Beer Types & Styles

Question 1

How does beer relate to yeast?

Answer 1

The type of yeast is what makes ales and lagers different. From wikipedia, Yeasts are eukaryotic (any cell or organism that possesses a clearly defined nucleus), single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae–the strain that is used in baking, etc.–converts carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohols through the process of fermentation.

Question 2

What is fermentation?

Answer 2

Fermentation is the process in which a substance breaks down into a simpler substance, typically involving effervescence (bubbles in a liquid; fizz) and the giving off of heat. It is the process of sugars being broken down by enzymes of microorganisms in the absence of oxygen.

Question 3

What is lager?

Answer 3

They are also known as “bottom fermented beers”. The strains are fermented in cold temperatures which I guess causes them to work at the bottom during the fermentation process. Lagers are crisp and dry and can quench thirst. Oktoberfest beer is usually a lager.

Question 4

What is a pale lager?

Answer 4

The normal, light ones. They also pair well with food. (Budweiser, Foster’s)

Question 5

What is a pilsner beer?

Answer 5

Usually lighter colored than pale lager, made in 19th century Europe, also good with food. Pale lagers and pilsners are somewhat interchangeable. (Budweiser, Modelo, Stella Artois - some refer to Stella as a pale lager but some refer to it as a pilsner)

Question 6

What are Ambers/Red Lagers?

Answer 6

When brewers use malted barley (Malted barley, or malt, is the brewer’s preferred grain for making beer. In its most basic form, it is barley that has been allowed to germinate by soaking the grain in water. Germinate is the process of sprouting/developing in plants/seeds) that’s been toasted until it starts to brown, it turns the color a reddish/brown. They can be crisp like pale lagers and pilsners but they have toast, toffee, and caramel aromas. (Fat Tire, Bell’s Amber Ale)

Question 7

What are Ales?

Answer 7

Ales are the other main type of beer. Unlike lagers, ales are made with yeast that ferment in warm (room) temperatures. So they’re sometimes called “top-fermented beers”. There are many strains of ale yeast. Some are fruity, which is usually a synonym for estery. Esters represent the largest group of flavor compounds in alcoholic beverages, generating the “fruity” aromas in beer (not including, of course, the direct addition of fruit and fruit flavors in certain beers).

Question 8

What is the ale fermentation process like?

Answer 8

During fermentation, especially warm fermentation, yeast will synthesize esters, organic compounds with aromatics that we often associate with fruit. Some yeast strains are earthy. Typically quite sour and funky, and sometimes aged in oak barrels, earthy brews possess intensely rustic qualities; many show horsey, farmy, earthy, barnyardy, and leathery notes. But because ale’s range from fruity to earth, it’s hard to generalize. Brown ale and wheat ales are very different but still consider ale.

Question 9

What is cream ale?

Answer 9

Light in color and not that bitter. Closest type of ale to a lager. (Genesee, True North Ale)

Question 10

What is Kolsch?

Answer 10

Fermented with ale yeast, but then finished in cold temperatures like a lager, kolsch beers are lighter ales.

Question 11

What are pale ales?

Answer 11

English pale ale (also known as bitters) is a type of pale ale. (London Pride, Hens Tooth) Pale ales taste malty and earthy and bitter. American pale ales (Zombie Dust, Born Yesterday, Sierra Nevada, Half-Acre Daisy Cutter) are slightly more fruity, and more hoppy. The beers that are most likely to be described as “hoppy” are the ones with the most bitter flavor or the ones that have fruity, floral aromas.

Question 12

What are dark beers?

Answer 12

Dark beers, like porters and stouts, are dominated by the taste of the malt component, so they would never be described as “hoppy”. Stouts and Porters are technically ales (top fermented) but regarded in their own category. Deep roasty flavors of chocolate and coffee. Mostly sweet and not bitter, with some exceptions. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH DARK ALES.

Question 13

What is Belgian Ale?

Answer 13

Belgian ales (Allagash White, other white ales, New Belgian Abbey) are less hoppy but more sweet, but can be spicy.

Question 14

What are blonde ales and golden ales?

Answer 14

Blonde ales and golden ales (Kona Big Wave, Summer Love by Victory Brewing) are also technically pale ales. Blonde/golden ales have a low malt sweetness, medium to high carbonation with a frothy head, and a low to medium bitterness.

Question 15

What is beer head?

Answer 15

Beer head is the frothy foam on top of beer and carbonated beverages which is produced by bubbles of gas, predominantly carbon dioxide, rising to the surface. The elements that produce the head are wort protein, yeast and hop residue.

Question 16

What is India Pale Ale?

Answer 16

Known for being bitter. They were made in England in the 19th century and were made extra hoppy and strong to survive the ocean journey to India. India Pale Ales typically have more alcohol than other pale ales. Go well with foods that contain fat or are spicy. (Two-Hearted Ale, Hazy Little Thing, Stone IPA)

Question 17

What are dark ales?

Answer 17

Lighter/drier and more fruity than regular ales. Can potentially be spicy but contains sweet fruit aromas like apple or raisins. (Ground Breaker Dark Ale, Wychwood Hobgoblin Strong Dark Ale)

Question 18

What is brown ale?

Answer 18

English beers with a nutty taste. Goes well with deserts (Newcastle Brown Ale, Manns Original Brown Ale)

Question 19

What is wheat beer?

Answer 19

Wheat unfiltered beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. When wheat is added in beer it gives it a more foamy head. “Beer head” is the frothy foam on top of beer and carbonated beverages which is produced by bubbles of gas, predominantly carbon dioxide. Some wheat beers give the aroma of a banana or bubble gum. They can range in color from pale straw to deep brown: Hefeweizen is the German term for wheat beers. (312, Oberon, Samuel Adams Summer Ale)

Question 20

What is special about Belgian style ales?

