Homebrew competition: Lager October 2025

Wait? Another lager competition? Yes, another lager competition!

We define lagers as all beers that are traditionally brewed with bottom-fermented yeasts. This competition is one of our restricted style competitions which means that you only choose a style that is described by the BJCP guidelines. The challenge is to try to brew a beer that complies to all these characteristics. One more thing: since it’s a lager competition you will be required to use a bottom-fermenting yeast for fermentation.

Luckily there are loads of different styles of lagers to choose from. You can choose from a large range of beers to brew (listed below). This is the deal: you choose under which category your beer will be entered. People judging the beer will judge it against the style guide style. If you manage to make an excellent Czech pilsner with a bottom-fermenting yeast at 28C under pressure – more power to you.

List with all BJCP styles and the link to the style guidelines:

• Pale lager
  • 1A. American Light Lager (style guidelines)
  • 1B. American Lager (style guidelines)
  • 2A. International Pale Lager (style guidelines)
  • 3A. Czech Pale Lager (style guidelines)
  • 4A. Munich Helles (style guidelines)
  • 4B. Festbier (style guidelines)
  • 5A. German Leichtbier (style guidelines)
  • 5C. Helles Exportbier (style guidelines)
    
• Pilsner
  • 3B. Czech Premium Pale Lager (style guidelines)
  • 5D. German Pils (style guidelines)
  • Historical Beer: Pre-Prohibition Lager (style guidelines)

• Amber lager
  • 2B. International Amber Lager (style guidelines)
  • 3C. Czech Amber Lager (style guidelines)
  • 6A. Märzen (style guidelines)
  • 6B. Rauchbier (style guidelines)
  • 7A. Vienna Lager (style guidelines)
  • 19B. California Common (style guidelines)
  • 27. Historical Beer: Kellerbier (style guidelines)

• Dark lager
  
  • 2C. International Dark Lager (style guidelines)
  • 3D. Czech Dark Lager (style guidelines)
  • 8A. Munich Dunkel (style guidelines)
  • 8B. Schwarzbier (style guidelines)

• Bock
  • 4C. Helles Bock (style guidelines)
  • 6C. Dunkles Bock (style guidelines)
  • 9A. Doppelbock (style guidelines)
  • 9B. Eisbock (style guidelines)

• Porter
  • 9C. Baltic Porter (style guidelines)
    
    
• Regional Styles
  • X5. New Zealand Pilsner (style guidelines)

A litte guidance for those wanting to participate: if you want a bright and crispy lager you should brew a bit earlier than you normally would. A large part of the look and crispness comes from the process of lagering (keeping the beer at low temperatures for an extended time). Take this into account when planning your entry.

Also, even though temperature control and some water treatment are a good idea when brewing a lager – we have also seen great results with some shortcuts. Yeasts like W34/70 or NovaLager get great results at room temperatures. Don’t let anything stop you brewing a great lager – you will be judged by the final product and not by your process.

Our FOEBAR competition rules apply and can be found here.

Need to help getting started? Want to get nerdy with water profiles? have questions? or just want to show off your progress? Join our WhatsApp group!