If you’d asked me to sample a lager brewed in Britain ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been fussed. Such was the reputation of lager production in the country.

It wasn’t just the big international brands brewed here under licence that turned me off. Even attempts by small brewers to produce a pilsner clone were mostly uninspiring.

What you got was a beer made from lager malt and hops such as Saaz or Hersbrucker but then top fermented and cask conditioned. The resultant beer may have been perfectly drinkable but it was not a proper lager.

Things have changed, however. Many British breweries now have the right facilities to produce a true bottom-fermented beer.

They have also invested in the equipment that allows cold conditioning over a long period – the real defining point of the world’s best lager beers.

Consequently, there are now numerous high quality, true lager beers on sale in the UK, from WEST’s St Mungo to Cotswold Lager, not forgetting various excellent contributions from breweries such as Thornbridge, Meantime and Camden Town.

However, I think the best lager I have ever tasted from a British brewery arrived on my desk last year. It came from Windsor & Eton Brewery and, because of the reputation the company’s other beers enjoy, I was very much looking forward to sampling it.

Czech Influence

The beer was created in conjunction with a Czech brewer introduced to the team by a mutual friend. They flew him into the UK, re-cultured the yeast he brought with him, and set about perfecting the lager process.

The lager malt used was Czech and so were the Saaz hops. After a two-week primary fermentation the beer was cold conditioned for no fewer than six weeks, to ensure a cleanness and crispness that is the hallmark of an authentic lager.

Very sensibly, the lads also packaged the beer in brown bottles. Certain Czech lager producers, take note. Why produce such a refined, delicate drink and then allow light to ravage it through green or clear glass?

The beer – now in regular production – pours temptingly bright and golden, the lively carbonation lifting a clean aroma of sweet pale malt, lightly herbal hops and more than a hint of lemon and lime to the nose.

I like the boldness and crispness of the taste. There’s a smooth, honeyed, slightly caramel-like malt backdrop providing sweetness, then quite a punch from the juicy, lemon-lime and herbal notes of the hops.

It doesn’t end there, either. The lasting, satisfying finish dries quickly and rapidly becomes hoppy and tangy, with lots of bitter herb notes and a little lingering citrus. It’s a brilliant drop of beer.

Even in the current fecund climate of quality lager production in Britain, Windsor & Eton’s Republika really does takes some beating.