Exploring Beer Varieties: A Guide To Your Next Drink

Beer is a drink made by fermenting sugars from starches. Its major components are barley, hops, water, and yeast. It can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The type of yeast used to ferment it is what differentiates beer into either a lager or an ale. Ales are created through top fermentation, a process in which yeast ferments at warmer temperatures and settles at the top of the beer. Lagers, on the other hand, are fermented at cooler temperatures and the yeast settles at the bottom of the beer.

There are numerous types of beer, including pale ales, India pale ales (IPA), porters, stouts, wheat and Belgian styles, and lagers such as the pale Pilsners and German Helles.

When it comes to choosing a beer, it depends on your preference for colour, flavour, and alcohol content. If you're looking for a light-coloured beer, you might opt for a lager, such as a classic American lager or a pilsner. For something with a stronger malty flavour, you could try a bock or a doppelbock. If you prefer darker beers, you might enjoy a stout or a porter. For a fruity flavour, Belgian beers or a specialty beer might be a good choice. If you're looking for something festive and unusual, you could try a beer cocktail, such as a michelada or a black velvet.

Ales vs Lagers

When it comes to beer, there are two main categories: ales and lagers. While there is a wide variety of beers to choose from, understanding the fundamental differences between these two types can help you navigate the world of beer and find your favourites.

The primary distinction between ales and lagers is the type of yeast used during the fermentation process. Ales are typically made with top-fermenting yeast, which ferments at warmer temperatures, usually between 60°F to 75°F, but sometimes going as high as 100°F. This warmer temperature results in faster fermentation and more carbon dioxide production, causing the yeast to rise to the top. Ale yeast has a higher tolerance for alcohol and can produce beer in as little as 7 days, making it a popular choice for craft brewers. Ales tend to have strong fruity and spicy flavours that balance out the malt and hops.

On the other hand, lagers are made with bottom-fermenting yeast that ferments at cooler temperatures, typically between 45°F to 55°F. This colder temperature slows down the fermentation process, leading to longer fermentation times of up to 6 to 8 weeks. Lagers have a 'cleaner' taste, allowing the malt and hops to be more noticeable. They are often described as light and a little malty, making them a popular entry point for new beer drinkers.

While the fermentation technique and yeast used are the main differentiating factors, ales and lagers can also vary in terms of flavour, colour, and alcohol strength. However, these characteristics are not limited to one category or the other, and there is significant overlap between the two. For example, while ales are generally associated with stronger flavours, there are some ales that have cleaner profiles and can seem lager-like. Similarly, while lagers are often associated with lighter colours, there are darker varieties such as American lagers.

Both ales and lagers have a long history and a dedicated following. The birth of the Pilsner style in the 1800s introduced the world to lagers, but before then, almost all beer was ale. Today, the craft beer movement has brought a resurgence of ales, with a wide range of flavours and styles available to suit diverse preferences.

Beer Cocktails

The Classics

• Michelada: This classic Mexican cocktail is a savoury brunchtime drink made with beer, lime juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and an array of spices. It is often made with a Mexican lager such as Tecate or Modelo Especial, but feel free to experiment with different beers.
• Black Velvet: A simple yet elegant cocktail made with stout and sparkling wine.
• Shandy: A refreshing mix of beer and lemonade, perfect for a hot day. It can be made with a lager or a lighter-coloured beer, and you can add a splash of bitters for an extra kick.
• Snakebite: Similar to a Black Velvet, but made with stout and pear cider instead of sparkling wine.
• Beermosa: A fun twist on the classic mimosa, made with a Belgian beer such as a Dubbel or Tripel, and orange juice.

