Lager styles are a relatively recent on the global beer scene, when one considers the centuries of ale brewing that predated the production of lagers. The simple difference between a lager and an ale is that the yeast employed for fermentation of a lager works at a cooler temperature and sinks to the bottom of the fermentation vessel, while ale yeasts work at higher temperatures and rise to the top of the vessel. Hence lagers are "bottom fermented" beers. Dark lager styles began displacing ale styles in the early 1800s in Germany and Bohemia. It was only in the early 20th century that pale lagers rose to prominence when the earliest refrigeration systems, so essential for their reliable production, were introduced. Cheap electric refrigeration after the Second World War lead to pale lager styles dominating the continent of Europe.
The US brewing industry had a hand in the rise of pale lager in the early 20th Century. The American climate necessitated the advent of refrigeration for the distribution of food over long distances during scorching summer months. Such advances also permitted the establishment of breweries in climates where God never intended, a fact probably not lost on some God-fearing citizens who took matters into their own hands during the years between 1919 and 1933.
via Tastings.com
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