UPDATE: Response from Denver Beer Co.: “Clown Question Bro is a Canadian Lager-inspired beer. We used an ale yeast and fermented it cool to create a clean lager-like beer.”
@adamnason ClownQuestionBro is a Canadian Lager Inspired beer. We used an ale yeast and fermented it cool to create a clean lager-like beer
— Denver Beer Co (@DenverBeerCo) June 25, 2012
(Denver, CO) – What is the fastest commercial lager ever brewed?
Maybe not such a clown question with today’s release of Denver Beer Co.’s Clown Question Bro Canadian Lager, based on the viral comment made by Nationals slugger, Bryce Harper, a couple weeks back.
The company reported brewing the beer on June 14th. That same batch hits taps today, just eleven days later, in time for the Nationals’ visit to Coors Field and the Colorado Rockies (Denver’s local team). How long does a lager normally take start-to-finish? Your editor posed the question on Twitter without trying to lead the witness…
How long would an ordinary American lager take to brew at a small facility from boil to tapping? 10-12 days?
— Adam Nason (@adamnason) June 23, 2012
And the responses…
@adamnason Lagers are typically 4+ weeks.
— Cameron Stokes (@clstokes) June 23, 2012
@adamnason I’d say 3 to 4 weeks, dude.
— John Holzer (@johnholzer) June 23, 2012
@adamnason How ordinary? Like Bud? Traditional pagers should rest for about two weeks at least. Sometimes more.
— The Nightlights (@thnghtlghts) June 23, 2012
@adamnason longer than that for a lager. Could work for an ale, depending on what it was.
— M.T. (@Thorpe429) June 23, 2012
@adamnason More like 21-30.
— Jared Williamson (@Jaredbrewsbass) June 23, 2012
@adamnason 4 weeks min. Longer fermentation time and need cold conditioning. Batch size isn't an issue.
— Adrian B-O (@ABO_Brewer) June 23, 2012
@adamnason The fastest someone has 'admitted' to me was 14 days.
— Blake Jarolim (@fermentus) June 23, 2012
@adamnason sounds like the amount of time to ferment an ale. Shouldn't a lager tale about 21 days, give or take?
— Hop Head Beer Tours (@HopHeadBeerTour) June 23, 2012
Denver Beer Co. brewmaster and co-owner, Charlie Berger, actually addressed the inevitable question around his speedy lager on WTOP Radio this morning…
“There is an artistic license that comes with making a lager in only  days because, in general, lagers are stored for a bit longer. We can make an ale a little faster because the American ale yeast that we used is pretty flavor-neutral much like a lager yeast. It is able to mature a bit faster and allowed us to get this beer out. We’re still going to be serving this beer a bit young much like Bryce Harper himself.”
So, is this beer actually a lager or not? A hemi-lager? A Canadian lager? An ale brewed to taste like a lager?
Clown questions abound…