Creative Combinations

• Beer Margarita: A fun twist on the classic margarita, made with tequila, triple sec, lime, and lager. For an extra kick, add a splash of sour mix.
• Beerita: A unique take on the margarita, made with tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and a sour IPA.
• Mai Tai-PA: A fun and fruity cocktail made with curacao, cointreau, or triple sec, shaken with ice, and topped with a hazy IPA.
• Beer on the Rocks: A unique cocktail made with Byrrh and English bitter.
• Drop by Drop: A complex cocktail made with red ale, coffee and cacao rum, sherry, lime juice, and Angostura bitters.
• Beertail: A creative cocktail made with Guinness, house-made espresso syrup, and milk chocolate shavings.
• Beer and Ice Cream Floats: A fun and indulgent treat, made with a beer of your choice and a scoop of ice cream.
• Beer Bloody Mary: A savoury and spicy cocktail, made with beer, tomatoes, shallots, fish sauce, and a dash of hot sauce.
• Beer and Campari: A simple yet elegant cocktail, made with Miller High Life and a dash of Campari.
• Beer and Aperol: A refreshing cocktail made with a wheat beer, strawberry-infused Aperol, and grapefruit juice.
• Beer and Mezcal: A smoky and agave-forward cocktail, made with beer, mezcal, lime juice, and cinnamon-demerara syrup.

Beer and Food Pairing

Guidelines for Beer and Food Pairing

• Contrast: Pick a beer or dish with a dominant flavour, such as sweet, rich, or oily. For example, oysters and stout.
• Complement: Match rich foods with heavy and rich beers, like stouts or porters. Pair light salads and fish with light beers, and wheat beers with desserts.
• Cleanse: Beer can serve as a palate cleanser. This approach works well with dishes with bold or intense flavours, such as spicy food or rich fried foods.
• Avoid overpowering flavours: Do not pair a food with a beer that will overpower its flavour. For example, salmon and Guinness.

Pairing Beer with Food Based on Style

• Light lagers: Spicy food, burgers, and salads.
• Wheat beers: Spicy food and fruity desserts.
• India pale ales (IPAs): Steak, barbecue, and Mexican food.
• Amber ales: Pizza, fried food, and smoked pork.
• Dark lagers: Pizza, burgers, and hearty stews.
• Brown ales: Sausage, sushi, and fish.
• Porters: Seafood, coffee-flavoured desserts, and game meats.
• Stouts: Chocolate desserts, shellfish, and Mexican food.

Beer and Health

Beer is a drink made by fermenting sugars from starches. Barley, hops, water, and yeast are its major components. It can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Beer has been a staple part of European diets for thousands of years, and through the ages, it has become deeply ingrained in traditions and culture.

Beer is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, and some also contain antioxidants. Research supports a number of potential health benefits to drinking moderate amounts of beer.

Heart Health

Several reviews have suggested that consuming one to two beers a day may help lower your risk of heart disease. In fact, beer may be as effective at improving general heart health as wine at comparable alcohol levels. One study showed that one drink a day lowered the risk of all-cause mortality for women and up to two beers a day produced the same results for men.

Blood Sugar Levels

Drinking light amounts of alcohol may help reduce the risk of developing diabetes and help people with diabetes control their blood sugar more effectively. One study showed that one to two alcoholic drinks a day could lower the risk of developing diabetes by as much as 50%. This effect is strongest for low-sugar beers, such as light beers, so pay attention to the type of beer you drink.

Bone Strength

Early research suggests that moderate amounts of beer may help strengthen bones for men and postmenopausal women. This may be because alcohol, in general, in moderate amounts, can help your bones. But this benefit sharply drops when consumption passes two drinks a day, so moderation is key.

Risks of Beer

The same aspects that make beer so potent can also cause health problems for people. Once beer consumption is heavy, over two drinks per day, it carries many potential risks.

Potential for Addiction

All alcohol carries the potential for dependency. Alcohol is an addictive substance, so people with a family history of addiction should be cautious with drinking beer or any other alcohol. Furthermore, heavy drinking eliminates most health benefits of beer, making addiction a double-edged sword.

Reduced Life Expectancy

Heavy consumption significantly increases your risk of death from all causes. Studies show that heavy drinking reduces life expectancy by up to 28 years.

Increased Risk of Liver Disease

Drinking more than two beers a day can increase the chances of developing fatty liver disease, or cirrhosis.

Weight Gain

Many beers are high in calories, so drinking large amounts frequently can lead to substantial weight gain. "Beer belly" is a common term to describe someone who has extra weight around their waist. Studies have confirmed that drinking beer increases waist circumference.

