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Beer Styles
Beer is divided into two categories: Ales & Lagers.
Ales are top-fermented at higher temperatures for shorter periods of time and tend to have fruity or more wine-like flavors than lagers.
Lagers are bottom fermented at lower temperatures for longer periods and are then lagered (stored) before serving. This tends to give lagers a crisper, "cleaner" flavor.
Lagers
- Pilsner - Light color & body. The predominant beer style in the world today.
- Vienna/Oktoberfest/Marzen - Copper colored, medium bodied with a sweet finish. Originally brewed in March, stored in cool caves during the hot summers and served in October.
- Munich - Classic lager style with a heavier body & sweeter finish than Pilsner. Brewed in both light & dark styles.
- Bock/Doppelbock - Originating in Germany, the bock is a very strong, heavy, malty & sweet lager. It's American counterparts are much lighter. The Doppelbock is an even stronger version of a dark Bock.
Ales
- Pale Ale - Amber color, malty, with a medium to high hop bitterness and a fresh hop aroma.
- Brown Ale - Brown in color, sweeter and less bitter than pale ale with a little hop aroma.
- Porter & Stout - Rich, dark color derived from highly roasted grains, range from light-bodied porters to rich, high-alcohol Imperial Stouts.
- Wheat Beer - Beer containing malted wheat in addition to the malted barley. Weiss (Northern Germany) tends to be lower alcohol with a very tart flavor. Weizen (Southern Germany) has a higher volume of wheat and a distinctive "clove-like" aroma and flavor due to a special strain of yeast. Witbeer is a very pale Belgian wheat deriving its distinctive flavor from the use of coriander in place of hops for aroma.
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