A gose is a wheat ale brewed with salt, which gives it a savory character. It can also be blended with fruits. Lager is the most popular beer style in the world. Many craft brewers now create their own lagers to compete with these titans. In the early days of the craft beer movement, many brewers did not have the time, equipment or space to make lagers. A Pilsner is an easy-drinking, highly carbonated lager that gets its slight spicy note from hops.
A Helles is a malt-forward lager, with crisp, cracker-like notes. Mexican lagers are brewed with flaked corn, or maize. A Vienna lager is made with toasted malts that give it an amber color. Its clean flavor showcases that malt character, plus some hop spiciness. This clear, golden style hails from Cologne, Germany. It has a crisp yet fruity flavor. Learn about common styles of beer to increase your comfort and familiarity with one of the world's oldest drinks. Ale is a general category of beer: You'll find sub-categories like brown ales or pale ales.
This is the oldest style of beer, which dates back to antiquity. What distinguishes an ale - and also makes this category of beer accessible for home brewers - is a warm-temperature fermentation for a relatively short period of time. In the brewing process, brewers introduce top-fermenting yeasts which, as the name suggests, ferment on the top of the brew. The fermentation process turns what would otherwise be a barley and malt tea into a boozy beverage.
Lagers are a newer style of beer with two key differences from ales. Lagers ferment for a long time at a low temperature, and they rely on bottom-fermenting yeasts, which sink to the bottom of the fermenting tank to do their magic.
Lagers are common among European countries, including Czechia, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as in Canada, where they make up more than half of all beer sales. A type of ale, porter beers are known for their dark black color and roasted malt aroma and notes. Porters may be fruity or dry in flavor, which is determined by the variety of roasted malt used in the brewing process.
Like porters, stouts are dark, roasted ales. Stouts taste less sweet than porters and often feature a bitter coffee taste, which comes from unmalted roasted barley that is added to the wort.
They are characterized by a thick, creamy head. Ireland's Guinness may be one of the world's best-known stouts. Taste: Crisp and usually heavier on the hops than other lagers, giving it a slight spice. Description: Refreshing and thirst-quenching with high carbonation, this is the perfect summer beer. Postcard Pilsner , Heater Allen Pils. Taste: Refreshing and ultra-drinkable with soft fruity hops, balanced maltiness, and a clean finish.
Origin: Originally produced in Cologne, Germany in the mids in an attempt to compete with the wildly popular bottom-fermented lagers that were emerging, brewers top-fermented their beer and then conditioned it in cold cellars. Description: Fermented with ale yeast in cold temperatures like a lager, this hybrid style offers the best of both worlds.
Taste: Light bodied, tart. Fruit is often added during refermentation or bottle conditioning. Origin: The first sours were brewed in Belgium during the early 18th century, but they weren't widely available in the US until the s.
Description: Sour beers get their tart, tangy, and sometimes funky quality from wild yeast and bacteria strains, including Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, and a fungus known as Brettanomyces.
Lambic sours are usually fruited, while goses incorporate salt and coriander. Taste: Medium-light bodied, high carbonation, and creamy with a slight malty sweetness. Citrusy with very little hops and distinctive flavors of banana and clove. Origin: While wheat beer as it's known today is usually traced back to Bavaria, archaeological finds have suggested that it first appeared at least 6, years ago in what is now known as Southern Iraq.
Common adjuncts in this category are orange, lemon, and coriander. Origin: The name comes from the French word for "season," as this beer originated in the French-speaking region of Belgium, where it was brewed during the cooler months and then stored for drinking in the summer. Description: Also known as a farmhouse ale, this beer is known for having high levels of carbonation. Specialty ingredients — such as ginger, coriander, and other spices — are often added. Belgian Saisons are sometimes enhanced with a sour mash or certain bacteria to boost the acidity.
American Saisons can range significantly and are very much open to interpretation. Taste: Medium-light bodied. The Belgian-style dubbel ranges from brown to very dark in color. They have a malty sweetness and can have cocoa and caramel aromas and flavors. Hop bitterness is medium-low to medium. Yeast-generated fruity esters especially banana can be apparent.