Beer Styles

The limitless world of beer means a dizzying number of drink options are available. From classic lagers to bold IPAs to funky sour ales, each type of beer spawns more sub-categories than drinkers know what to do with. Draft beer menus at local watering holes have gone from offering a few standard brands to listing beverages that seem to come out of nowhere — and each beer tastes more complex than the last. Knowing what certain styles of beer taste and look like can make narrowing down a favorite a lot easier.

The major difference between types of beer comes down to the type of yeast used to ferment it. A beer can qualify as either a lager or an ale, depending on the fermenting process. Ales are created through top fermentation, a process in which yeast ferments at warmer temperatures and settles at the top of the beer. Yeast used to make lager tends to settle at the bottom of the beer, and the fermenting process is longer and takes place under cooler temperatures. The yeast in ales has a higher tolerance for alcohol than the yeast used in lagers.

Beers start out as an ale or a lager, and their specific styles and flavors continue to evolve from there. Under the broad ale category, there are numerous types of beer, including pale ales, India pale ales (IPA), porters, stouts, and wheat and Belgian styles. Lagers encompass a range of styles, including the pale Pilsners and German Helles and the darker American lagers.

Lagers are a typical entry point into beer for new drinkers. Made with bottom-fermenting yeast that has a lower tolerance for alcohol, lagers can taste light and a little malty. Classic lagers in America include Miller High Life, Coors, Budweiser, and Yuengling.

India Pale Ales (IPAs), which encompass numerous styles of beer, get their characteristics largely from hops and herbal, citrus, or fruity flavors. They can be bitter and contain high alcohol levels, though the final product depends on the variety of hops used. Some IPAs can taste like pure citrus, while others are strong and bitter. Prominent IPA styles include West Coast IPA, British IPA, and New England Style IPA.

Pale ales are usually hoppy but carry a lower alcohol content than IPAs. Most types of pale ale, which can include American amber ale, American pale ale, blonde ale, and English pale ale, are malty, medium-bodied, and easy to drink.

Pilsners fall under the lager category. German pilsners give off a pale gold color and crisp flavor, while Czech pilsners are a little darker with higher bitterness.

Stouts are dark beers, and their flavor depends on where they come from. Sweet stouts largely originate from Ireland and England and are known for their low bitterness. Ireland’s Guinness brand produces some of the world’s most recognizable stout beer.

Stouts produced in the U.S. combine the typical dark body and creamy notes with the hoppy bitter flavors characterized by American beers. American stouts are strong, highly roasted, bitter, and hoppy, with high malt flavors that give them the taste of coffee or dark chocolate.

Traditional porters, which can trace their roots to the United Kingdom, are dark in color like stouts due to common ingredients like chocolate or other dark-roasted malts. Porters tend to taste less like coffee than stouts, with more of a chocolatey feel.

Belgium’s rich beer culture has poured into the U.S. over the years, giving enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic a deep appreciation for the wide variety of Belgian-style flavors. Belgian beers span pale ales, dark ales, fruity beers, and sour ales. Belgian-style beers typically carry fruity, spicy, and sweet flavors with a high alcohol content and low bitterness.

Popular Belgian beers also include Trappist ales, which are produced only at Trappist monasteries that brew their own beer. Trappist ales encompass beers like Belgian Dubbel, which is somewhat strong and complex, and Belgian Tripel, which is pale, spicy, and dry. Blond ales like Delirium Tremens further add to the strong flavor profile of Belgian beers.

Wheat beers rely on wheat for the malt ingredient, which gives the beverage a light color and alcohol level that makes it perfect for kicking back with during the summer and for combining it with fruit, like a slice of lemon or orange. Some wheat beers, with their funky and tangy flavors, fall under Belgian-style brews while the ones made in the U.S. have a light flavor that recalls bread.

Sour beer has shot up in popularity in the U.S. over the last few years, becoming an enticing beverage to people looking to branch out their beer palates or to those wanting to try something new. Highly tart, sour beers can take on many forms, including Belgian-style Lambic beer, fruity Flanders ale, and lemony Berliner Weisse beer. With the addition of fruits like cherry, raspberry, or peach, sour beers marry sweet and sour to make beer flavors completely unlike the lagers and IPAs of yore.

Frequently asked questions