machin05
MURDERS BADGERS. PTG Dogsbody and Spreadsheet Mast
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With my tin hat on given my lack of German knowledge, I always thought that the noun lager was a British invention of the 1960s (only suited to maiden aunts), lager being the verb to store. Light colour German low temperature bottom fermented beers (that is it takes ~3 months and therfore stored) were called Pilsner after the Pilsen, Czech Republic model (been there!). Alt is generally a darker version. I'm sure that German beer is far more diverse than my brief general summary.
The irony is that to lager a beer takes longer than the usual fermentation process for ales, but it became so popular because brewers could make brew it quickly and cheaply using modern techniques (carbonation instead of secondary fermentation).
That verse didn't make it into the Alanis Morrisette song.