Largar

 When was the first beer we call largar in the UK, was sold ?

The first beer we would recognise as “lager” sold in the UK arrived in 1868, when Viennese Märzen lager began being served in several London venues.

That’s the first time British drinkers could buy proper, imported, bottom‑fermented, cold‑conditioned lager in pubs.

🇬🇧 The first lager sold in Britain (1868)

By the end of 1868, London had five places selling imported Viennese lager — mainly Anton Dreher’s Märzen from Schwechat and beer from Liesing.

This was driven by:

• British visitors discovering lager at the 1867 Paris Exhibition

• A very hot summer in 1868, making cold beer appealing

• Importers bringing in Austrian and Bavarian beer to meet demand

This is the true commercial arrival of lager in the UK.

🍺 But what about the first lager brewed in Britain?

Two different “firsts” exist:

✔ First experimental lager brewed in Britain — Edinburgh, 1835

John Muir brewed a bottom‑fermented beer using yeast sent from Munich by Gabriel Sedlmayr. It was an experiment and didn’t last.

✔ First commercial British lager brewery — Wrexham, 1882

Wrexham Lager was the first successful, commercial‑scale British lager brewery. It became famous worldwide and even reached India and ocean liners.

🧊 First chilled lager served in a UK pub — 1922

Wrexham Lager also claims the first chilled lager served in a British pub (Last Orders, Wrexham).

⭐ So the answer to your question

The first lager sold in the UK was in 1868, when imported Viennese Märzen appeared in London pubs.

If you want, I can also break down:

• Why lager took so long to catch on in Britain

• How early lager tasted compared to modern brands

• The story of Wrexham Lager