Some successful ale brewers have a successful lager in their range. Harviestoun springs to mind.
Should Fuller's brew a lager and if so what should it be like - ABV, colour etc?

No.leave the chemical beers to chemical brewers.

I wonder why the [censored] in [censored]t is censored...... is it [censored]t a dirty word in the UK now?

seems to be!!

The only reason for this even being aired is that the marketing department probably think that Fuller's could make lots more money from selling lager with the Fuller's name on it than they do selling real ale! Let's be honest when a brewer like Fuller's starts thinking about the mass lager market you can be sure that either their finances are in a bad way and/or the recession is hitting them harder they they would like to let on!

There is an astounding level of ignorance displayed here, and, dare I say, [censored]ery also. I expected better on a discussion forum which I thought would attract discerning and educated drinkers.

Some facts:

Lagered beers are a style of beer named after a process. Nothing more or less.

The commonly available lagers in the UK are mass-produced rubbish from globalised companies trying to maximise their margins to thrill their shareholders.

There are plenty of fabulous lagers in this world, and the history of lagered beers is as rich in heritage and tradition as that of "British" ales that no doubt those knocking lagers are so proud of.

In the UK it is possible to find "good" lager beers. Many new craft breweries are making the stuff, and there is at least one independent specialist importer of Czech beer in the UK (Pivovar in York, who will happily sell you a keg of delicious unpasteurised Bernard). The most accessible Czech lager in the UK is probably Pilsner Urquell. Bottled, and in most supermarkets, it's surprisingly faithful to what comes out if the tanková on the streets of Prague, though it too is now succumbing to globalisation and quality is dropping. Hell, even the notorious Staropramen (which most Czechs poo-poo) is like a thunderbolt of taste compared to British mass lagers.

As to the original question, I think there is space in the UK for a great and faithful Czech style lager. The craft brewers in the UK tend to make what they call "bohemian lager" with too unsubtle a taste (what they're good at in ales, but what isn't necessary in lagers!). Czech beer is very subtle in taste, but still a million times tastier than the Carling etc we've had to put up with in the UK precisely because of the misconceptions shown above about lagers.

Neil.

PS I've been a little Czech-centric here. It's just a personal preference. I've also had great lager beers in Poland and Lithuania. I understand that now even Germany is making some good beer! :)

PPS Cask-conditioned lager? I think that would lose all its carbonation or make it a nightmare to handle. But they can put men on the moon these days....

I would really like to try some suggested lagers and get a better grasp. However is if a beer needs to be drank ice cold (so you can't taste it) that is a red flag for me. If Discovery and honey due are the answer for fullers to tap into a (lets face it) large market of people that don't like beer with much flavour, they don't really need to brew a lager.

If fullers was able to come out with a lager that had a large range of notes in it's flavor, that would be something. I would love to see that. If they came out with a run of the mill lager I would fear for the company. Specialty beers like 1845, vintage and all the past masters brews are amazing but that only accounts for a small part of the market. If fullers came out with a line of mundane lagers that may shift the priority off of some amazing beers.

I personally think fullers is doing an exceptional job at their brewery. It would be cool if they came out with a really great lager but personally I don't think they need to.

This is a decision for the Brewery, but since I first tasted ESB in the late 1970's all I would say why bother with lager?

Focus on what you do well

We need real ales and in my opinion you can't get better than ESB.

Thank you for making the last 34 drinking years such a pleasure, I've never found anything better and I have aglass of ESB infrony of me as I write this post.

Here's to another 34 years!!

From an ale loving perspective - no. But commercially if it enhances the trade and atmosphere at the Fuller's Pubs - then yes! Not sure if it could work, but if it could and would deliver shareholder value -- looking into it might make sense...

From a business perspective, of course Fuller's should brew a lager and perhaps a ginger beer and a lot of other things. They did after all bottle 7 UP in the late 50s/early 60s. Not a lot is known about the latter, but I digress:

AGAINST the option to brew lager is firstly the fact that Fuller's is an ale specialist and secondly the size of the brewery is a bit of a constraint. Fuller's already brew at least 10 beers all year round and a revolving number of seasonals so I think they are well advised to stick to ales - and summer ales.
And of course let's not forget the Hock, the Porter and the Black Cab stout!