Lager statistics are easiest to use when the numbers are treated as style ranges rather than commercial averages. The BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines specify ranges for bitterness, color, gravity, and alcohol across recognized lager categories. These specifications help home brewers compare targets before choosing a recipe or adjusting a batch.
Contents
- How to read these lager statistics
- Pale American and International Lager
- Czech Lager style ranges
- Pale malty European Lager
- Amber and smoked Lager
- Dark European Lager
- Strong European Lager
How to read these lager statistics
Every figure below comes from a 2021 BJCP guideline range. The figures are normative style specifications, not measured averages of all commercial lagers, and they are not forecasts. The geography in a style name describes the style category, not a claim about every beer brewed in that place.
IBU means International Bitterness Units. SRM means Standard Reference Method color. OG is original gravity, measured before fermentation, while FG is final gravity, measured after fermentation. Gravity values are specific-gravity readings. ABV means alcohol by volume. Because each style has a lower and upper boundary, the ranges are more useful for setting a target window than for predicting the result of a particular recipe.
The compact comparison below shows the full span for each style. The source labels link to the corresponding BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines.
| Lager style | IBU | SRM | OG | FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Lager | 8–18 | 2–3.5 | 1.040–1.050 | 1.004–1.010 | 4.2%–5.3% |
| International Pale Lager | 18–25 | 2–6 | 1.042–1.050 | 1.008–1.012 | 4.5%–6.0% |
| Czech Premium Pale Lager | 30–45 | 3–6 | 1.044–1.060 | 1.013–1.017 | 4.2%–5.8% |
| Munich Helles | 16–22 | 2–5 | 1.044–1.048 | 1.006–1.012 | 4.7%–5.4% |
| Märzen | 18–24 | 8–17 | 1.054–1.060 | 1.010–1.014 | 5.8%–6.3% |
| Munich Dunkel | 18–28 | 17–28 | 1.048–1.056 | 1.010–1.016 | 4.5%–5.6% |
| Doppelbock | 16–26 | 6–25 | 1.072–1.112 | 1.016–1.024 | 7.0%–10.0% |
Pale American and International Lager
American Lager occupies the lightest end of this set by several measures. The BJCP American Lager guideline gives a 2021 range of 8–18 IBU and 2–3.5 SRM. Its OG is 1.040–1.050, its FG is 1.004–1.010, and its alcohol range is 4.2%–5.3% ABV. Together, those specifications describe a pale, relatively low-bitterness target with a broad enough gravity window for more than one recipe approach.
International Pale Lager is slightly higher in bitterness and allows more color. The BJCP International Pale Lager guideline sets 18–25 IBU and 2–6 SRM for the 2021 style range. OG is 1.042–1.050, FG is 1.008–1.012, and ABV is 4.5%–6.0%.
The two pale categories overlap in several places, but their specified windows are not identical. International Pale Lager begins at 18 IBU, the top of the American Lager bitterness range, and its upper color limit is 6 SRM rather than 3.5 SRM. Its OG lower bound is 1.042 compared with 1.040 for American Lager, while its FG range begins at 1.008 rather than 1.004. For a home brewer, these are useful target distinctions when a beer is intended to remain very pale and highly attenuated versus somewhat fuller within the guideline.
Czech Lager style ranges
Czech Premium Pale Lager has the highest bitterness range among the pale styles listed here. According to the BJCP Czech Premium Pale Lager guideline, its 2021 specifications are 30–45 IBU, 3–6 SRM, OG 1.044–1.060, FG 1.013–1.017, and 4.2%–5.8% ABV.
Czech Amber Lager shifts the color window substantially darker while retaining the same gravity ranges. The BJCP Czech Amber Lager guideline specifies 20–35 IBU and 10–16 SRM. Its OG is 1.044–1.060, FG is 1.013–1.017, and ABV is 4.4%–5.8%.
| Czech style | IBU | SRM | OG | FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Premium Pale Lager | 30–45 | 3–6 | 1.044–1.060 | 1.013–1.017 | 4.2%–5.8% |
| Czech Amber Lager | 20–35 | 10–16 | 1.044–1.060 | 1.013–1.017 | 4.4%–5.8% |
The shared OG and FG windows make these two Czech categories a particularly clear comparison of how style statistics can separate color and bitterness from gravity. Czech Premium Pale Lager has a higher IBU window and a much lighter SRM window. Czech Amber Lager has a lower bitterness ceiling but a color range that starts 7 SRM higher. The ABV ranges overlap broadly, with Czech Amber Lager beginning at 4.4% and Czech Premium Pale Lager at 4.2%.