Often bottle-conditioned, a slight yeast haze and flavor may be evident. The Belgian-style golden strong ale is fruity, complex and often on the higher end of the ABV spectrum, yet are approachable to many different palates.
Look for a characteristic spiciness from Belgian yeast and a highly attenuated dry finish. This style is traditionally drier and lighter in color than a Belgian-style tripel. The Belgian-style pale ale is gold to copper in color and can have caramel or toasted malt flavor. The style is characterized by low but noticeable hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. These beers were inspired by British pale ales. They are very sessionable. The Belgian-style Quadrupel is amber to dark brown in color.
Caramel, dark sugar and malty sweet flavors dominate, with medium-low to medium-high hop bitterness. Quads have a relatively light body compared to their alcoholic strength.
If aged, oxidative qualities should be mild and not distracting. Sometimes referred to as Belgian strong dark.
Beers in this category are gold to light amber in color. Often bottle-conditioned, with some yeast character and high carbonation. Specialty ingredients, including spices, may contribute a unique and signature character.
Complex, sometimes mild spicy flavor characterizes this style. Yeast-driven complexity is common. Tripels are often on the higher end of the ABV spectrum, yet are approachable to many different palates.
These beers are commonly bottle-conditioned and finish dry. The Belgian-style tripel is similar to Belgian-style golden strong ales, but are generally darker and have a more noticeable malt sweetness. The American cream ale is a mild, pale, light-bodied ale, made using a warm fermentation top or bottom fermenting yeast and cold lagering. Despite being called an ale, when being judged in competitions it is acceptable for brewers to use lager yeast.
Blond, amber and brown versions exist. Biere de garde examples are light amber to chestnut brown or red in color. This style is characterized by a toasted malt aroma and slight malt sweetness. Flavor of alcohol is evident. Often bottle-conditioned, with some yeast character. The California common is brewed with lager yeast but fermented at ale fermentation temperatures. Seek out woody and mint flavor from the Northern Brewer hops.
Before Germany had lager beer, it had ales. Crisp, delicate and oh-so-drinkable, the German-style Kolsch is a beer hybrid, meaning that its production and subsequent beer drinking experience saddles qualities of both lager beers and ale beers.
These light and refreshing ale-lager hybrids are perfect for warm summer days and have become a favored style by American craft brewers and beer lovers alike. In addition to their thirst quenching ability, they also are a fun beer to enjoy with food, including traditional German sausages and kraut.
The German-style Kolsch is light in color and malt character. Ale yeast is used for fermentation, though lager yeast is sometimes used in the bottle or final cold-conditioning process. Craft beer connoisseurs have been enjoying American Kolsch style beers during the warm seasons since the Kolsch was introduced to the American craft scene. This beer style pairs best with bratwurst, nutty cheeses, and even lighter desserts like apricot cake.
We want to help you find a brewery that makes your next favorite Kolsch beer. We want to help you find your next favorite craft beer — which could be a Kolsch style beer — and our map is designed to do that. If you enjoy the website and are interested in a convenient way to learn more about German beer, sign up to have our newsletter delivered directly to your inbox.
Irish red ale is known for its unique malty taste and is on the lower side of the bitterness and alcohol content scales.
If you love American craft beer, the Irish red ale beer remains a great style for beer lovers to seek out and appreciate. The Irish-style red ale is a balanced beer that uses a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley in the recipe, which gives the beer the color for which it is named. Featuring an approachable hop bitterness which rests on the palate, this typically amber-colored beer is brewed as a lager or an ale, and can often have a medium, candy-like caramel malt sweetness.
It also often contains roasted barley, lending low roasted notes, darker color and possible creation of a tan collar of foam on top. With notes of caramel, toffee and sometimes low-level diacetyl butter , think of the Irish red ale beer style as a cousin to lightly-toasted and buttered bread. Irish-style red ales are an approachable style for people who are new to craft beer, but are also enjoyed and appreciated by even the most discerning of craft connoisseurs.
The map will help you find small and independent U. If you enjoy the website and are interested in a convenient way to learn more about Irish red beer, sign up to have our newsletter delivered directly to your inbox. Medium caramel and cocoa-like sweetness is present, with complementing hop character and malt-derived sweetness. The Baltic-style Porter is a smooth, cold-fermented and cold-lagered beer brewed with lager yeast.
