Comparison
India pale lager vs Pre-Prohibition lager
What is the difference between India pale lager and Pre-Prohibition lager?
The short answer
The main difference is citrus: India pale lager has far more of it than Pre-Prohibition lager. India pale lager also leads on resin & pine and bitterness; Pre-Prohibition lager on hop spice.
Generated from the two style records. No editor has written this comparison up, so it carries no verdict beyond what the data supports.
Where they overlap
They share comparable sweetness, body, malt intensity, overlapping strength ranges, the same style family — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| India pale lager | Pre-Prohibition lager | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Pale lager | Pale lager |
| Fermentation | Bottom-fermented (lager) | Bottom-fermented (lager) |
| Origin | United States | United States |
| Category status — One of these is a more settled category than the other, which is worth knowing before treating the comparison as exact. | Commercial category | Historical |
| Strength | 4.8–7% ABV | 4.5–6% ABV |
| Bitterness (IBU) — IBU measures iso-alpha acids in the lab. It does not track perceived bitterness, which residual sweetness, body and roast all alter — compare the sensory rows below for how each actually tastes. | 40–70 IBU | 25–40 IBU |
| Colour — These are the same depth in the glass; colour is not what tells them apart. | Straw to gold — 3–8 SRM, 6–16 EBC | Gold — 3–6 SRM, 6–12 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.048–1.065 | 1.044–1.060 |
| Final gravity | 1.008–1.014 | 1.010–1.015 |
| Serving temperature | 5–8°C | 5–8°C |
| Carbonation | 2–3 vol CO₂ | 2–3 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Pilsner glass | Pilsner glass |
| Clarity | brilliant | brilliant |
How they taste different
| Character | India pale lager | Pre-Prohibition lager |
|---|---|---|
| Citrus | Moderate–High | Not characteristic |
| Resin & pine | Low–Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Bitterness | High | Moderate |
| Hop spice | Not characteristic | Low |
| Hop aroma | High | Low–Moderate |
| Floral | Not characteristic | Low |
| Dryness | High | Moderate |
| Yeast fruitiness (esters) | None–Trace | Not characteristic |
Which should you choose?
- You want more citrus → India pale lager
- You want something more restrained — less citrus and resin & pine → Pre-Prohibition lager
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.