Pale malty European Lager
Munich Helles is specified at 16–22 IBU and 2–5 SRM in the BJCP Munich Helles guideline. Its OG range is 1.044–1.048, its FG range is 1.006–1.012, and its ABV range is 4.7%–5.4%.
Festbier has a wider OG range and a slightly higher color window. The BJCP Festbier guideline gives 18–25 IBU and 4–6 SRM, with OG 1.044–1.056, FG 1.008–1.012, and ABV 4.8%–5.3%.
These two pale malty European styles overlap at 18–22 IBU and at 4–5 SRM. Their OG windows share the 1.044 lower boundary, but Festbier extends to 1.056 while Munich Helles ends at 1.048. Their FG ranges overlap from 1.008–1.012. The ABV windows also overlap, although Munich Helles reaches 5.4% and Festbier begins at 4.8%.
Amber and smoked Lager
Märzen is darker and stronger than the pale styles above. The BJCP Märzen guideline specifies 18–24 IBU, 8–17 SRM, OG 1.054–1.060, FG 1.010–1.014, and 5.8%–6.3% ABV.
Rauchbier has a lower OG ceiling but a clear smoked-lager identity within the category. The BJCP Rauchbier guideline gives 20–30 IBU and 6–14 SRM. Its OG is 1.050–1.057, FG is 1.012–1.016, and ABV is 4.8%–6.0%.
The bitterness windows overlap from 20–24 IBU, and the color windows overlap from 8–14 SRM. Märzen has the higher OG floor at 1.054 versus Rauchbier at 1.050, while Rauchbier allows a higher bitterness ceiling of 30 IBU. The Märzen ABV range is higher at both ends: 5.8%–6.3% compared with Rauchbier’s 4.8%–6.0%.
Dark European Lager
Munich Dunkel has a bitterness range of 18–28 IBU and a color range of 17–28 SRM. The BJCP Munich Dunkel guideline specifies OG 1.048–1.056, FG 1.010–1.016, and ABV 4.5%–5.6%.
Schwarzbier reaches the same lower color boundary but extends darker. According to the BJCP Schwarzbier guideline, the 2021 ranges are 20–30 IBU and 17–30 SRM. OG is 1.046–1.052, FG is 1.010–1.016, and ABV is 4.4%–5.4%.
| Dark style | IBU | SRM | OG | FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Dunkel | 18–28 | 17–28 | 1.048–1.056 | 1.010–1.016 | 4.5%–5.6% |
| Schwarzbier | 20–30 | 17–30 | 1.046–1.052 | 1.010–1.016 | 4.4%–5.4% |
Munich Dunkel and Schwarzbier share the FG window exactly at 1.010–1.016 and share the SRM lower boundary of 17. Schwarzbier permits 2 more IBU at the top and 2 more SRM at the top. Munich Dunkel reaches a higher OG ceiling and a higher ABV ceiling, while Schwarzbier begins slightly lower in both OG and ABV.
Strong European Lager
Doppelbock is the strongest and widest-ranging style in this set by original gravity and alcohol. The BJCP Doppelbock guideline specifies 16–26 IBU, 6–25 SRM, OG 1.072–1.112, FG 1.016–1.024, and 7.0%–10.0% ABV.
Its gravity window is notably higher than every other style listed here: the OG range begins at 1.072, while the next-highest OG lower boundary in the comparison is Märzen at 1.054. Doppelbock’s FG range also begins at 1.016, above the upper FG boundaries for American Lager, International Pale Lager, Munich Helles, Festbier, Märzen, and Rauchbier. The color window is broad enough to include pale amber through very dark examples, and the 16–26 IBU range shows that higher alcohol does not require the highest bitterness specification.
For recipe planning, these numbers define a strong-lager target in which OG, FG, and ABV are the dominant separators. A brewer comparing Doppelbock with Munich Dunkel can see the contrast directly: Munich Dunkel is 1.048–1.056 OG and 4.5%–5.6% ABV, whereas Doppelbock is 1.072–1.112 OG and 7.0%–10.0% ABV. The two styles overlap in color, but their gravity and alcohol windows do not.