This style has the malt flavors of a brown porter and the roast of a schwarzbier, but is bigger in alcohol and body. Low to medium malt sweetness, caramel and chocolate is acceptable. Softer, sweeter and more caramel-like than a robust porter, with less alcohol and body. Porters are the precursor style to stouts. The Robust Porter features more bitter and roasted malt flavor than a brown porter, but not quite as much as a stout.
Robust porters have a roast malt flavor, often reminiscent of cocoa, but no roast barley flavor. Their caramel and malty sweetness is in harmony with the sharp bitterness of black malt. Hop bitterness is evident. With U. Yet many deliberate examples of these styles do exist. Diacetyl is acceptable at very low levels. Typically the base for the smoke porter beer style is a robust porter that is given smoky depth thanks to wood-smoked malt. Traditionally, brewers will cite the specific wood used to smoke the malt, and different woods will lend different flavors to the finished product.
Smoke flavors dissipate over time. The American-style imperial stout is the strongest in alcohol and body of the stouts. Black in color, these beers typically have an extremely rich malty flavor and aroma with full, sweet malt character. Bitterness can come from roasted malts or hop additions. American stout beer is perhaps one of the most identifiable creations of the American beer world. Stout beer is about as dark of an American beer as can be, and has a very noticeable of appearance, aroma and flavor.
As one of the thicker, darker American beers on the craft beer scene, American stout beer is perfect for the colder seasons. Strikingly bold and undeniably beautiful, the American stout beer style blends generous amounts of dark malts with American hops to offer an adventurous experience that is unmatched by other styles of beer. Are you afraid of the dark? Allow your senses to run wild with this deceivingly sophisticated take on a European staple.
Like many other beer styles that have become prized by American brewers and beer lovers alike, American stout is a distinct variant of a European stout beer counterpart. True to style, American stouts showcase generous quantities of the American hops fans have come to expect, and much like other stout beer types, American stout can be enjoyed year-round but is commonly considered a beer for the fall or winter months.
The stout is a terrific companion to bold, hearty foods. Look for hearty game meats, as well as soups and strong cheeses to be particularly suitable for pairing for American stouts, in addition to a variety of after-dinner desserts. Reading about American stout is great, but we encourage you to seek out the style at a local brewery.
The addition of oatmeal adds a smooth, rich body to the oatmeal stout. This beer style is dark brown to black in color. Roasted malt character is caramel-like and chocolate-like, and should be smooth and not bitter. Coffee-like roasted barley and malt aromas are prominent.
This low- to medium-alcohol style is packed with darker malt flavors and a rich and oily body from oatmeal. Sweet stout, also referred to as cream stout or milk stout, is black in color.
Malt sweetness, chocolate and caramel should dominate the flavor profile and contribute to the aroma. Milk sugar lactose lends the style more body. This beer does use lactose sugar, so people with an intolerance should probably avoid this style. Dry stout is black beer with a dry-roasted character thanks to the use of roasted barley. The emphasis on coffee-like roasted barley and a moderate degree of roasted malt aromas define much of the character.
Hop bitterness is medium to medium high. This beer is often dispensed via nitrogen gas taps that lend a smooth, creamy body to the palate. Traditional bock beers are all-malt brews and are high in malt sweetness. Malt character should be a balance of sweetness and toasted or nut-like malt. Originally made by monks in Munich, the doppelbock beer style is very food-friendly and rich in melanoidins reminiscent of toasted bread.
Color is copper to dark brown. Malty sweetness is dominant but should not be cloying. Malt character is more reminiscent of fresh and lightly toasted Munich-style malt, more so than caramel or toffee malt. Dark fruit flavors such as prune and raisin may be present.
Doppelbocks are full-bodied, and alcoholic strength is on the higher end. The German-style Weizenbock is a wheat version of a German-style bock, or a bigger and beefier dunkelweizen. Malt mellanoidins and weizen ale yeast are the star ingredients. If served with yeast, the appearance may appropriately be very cloudy. With flavors of bready malt and dark fruits like plum, raisin, and grape, this style is low on bitterness and high on carbonation.
