Beer Styles

Beer Styles Overview

 

Today’s American craft brewers are viewed as artists whose canvases are painted with the ingredients they use and the processes they employ. It is up to each individual brewer to decide whether they want to create beer within specific style guidelines or whether to forge a new path outside of style parameters. Because so many brewers have decided to brew outside the box, a unique and beautiful beer culture has developed in the US.

Craft brewers use a wide variety of ingredients to achieve the flavors and aromas they desire in their beer. Most beers brewed in the US prior to 1980 used only four standard ingredients: yeast, water, malt and hops. Today’s craft brewers have taken the main styles of beer from great brewing countries such as England, Germany, and Belgium and added their own twist by increasing the amount of ingredients used, by using new and non-traditional beer ingredients or by altering the brewing process. These changes have resulted in more flavor and diversity in today’s beers. For those who appreciate choice, it’s a very good time to be a beer lover! Check out Specialty Beers for an example of what this is all about. – www.craftbeer.com

Ale Beer Styles

NORTH AMERICAN ORIGIN

BRITISH ORIGIN

  • Classic English-Style Pale Ale
  • English-Style India Pale Ale
  • Ordinary Bitter
  • Special Bitter or Best Bitter
  • Extra Special Bitter
  • English-Style Summer Ale
  • Scottish-Style Light Ale
  • Scottish-Style Heavy Ale
  • Scottish-Style Export Ale
  • English-Style Pale Mild Ale
  • English-Style Dark Mild Ale
  • English-Style Brown Ale
  • Old Ale
  • Strong Ale
  • Scotch Ale
  • British-Style Imperial Stout
  • British-Style Barley Wine Ale
  • Brown Porter
  • Robust Porter
  • Sweet Stout
  • Oatmeal Stout
  • IRISH ORIGIN
  • Irish-Style Red Ale
  • Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout
  • Foreign (Export)-Style Stout
  • English Porter

GERMAN ORIGIN

  • German-Style Kölsch/Köln-Style Kölsch
  • Berliner-Style Weisse (Wheat)
  • Leipzig-Style Gose
  • South German-Style Hefeweizen/Hefeweissbier
  • South German-Style Kristal Weizen/Kristal Weissbier
  • German-Style Leichtes Weizen/Weissbier
  • South German-Style Bernsteinfarbenes Weizen/Weissbier
  • South German-Style Dunkel Weizen/Dunkel Weissbier
  • South German-Style Weizenbock/Weissbock
  • Bamberg-Style Weiss (Smoke) Rauchbier (Dunkel or Helles)
  • German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier
  • Kellerbier (Cellar beer) or Zwickelbier – Ale

BELGIAN AND FRENCH ORIGIN

  • Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ales
  • Belgian-Style Dubbel
  • Belgian-Style Tripel
  • Belgian-Style Quadrupel
  • Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
  • Belgian-Style Pale Ale
  • Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale
  • Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale
  • Belgian-Style White (or Wit)/Belgian-Style Wheat
  • Belgian-Style Lambic
  • Belgian-Style Gueuze Lambic
  • Belgian-Style Fruit Lambic
  • Belgian-Style Table Beer
  • Other Belgian-Style Ales
  • French-Style Bière de Garde
  • French & Belgian-Style Saison

LAGER BEER STYLES

EUROPEAN-GERMANIC ORIGIN

  • German-Style Pilsener
  • Bohemian-Style Pilsener
  • European Low-Alcohol Lager/German Leicht(bier)
  • Münchner (Munich)-Style Helles
  • Dortmunder/European-Style Export
  • Vienna-Style Lager
  • German-Style Märzen
  • German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesen (Meadow)
  • European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel
  • German-Style Schwarzbier
  • Bamberg-Style Märzen Rauchbier
  • Bamberg-Style Helles Rauchbier
  • Bamberg-Style Bock Rauchbier
  • Traditional German-Style Bock
  • German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock
  • German-Style Doppelbock
  • German-Style Eisbock
  • Kellerbier (Cellar beer) or Zwickelbier – Lager

NORTH AMERICAN ORIGIN

  • American-Style Lager
  • American-Style Light (Low Calorie) Lager
  • American-Style Low-Carbohydrate Light Lager
  • American-Style Amber (Low Calorie) Lager
  • American-Style Premium Lager
  • American-Style Pilsener
  • American-Style Ice Lager
  • American-Style Malt Liquor
  • American-Style Amber Lager
  • American-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest
  • American-Style Dark Lager

OTHER ORIGIN

  • Baltic-Style Porter
  • Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lager

INTERNATIONAL STYLES

  • International-Style Pilsener
  • Dry Lager

HYBRID/MIXED BEER STYLES

  • Session Beer
  • American-Style Cream Ale or Lager
  • California Common Beer
  • Japanese Sake-Yeast Beer
  • Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast
  • Light American Wheat Ale or Lager without Yeast
  • Fruit Wheat Ale or Lager with or without Yeast
  • Dark American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast
  • Dark American Wheat Ale or Lager without Yeast
  • Rye Ale or Lager with or without Yeast
  • German-Style Rye Ale (Roggenbier) with or without Yeast
  • Fruit Beer
  • Field Beer
  • Pumpkin Beer
  • Chocolate/Cocoa-Flavored Beer
  • Coffee-Flavored Beer
  • Herb and Spice Beer
  • Specialty Beer
  • Specialty Honey Lager or Ale
  • Gluten-Free Beer
  • Indigenous Beer (Lager or Ale)
  • Smoke Beer (Lager or Ale)
  • Experimental Beer (Lager or Ale)
  • Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
  • Wood- and Barrel-Aged Pale to Amber Beer
  • Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer
  • Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
  • Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
  • Aged Beer (Ale or Lager)
  • Other Strong Ale or Lager
  • Non-Alcoholic (Beer) Malt Beverages

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