National Lager Day

After long running badges for International Stout Day and IPA Day, Untappd finally introduced a badge for National Lager Day in 2021. National Lager Day is observed on 10 December every year, so get a lager ready to celebrate and become a Lager Jack!

Fun fact: Lager is the third most popular beverage after water and tea!

The badge was broadened in 2022 to include the wider Lager family: Pilsners, Bocks, California Common, Festbier, Zoigl, Kellerbier, Malt Liquor, Rauchbier, Schwarzbier and even Baltic Porter now count towards National Lager Day.

National Bock Beer Day

Check into any Bock beer between 18 and 21 March to earn the National Bock Beer Day badge. This is an American event, celebrated on the 20 March.

A Bock is a style of strong, malty lager that originated in Germany. Recognised sub-styles on Untappd include Doppelbock, Eisbock, Hell/Maibock/Lentebock, Single/Traditional, Weizenbock and Weizendoppelbock – so hunt one down and join in the celebrations.

Zwickel City

Untappd’s badge for Kellerbier and Zwickelbier. Have 5 to claim level one.

A Kellerbier is a fresh Helles. Being young it has more malt and hop characteristics than your usual Helles. Kellerbiers are unpasteurised and are cloudy due to the yeast used. Zwickelbiers are a variant of Kellerbiers and were originally siphoned from the main batch with a special tool.

The badge was introduced in November 2018.

To The Alt

German for Old Beer, the style of Altbier is associated with the town of Düsseldorf. Track down 5 of them to earn this badge.

A top fermenting lager, it is an old style that is a darker colour than most lagers, with fruitier notes. However it is cleaner and crisper than an ale due to the largering.

There is a friendly rivalry between Altbier drinkers and drinkers of Kölsch, which comes from Düsseldorf’s neighbouring city of Cologne.

Schwarz-buckler

Have 5 Schwarzbier’s to gain the Schwarz-buckler badge.

A style of black lager from Germany, the name literally means black beer in German. As well as Schwarzbier, Lager – Dark and Lager – Euro Dark also count for this badge.

They have similarities with Dunkels, however they are usually darker in colour (more black than brown), as well as containing more roasted malts and having a drier finish.

California Dreamin’

Have 5 California Commons, or Steam beers, to get this badge.

Essentially an ale brewed with lager ingredients, the style came about when German immigrants arrived on the Californian goldfields in the 1800s. Pre-refrigeration, fermenting cool lagers in the hot Californian climate was impossible so the German brewers made the best of what they had.

The style nearly died away in the 20th century until it was revived by Anchor Brewing when they launched a bottled version of Anchor Steam Beer in 1971. Steam beer is now a trademark of Anchor (who is owned by Sapporo) and so California Common is used to describe the style.

In Lighter Times

The badge for India Pale Lagers. Have 5 IPLs for level 1.

Lighter

An IPL is a bit of a hybrid. Hoppy like an IPA but brewed with lager yeast at a cooler temperature, the result is a crisp lager with a big hoppy finish.

A relatively recent creation, consensus still hasn’t emerged on what defines the style. As a result some IPLs can be no more than a slightly hoppy lager while others are the wort of an IPA simply brewed with a different yeast.