Head to Head: Lager Jam vs Lager Fest
Welcome to autumn beer fest season! To kick us off, there are two lager events coming up: on September 14th, Spokesman South + Austin Beer Guide will host their 10th annual Lager Jam at The Yard. Then, on September 21st, Jester King Brewery is hosting a new Lager Fest in honor of their 14th anniversary. Since they’re so close to each other, I thought it would be fun to do a head to head comparison of the two events. I’ll be at both, and I hope you will too!
Event Details
Lager Jam
- Address: 440 E St Elmo Rd A2, Austin, TX 78745
- Date/Time: Sep 14th, 12PM-7PM
- Cost: Free to enter, pay per beer. 5.5 oz, 10 oz, 12 oz, and 16 oz pours.
- Also: Koozies, live screen printed shirts, and DJ Abe The Ambassador
Lager Fest
- Address: 13187 Fitzhugh Rd, Austin, TX 78736
- Date/Time: Sep 21st, 12PM-4PM
- Cost: $40. Unlimited 4 oz pours. Buy tickets here.
- Also: Anniversary beer glass, best of show competition, music from Dom Francis and Midnight Grass
The Beer
Below is a listing of the beers present at each event. “New” beers, brewed for the first time in 2024 (including those unique to the event), are in bold.
| Brewery | Lager Jam | Lager Fest |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Stones Artisan Brewery | Uncle Mick’s American Red Lager Braunfelser Festbier |
|
| Austin Beerworks | Gourdgeous George Pumpkin Lager Hydration Pils | |
| The Brewtorium | Kia Ora Single Hop Pilsner | |
| Celis Brewery | Celis Pony Boy Light Lager | |
| Central Machine Works | Pilsner American Lager |
|
| Equal Parts | Rešov Czech Pilsner | |
| Family Business Beer Company | Spacious Skies Golden Age |
|
| Fast Friends Beer Company | Fresh Hop Austin City Lager | Luker Czech Pilsner Festbier |
| Fitzhugh Brewing | Fitz Lite American Lite Lager Brazilian Kasiri Cassava Root Lager |
|
| Ghost Note Brewing | Painted Porch Pilsner | |
| Good Line | Beefcake Pantyhose West Coast Pils | |
| Hold Out Brewing | Lagerface Smoked Pale Lager | Lagerface Smoked Pale Lager Neu! Pils |
| Independence Brewing Co | TBD TBD2 |
|
| Jester King Brewery | Italian Pilsner | German-Style Pilsner 14th Anniversary New Zealand Hop Pilsner |
| Künstler Brewing | Cold School West Coast Pilsner Leichts Out! German Light Lager |
|
| Lazarus Brewing | Black Pearl Rice Lager | |
| Live Oak Brewing Company | Spudweiser Potato Lager (Hold Out Collab) | Pils Oaktoberfest |
| Meanwhile Brewing | Things of that Nature Pale Lager w/ Yupon | Meanwhile Lager Blue Corn Lager |
| Nomadic Beerworks | Great Unknown Citra Hopped Pilsner Starter Culture Sourdough Bread Lager |
|
| Pecan Street Brewing | 13 Degree Czech Style Pilsner Rye Maerzen |
|
| Pinthouse Brewing | Wolfhaus Pils (Oddwood Collab) Sea Salt & Lime Burro's Breakfast Mexican Lager | Wolfhaus Pils (Oddwood Collab) Burro’s Breakfast Mexican Lager (While it's not stated, it might be the sea salt & lime version) Riata West Coast Pils |
| Prost + Obsidian | COTA Light Lager | |
| Real Ale Brewing Company | Proto Pils | Proto Pils Hans Pils |
| Roughhouse Brewing | Locktoberfest | Locktoberfest Hill Country Light |
| Save The World Brewing Co. | Wake Jumper Helles Oktoberfest |
|
| St. Elmo Brewing Company | Daddy Chill Cold IPA | Daddy Chill Cold IPA Schlagen Oak-Aged Oktoberfest |
| Suds Monkey Brewing | Danny Lager | |
| Vacancy Brewing | Pool Aid ElectroLite Lager | Classic American Lager June Hill Country Pilsner |
| Vector + Bird Creek | Trit Daddy Triticale Lager | |
| Vista Brewing | Dark Skies Black Pilsner Mighty Märzen |
|
| Zilker Brewing Company | The American Danish Pils (Gamma Collab) | The American Danish Pils (Gamma Collab) Andy’s Beer Czech Pilsner (Tanglefoot Collab) |
Analysis
- 11 breweries will have beer at both events
- 6 of those breweries are bringing the same beer to both – however, all 6 will have a second beer at the Fest
- 7 breweries will only be at the Jam
- 7 breweries will only be at the Fest
- This means there’s an equal number of breweries at each event
- However, most breweries are bringing 2 beers to the Fest, while the Jam only has 20 taps available
- Pinthouse is the only brewery listed as bringing 3 to the Fest
- This means there’s an equal number of breweries at each event
- As of writing, 4 beers do not exist yet according to Untappd. They will either make their first appearance at the events, or be released just beforehand
- Jester King: 14th Anniversary Pilsner (obviously)
- Meanwhile: Things of that Nature Pale Lager w/ Yupon
- Nomadic: Starter Culture Sourdough Bread Lager
- Roughhouse: Locktoberfest
- Not to draw attention away from these two events, but these are some busy weekends. Keep an eye on our weekly event listing this and next Friday, along with our Oktoberfest article for all the options. Plus, there’s a new brewery opening you may have heard about.
CBA Recommendations™
In this part of the article, I will tell you which beers are the best ones to choose at the event:
- Get whichever beer sounds good to you, why do you care about my opinion lol. Just have fun
- I’m pretty excited for Starter Culture though
Jester King’s Instagram settings prevent embedding their posts so here’s a link to their announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-YetaLuL49/
Which event(s) will you be attending? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram!
