt sweetness. Hacker Pschorr Munich Edelhell and Spaten Premium Lager are classic examples of this style.

The amber lagers include the Oktoberfest and the Vienna lager. The Oktoberfest is a style of lager first brewed in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Theresa. The wedding party went down in history as one of the greatest shakers in German history – it lasted sixteen days – and so it has become a yearly tradition to keep the party alive. The reason the brewers invented a new style for this wedding was because the royals set the most difficult wedding date possible for brewing, September 15. In those days there were no refrigerators, and the brewing of lager beers required cold storage. Therefore, no good beer could be brewed between March and October. In fact, the law forbade summer brewing, so the brewers had to brew the beer in March (sometimes it is called ‘Marzen’ after the month it’s brewed). This beer had to withstand storage from the end of March to September 15, therefore they had to make it high in alcohol. The Oktoberfest and the Vienna Lager were both invented around the same time by Anton Dreher and are made with a balance that favors a toasty Vienna malt aroma and flavor. However, the Vienna lager is more subdued. The Oktoberfest also favors the toasty Vienna malt aroma and flavor over the German hops, but it is more intense than the Vienna and slightly higher in alcohol. Commercial examples of Oktoberfest are Spaten Ur-Maerzen, Ayinger Oktoberfest-Maerzen, Paulaner Oktoberfest, Wuerzburger Oktoberfest, Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, and our local Alley Kat Ein Prosit. Examples of Vienna lagers include Negra Modelo, Portland Lager, 150 Jahre, Augsburger Red, Leinenkugel Red, and Alley Kat’s Buffalo beer.

The dark lagers are both made using Munich and Pilsner malts, are dark in colour, and have a balance that strongly smells and tastes of malt. The Munich Dunkel is an intense Munich malt experience with a wonderful full body and creamy head. The Schwarzbier (black beer) looks like a stout, but is extremely clean in flavor with no esters or diacetyl. Roasted malts and Munich malt dominate the aroma and flavor. Commercial examples of Munich Dunkel are Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel, Hacker-Pschorr Alt Munich Dark, Paulaner Alt Muenchner Dunkel, Tabernash Munich Dark, and Weeping Radish Dunkel. Some Schwarzbiers are Kulmbacher Moenchschof Kloster Schwarz-Bier, and Ur-Koestritzer Schwarzbier.

The bocks include the styles Traditional, Hellesbock/Maibock, Doppelbock, and Eisbock. These lagers are known for their higher than average alcohol content (6.0 – 7.5% for ordinary bocks). The traditional bock is amber to brown in colour with a strong sensation of Munich and Vienna malts. Commercial examples include Aass Bock, Hacker-Pschorr Dunkeler Bock, Dunkel Ritter Bock, and Einbecker Ur-Bock. Helles is the German word for pale, and therefore the Hellesbock, as the name suggests, is, golden amber in colour, with a rich pale malt flavor just balanced by continental German hops. Commercial examples are Ayinger Maibock, Spaten Premium Bock, Pschorr Maerzenbock, Wuerzburger Maibock, Hacker-Pschorr Maibock, Augustiner Hellerbock, Fieders Bock Im Stein, and Forschungs St. Jacobus Bock. The word "doppel" means double and thus the Doppelbock has about double the strength of an ordinary bock, 7.5 – 12.0 % abv. A big beer like this is bound to have some plum-like esters in its aroma and flavor, but a well made doppelbock is clean, smoot, and warming. It is a difficult beer to produce indeed. These beers are dark in colour due to the Maillard reactions during decoction mashing and posess some roasty and toasted malt flavor. Commercial examples are Paulaner Salvator, Ayinger Celebrator, Spaten Optimator, Tucher Bajuvator, Augustiner Maximator, EKU Kulminator "28", Loewenbraeu Triumphator, Hacker-Pschorr Animator, and Old Dominion Dominator. The bock with the highest alcohol content is the Eisbock (ice bock) which is produced by freezing the water in the beer and removing the alcohol rich liquid. The resulting alcohol content is 8.6-14.4% abv. This beer is technically illegal for home- brewers to make because it falls under the same type of beverage as distilled spirits, due to the separation of alcohol from water. The freezing also creates a smoothness not evident in other higher alcohol beers. A commercial example is Niagara Eisbock.