What Style Of Beer Is Coors Banquet?

When it comes to the biggest names in beer, few are as well known as Coors. For more than 150 years, the company has been a Colorado institution, growing to worldwide fame in the late-20th century with a reputation for ultra-refreshing beer. One of the brewery's most iconic creations harkens back to the earliest days of Coors. Known as Banquet beer, it's a perfect example of the beer style commonly known as the golden lager.

This typically light, refreshing brew traces its roots to Germany and Czechia, where it's popularly made in styles such as helles and the more familiar pils or pilsner. As might be expected, the name is a nod to the typical gold color of the beer.

Where a lager truly distinguishes itself is the yeast used to ferment it and the conditions this process occurs under. Lager yeasts are better suited to lower temperatures in the range of 42 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a significant difference from ales, which use yeast that thrives between 60 and 75 degrees. As a result, the finished lager has fewer flavor compounds that develop during warmer fermentation, a phenomenon that leads to the refreshing reputation many lagers enjoy.

This golden lager differs slightly from other popular mass-produced beers of similar class. For example, Budweiser is an American-style lager, which are less bitter and have more mild flavor than European-derived alternative like Banquet beer. The same is true for Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite (which calls itself an "American pilsner"), Pabst Blue Ribbon, and many more. This is similar to the more familiar Coors Light, which is referred to generally as a light lager. 

Although golden and American lagers aren't a particularly rare or unique style of beer among American macrobrews, there are a few factors that set apart the Coors Banquet. Famously, the brewery uses water that flows from the nearby Rocky Mountains for brewing and has relied on Moravian barley for nearly 90 years. The grain (named for a region of Czechia where it hails from) is known worldwide as one of the best for brewing.

No matter what you call it, it's clear that Coors Banquet is popular, earning second place in our survey of Americans' favorite cheap beers. Still, those who appreciate this historic choice should keep the style in mind when looking for other options that bring that same mix of refreshment and flavor.