Answer 20

Kind of their own category because there’s so many beers made in Belgium, despite it being a tiny country in Europe. Could range from sour red ales (Bacteria gives sour beers their distinctive taste, while yeast adds the funky and earthy quality) to brown ales to powerful abbey beers. Abbey beers are made in traditional Trappist styles (Based on Trappist monks of a catholic religious order), but may not actually brewed within the walls of a monastery (a place where monks live). Many Abbey beer labels will feature monks or other ecclesiastical motifs but it does not guarantee that they were actually brewed within a religious order. (Duvel, Blue Moon (also a wheat ale), Witbier, the Belgian beers I listed above)

Question 21

What are farmhouse ales?

Answer 21

A Saison beer, also known as a Farmhouse Ale, emerged from the small town of Wallonia in the French-speaking area of Belgium. ‘Saison’, meaning ‘season’ in French, was originally created as a refreshing drink for farmers during the warm summers.

Question 22

What is an oatmeal stout/porter?

Answer 22

Made with oatmeal, which makes the beer thicker. Can be nutty and earthy. (Founder’s Breakfast Stout, Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout)

Question 23

What is an imperial stout and porter?

Answer 23

Also known as Russian imperial stouts and Baltic porters (were originally brewed in 18th century England for transport across the Baltic Sea). “Imperial refers to the old Russian Empire, where these big-tasting brews were a favourite of Catherine the Great herself. To this day, they remain quite heavy and strongly flavoured.” (Old Rasputin, Three Floyds Alpha Klaus, Founders Porter)

Question 24

What is a fruit beer?

Answer 24

Just beer with more fruit in it. Usually strawberries, cherries or limes are used. (Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat Beer, Michelob Ultra Infusions Lime & Prickly Pear Cactus)

Question 25

What is a Radler?

Answer 25

Part beer/part citrus juice. The word “radler” means “cyclist” in German. It was typically used to quench the thirst of cyclists in Germany after a bike ride. Shandys are beers mixed with fruit juice as well, often lemon. (SPF 50/50 by Red Hare, Cage Radler)

Question 26

What is honey beer made of?

Answer 26

Caramel flavors and creamy and copper-colored. (Bhramari Flowable State of Being, Shoe Tree Honey Punch in the Nose)

Question 27

What defines light beer?

Answer 27

Light beers are often pale lagers, but they can be any style of beer as long as the alcohol level is within the specific range. (between 2.6% and 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) is sort of the worldwide average). Regular beer is usually 5% and up.

Question 28

What is a session beer?

Answer 28

Unlike light, this term doesn’t have an exact legal definition, but it’s still meant to tell you it’s a lighter or lower-alcohol beer.

Question 29

What does “ice” mean in the beer world?

Answer 29

When you lower the temperature of a beer as it’s being brewed and remove the ice crystals that form, you get this style. Fans appreciate its smoothness. Canadian brewers played a big part in refining and popularizing this chilly style back in the 1990s

Question 30

What does “nitro” mean in the beer world?

Answer 30

To create the small bubbles characteristic of this variety, brewers use a mix of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. This technique gives the beer a “softer” mouth feel, which can be fun. Nitro beers used to be draft-only, but can be found in cans today

Question 31

What defines a strong beer?

Answer 31

A strong beer contains between 5.6% and 8.5% ABV, while an extra-strong one clocks in at 8.6% or higher.

Question 32

What is malt?

Answer 32

Malted barley is in all beer. When you detect some bread-like sweetness, that’s what you’re tasting.

Question 33

What is a sour beer?

Answer 33

This isn’t a type of beer but rather a flavor descriptor for brews that have a puckery zing. The term is popping up on more beer labels in recent years because brewers around the world are paying tribute to this refreshingly tart style of beer, which first appeared in Belgium. Bacteria (especially lactobacilli, the ones used to ferment yogurt) and/or special strains of yeast are the main ingredient. Popular sour beers include Berliner weisse, gose, Flanders red ale, oud bruin and lambic.

Question 34

What is wild ale?

Answer 34

Wild ales, often misconstrued as a sub-style of sour ale, are not obliged to have sourness, but they are categorized as such due to the frequent use of wild yeast or bacteria, resulting in funky flavors like barnyards, earth, and fruits. Typically aged in oak, these beers have moderate malt and hop levels, a light to medium body, low to moderate carbonation, and varying degrees of tart acidity.

Question 35

What is a Gose beer?

Answer 35

Here’s a condensed guide to Gose:

•	Pronunciation & Origin: Gose (pronounced “go-suh”) is a historic beer style from Leipzig, Germany, gaining popularity for its unique sour, salty, and botanical flavor profile.

•	Ingredients: A Gose is a wheat beer made with coriander and sea salt, adding a refreshing, tart edge that balances well with its subtle spice.

•	Souring Process: The beer’s signature tang comes from lactobacillus, the same friendly bacteria used in yogurt. Gose also uses spontaneous fermentation with wild yeast, adding complexity to its flavor.

•	Flavor Twist: Salt and coriander make Gose unique. Salt enhances its thirst-quenching character, while coriander adds a lemony-spicy note.

•	Variations: Modern Gose brewers experiment with fruit, increased sourness, and even Gose-inspired cocktails, like Gose margaritas.

•	Food Pairing: Its tartness pairs well with rich foods (like cheese or sausage) and seafood, making it versatile for various dishes.

•	Revival & Culture: Once nearly forgotten, Gose is celebrated in Leipzig’s annual Gose Beer Festival, a place for fans to explore this quirky beer’s past and evolving future.

Gose is a refreshing, bold beer—a sip of history and creativity in every glass!