Crafting A Beer List: Styles To Satisfy Every Taste

Beer styles are labels given to beers that describe their overall character and, often, their place of origin. The two main types of beer are lagers and ales. Ales are brewed at warmer temperatures than lagers with top-fermenting yeast, typically between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. This results in a faster fermentation process, which imparts a more complex flavor profile that can range from fruity and spicy to bitter and hoppy. Lagers, on the other hand, are known for their crisp, clean taste and are typically brewed at cooler temperatures, around 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit, using bottom-fermenting yeast.

There are several subcategories of lagers and ales, including:

- American Lager

- Pilsner

- Bock

- Pale Ale

- Stout

- Wheat Beer

- Sour Ale

- Blonde Ale

- India Pale Ale (IPA)

- Porter

Amber and Brown American Beer

American Amber Ale

American Amber Ale is a phrase first used by startup American microbrewers in the 1980s as a simple description for consumers. These beers claim a middle ground between American Pale Ale and American Brown Ale but often overlap with adjacent categories in significant ways.

American Amber Ale is an amber, hoppy, moderate-strength American craft beer with a caramel malty flavour. The balance can vary quite a bit, with some versions being fairly malty and others being aggressively hoppy. Hoppy and bitter versions should not clash with the caramel malt profile.

California Common

California Common is a lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavours, and rustic, traditional American hop characteristics.

American Brown Ale

American Brown Ale is a malty but hoppy beer frequently with chocolate and caramel flavours. The hop flavour and aroma complement and enhance the malt rather than clashing with it.

Standard American Beer

American Light Lager is a popular style of Standard American Beer. It is highly carbonated, very light-bodied, and nearly flavourless, designed to be consumed very cold. It is very refreshing and thirst-quenching. It is designed to appeal to as broad a range of the general public as possible, and strong flavours are considered a fault.

American Lager is another well-known style of Standard American Beer. It is a clean, well-attenuated, and flavourful "lawnmower" beer. It is easily drinkable and refreshing, with more character than typical American lagers.

American Wheat Beer is another style of Standard American Beer. It is a refreshing wheat beer that can display more hop character and less yeast character than its German cousins. It has a clean fermentation character that allows bready, doughy, or grainy wheat flavours to be complemented by hop flavour and bitterness rather than yeast qualities.

American Cream Ale is a mild, pale, light-bodied ale, made using a warm fermentation (top or bottom fermenting). It is a sparkling or present-use ale that was originally produced to compete with lager brewers in Canada and the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest states.

Bock Beer

• Helles Bock/Maibock: This is the lightest of the bock beers, with a slightly higher hop presence than other varieties. It is often enjoyed during the spring.
• Bocks: The traditional dark German lager that acts as the "godfather" to all other bocks. It is characterised by its malty-rich and somewhat toasty qualities.
• Doppelbock: This variety is similar to a stout, with a high ABV. It was first brewed by monks and was originally considered "liquid bread". It has notes of deep chocolate, roasted toffee, and caramel sweetness.

Blonde Ale

• A colour range of straw to light amber
• Little to no haze
• Medium to fast-rising bubbles
• Low to medium-low hop aroma
• Low to medium-low hop bitterness
• Light malt sweetness
• Fruity esters that may be perceived but are not predominant
• ABV range of 4.1-5.1%

Dunkel Beer

Dunkel was the original style of the Bavarian villages and countryside and was the most common style when the Reinheitsgebot (1516) was introduced, making it the first "fully codified and regulated" beer.

Examples of dunkel beers include:

• Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
• Hacker-Pschorr Münchner Dunkel
• Hofbräu München Dunkel
• König Ludwig Dunkel
• Paulaner Original Münchner Dunkel
• Spaten München Dunkel
• Weihenstephaner Tradition Bayrisch Dunkel

Frequently asked questions