Agreed Ron, but in the UK at least, Lager has become associated with a very specific grouping of binge drinkers (rightly or wrongly referred to as lager louts) who are currently occupying a disproportionate amount of police time and resources, in controlling their behaviour after closing time in pubs and clubs.

As I have said, I don't subscribe to the idea that "Lager" per se is inferior, but what tends to be served under the name Lager in this country (with a few very notable exceptions) is.

When you add to this the public perception of the group I have described above, it isn't too surprising that it gets a rather bad press.

Some years ago (more years than I care to admit) I took a walking holiday in Austria, and at that time virtually every farm made its own Hofbrau (House brew). You could, when thirsty, knock at the door and buy a two litre bottle of lager for a few Schillings, which invariably was purest nectar. In the Bierkellers you could buy dark beers as good as the finest ales ever made in England.

The problem seems to be that these beers were never exported to the UK, so the vast majority of people here are unaware of the difference.

Don T.