Beer Styles and Descriptions

Question 1

What are the different ale styles?

Answer 1

Ales: fermentation is fast and warm, producing richly flavored beers
Brown
Pale
Scotch
Mild
Burton
Old
Belgian
Trappist
Abbey
Stout
Porter

Question 2

What are the different Lager styles?

Answer 2

Lager: fermentation is slow and cool, producing delicately flavored beers
Pilsner
Bock (including Doppelbock, Eisbock, Maibock)
Märzen/Fest
Vienna Style
Dortmunder
Black/Schwartz
Munich Helles
Pale Lager

Question 3

What are the different Lambic styles?

Answer 3

Lambics: spontaneously fermented (with Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brettanomyces lambicus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus, and others) over a long period of time; aged hops provide antibacterial qualities, not bitterness
Gueuze: blend of one-year-old and two year-old lambics. Fermentation concludes in the bottle
Mars: mild lambic produced by reusing the malt from a previous lambic fermentation
Faro: mixture of lambic and a lighter brewed beer. Belgian candy sugar is added for sweetness
Kriek, Framboise, and other fruit lambics

Question 4

What are the different wheat beer styles?

Answer 4

Wheat beers: produced with up to 60% wheat instead of barley (German law requires at least 50%); typically cloudy and unfiltered
Hefe-Weizen (“yeast-wheat”)
Dunkel/Dark Weizen
Kristall Weizen: filtered, crystal clear wheat beer
White: often includes additions of orange peel and/or coriander

Question 5

What are the different Trappist beer styles?

Answer 5

Trappist beers: produced in various styles (strengths), including patersbier, enkel, dubbel, tripel, and quadrupel
**Orval **(Belgian, est. 1931)
Chimay (Belgian, est. 1863)
Westvleteren (Saint-Sixtus, Belgian, est. 1838)
**Rochefort **(Belgian, est. 1595)
Westmalle (Belgian, est. 1836)
Achel (Belgian, est. 1998)
Koningshoeven (La Trappe, Netherlands, est. 1884)
Stift Engelszell (Austria, est. 1293, beer production began in 1925, then stopped in 1929, and began again in 2012)
Mariawald (German, ceased production in 1956)
**Saint Joseph’s Abbey **(Spencer, Massachusetts, certified for production in 2013)
Abdij Maria Toevlucht (Zundert, Netherlands, certified for production in 2013)
**Tre Fontane **(Abbazia delle Tre Fontane, Rome, Italy, certified for production in 2015)
Mount Saint Bernard (Tynt Meadow, Leicestershire, England, certified for production in in 2018)

Question 6

What are some examples of Trappist beers that are not produced inside the walls of monasteries and therefore cannot use the Trappist Logo?

Answer 6

Trappist monasteries with beers not produced within the walls of the monastery (ITA allows the use of the Trappist term on the label, but it cannot have the Trappist logo)
Mont des Cats (France, est. 1826, production began in 1848, commercialized in 1896, and halted production in 1905, production began again in 2011, but is now made at Scourmont Abbey/Chimay in Belgium)
San Pedro de Cardeña (Castilla y León, Spain, production began in 2016 at Cervezas MarPal in Madrid)

Question 7

What are some other beer styles?

Answer 7

Other beers
Bière de garde: Flemish and Northern French bottle-conditioned beer
California Common: lager fermented at warmer than normal temperatures (i.e. Anchor Steam)
**Kölsch: **ale from Cologne (Germany) fermented at cooler than normal temperatures
Kvass: rye-based Russian beer usually fermented with fruit juices
Rauchbier: smoked beer, famously produced in Bamberg (Franken, Germany)
**Saison: **from Hainaut Province in Belgium

Question 8

Classic descriptions for beer styles need to be added here. i.e. Vienna Lager