What causes/contributes to that lager-y "bite"?

[beowulf]

I'm sure there's a reason for it but I don't know what it is. Most lagers that I've tried have the same bite...just sort of a dryness I guess toward the finish. Everything from BMC up to SN's Beer Camp California Common....they all have it. Any lager experts out there care to hazard a guess? I think it's one of the reasons I don't care for lagers that much. The Beer Camp brew is pretty good though, for a lager.

Oh, and bocks and doppelbocks are exempt from my "I don't care much for lagers" statement.

 

[ghpeel]

Its the lager yeast. Those strains make the beer "crisp" (best word I can thing of to describe it). And its what makes lagers tasty, for those of us that like them. I made a Pilsner a few months back, and it was one of the only homebrews I ever made that I could pour a liter stein of and find myself chugging it if I wasn't careful.

 

[pjj2ba]

I'd say it is the lighter body combined with a higher level of carbonation. Try pouring a lager and then let it sit in the fridge for 1-15 minuted before drinking. Much of the bite will be gone.

 

[fuhmon]

i got to pickup the SN Beer Camp sampler last night. I really liked that CalCommon and the weizenbock was fantastic. I was tempted to drink one for breakfast before work today....

aside from fridging it you could double pour it to see if its a carbonation bite.

 

[steinsato]

I bought the sampler pack for the Black Juniper Ale, It was a little disappointing. The juniper didn't fight through the black malts enough for my tastes. The double IPA was ok...the Cal Common and the Weizenbock were both pretty tasty. This sampler pack certainly beats the Sam Adams longshot pack. I didn't really like any of the beers in that thing.