Balanced clove-like phenols and fruity, banana-like esters produce a well-rounded aroma. The Scotch ale is overwhelmingly malty, with a rich and dominant sweet malt flavor and aroma.
A caramel character is often part of the profile. Some examples feature a light smoked peat flavor. This style could be considered the Scottish version of an English-style barley wine. Overly smoked versions would be considered specialty examples.
Scottish-style ales vary depending on strength and flavor, but in general retain a malt-forward character with some degree of caramel-like malt flavors and a soft and chewy mouthfeel.
Hops do not play a huge role in this style. These unique beers vary in color and can take on the hues of added fruits or other ingredients. Horsey, goaty, leathery, phenolic and some fruity acidic character derived from Brettanomyces organisms may be evident, but in balance with other components of an American Brett beer.
Brett beer and sour beer are not synonymous. Despite Brettanomyces presents in sour beer, American Bret beers do not exhibit the level of sour taste that sour beers do, thus, Brett beers should not be mistaken for a sour beer. The acidity present in sour beer is usually in the form of lactic, acetic and other organic acids naturally developed with acidified malt in the mash, or produced during fermentation by the use of various microorganisms.
These beers may derive their sour flavor from pure cultured forms of souring agents or from the influence of barrel aging. The Belgian-style Flanders is an ale with character and balance, thanks to lactic sourness and acetic acid. Cherry-like flavors are acceptable, as is malt sweetness that can lend bitterness and a cocoa-like character. Oak or other wood-like flavors may be present, even if the beer was not aged in barrels.
Overall, the style is characterized by slight to strong lactic sourness, and Flanders reds sometimes include a balanced degree of acetic acid. Brettanomyces-produced flavors may be absent or very low.
This style is a marvel in flavor complexity, combining malt, yeast, microorganisms, acidity and low astringency from barrel aging.
Often known as cassis, framboise, kriek, or peche, a fruit lambic takes on the color and flavor of the fruit it is brewed with. It can be dry or sweet, clear or cloudy, depending on the ingredients. Notes of Brettanomyces yeast are often present at varied levels. Sourness is an important part of the flavor profile, though sweetness from fruit may diminish the perceived intensity.
These flavored lambic beers may be very dry or mildly sweet. Belgian-style Lambic or Gueuze beers are naturally and spontaneously fermented with high to very high levels of esters, plus bacterial and yeast-derived sourness that sometimes includes acetic flavors. Lambics are not blended, while the gueuze style blends old and new lambics which are re-fermented in the bottle.
Historically, they are dry and completely attenuated, exhibiting no residual sweetness either from malt, sugar or artificial sweeteners. Sweet versions may be created through the addition of sugars or artificial sweeteners. Many examples of this style are made to resemble the gueuze lambic beers of the Brussels area, where it originated. Straw to medium amber, the contemporary Gose is cloudy from suspended yeast.
A wide variety of herbal, spice, floral or fruity aromas other than found in traditional Leipzig-Style Gose are present, in harmony with other aromas. Salt table salt character is traditional in low amounts, but may be perceptible in varying intensities. Body is low to medium-low. Low to medium lactic acid character is evident in all examples as sharp, refreshing sourness. American lager has little in the way of hop and malt character. A straw to gold, very clean and crisp, highly carbonated lager.
The Bohemian pilsener has a slightly sweet and evident malt character and a toasted, biscuit-like, bready malt character. Hop bitterness is perceived as medium with a low to medium-low level of noble-type hop aroma and flavor. Classic examples of this style used to be conditioned in wooden tanks and had a less sharp hop bitterness despite the similar IBU ranges to German-style pilsner.
Low-level diacetyl is acceptable. Bohemian-style pilseners are darker in color and higher in final gravity than their German counterparts. This lager is all about balance, with medium hop character and firm but low malt sweetness.
Look for toasted malt flavors and spicy floral hop aromas. A beer for beer lovers, the German-style helles is a malt accented lager beer that balances a pleasant malt sweetness and body with floral Noble hops and restrained bitterness. The helles is a masterclass in restraint, subtly and drinkability which makes it an enduring style for true beer lovers and an elusive style for craft brewers to recreate.
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