Beer Appreciation

Beer Styles

Abbey Beer: Originally a beer brewed by monks in a monastery, the term now applies to beers from brewers who have acquired an abbey's rights. An abbey beer is often a strong, top-fermented ale.

Alcohol free beer: Beer with an alcohol content of no more than 0.5% vol. Removing the alcohol or arresting the process before fermentation is complete produces this beer.

Ale: Beer brewed using the top fermentation process, where yeast cells rise to the top of the brewing tank, to be skimmed off when fermentation is complete.

All malt beer: A beer made entirely from barley malt, with no addition of sugar or unmalted grains such as corn or rice.

Alt bier: German style which is similar to the English bitter.

Amber beer: A common term for beers whose color is midway between dark and pale. The amber color is obtained by the use of special caramelized malts. Most amber beers are top fermented.

Bitter: highly hopped ale.

Bock: German term for extra-strong beer. Bocks are often dark but may also be wheat beers.

Cream Ale: A North American style, Cream Ale combines the refreshing taste of a lager with the distinctive, slightly fruity character of an ale without blending the two.

Dark Lager: A bottom-fermented dark beer. The dark color is produced by the use of caramelized malt. Dark lagers are popular in Germany and Eastern Europe.

Doppelbock: literally "Double" bock. Containing a higher alcohol content than regular bock.

Dry Beer: Beer of the pils type containing less residual sugar, made by a special process. As a result the beer has a slightly higher alcohol content, a light, crisp flavour, and no aftertaste.

Dunkel: German for "dark."

ESB: Extra Special Bitter. First made by the Fuller's Brewery in England, but the style has been appropriated by many other brewers.

Hell: German for "pale." Term indicates a golden and often malt-accented lager.

Honey Brown Lager: A smooth, full-bodied lager with a subtle honey flavour providing a sightly sweet finish.

Ice Beer: A lager, which requires an extra step in the brewing process after fermentation. The beer is chilled to -4 degrees C to allow ice crystals to form. Thanks to a proprietary process, the beer flows freely through the crystals, which are then removed. Adding this extra step gives the beer a slightly higher alcohol content and a smoother taste.

Imperial Stout: Extra-strong stout (alcohol content often above 10% vol.) first popular in Czarist Russia.

Lager: Beer produced using the bottom fermentation process, where the yeast cells sink to the bottom of the tank during fermentation, and are then drawn off when fermentation is complete. Most lagers are of the pils type. Other examples are Dortmunder, bock, dark lager and Vienna.

Light beer: Beer with less alcohol (between 1 and 4% vol), or fewer calories (-30%), or both.

Maple Brown Ale: robust brown ale brewed using pure maple syrup for a subtle sweet finish.

Mild: A lightly-hopped ale, though also refers to lightly-hopped lagers in Germany

Munich-style: A malty lager of average strength.

Old ale: Generally dark and medium strong, though some are very strong.

Pale ale: Bronze-to-copper-colored ale. It is pale when compared to porter.

Pils/pilsner: A pale lager beer, highly hopped. It takes its name from the town of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia where the bottom fermentation process producing a pale beer was invented in 1842. Lager is often used as a synonym for pils.

Porter: Dark brown or black ale with a medium-to-strong hop content. In rare occasions some porters are brewed as lagers.

Scotch ale: Smooth, malty ale.   Often extremely strong.

Specialty beer: Any unusual or interesting beer, which appeals to beer connoisseurs and drinkers who like to experiment.

Stout: Dark-brown to black ale. Sweet stouts have a lesser hop content, dry stouts have a higher hop content.

Table beer: A traditional light beer with an alcohol content of about 1.5% vol., commonly drunk with meals at home.

Triple: extra-strong, hoppy golden ale.

Vienna-style lager: An amber coloured bottom fermented beer in the Austrian tradition, lightly hopped and fairly strong, which is now brewed in South America and Mexico.