It’s time for People’s Choice. Young beer lovers often have this dilemma about choosing the right beer.. I have seen people get confused about types of beer, more accurately I have seen myself getting confused about the types of beer available and believe me when I say this, I still get confused sometimes before ordering a mug. But lemme make an effort and summarize the various kinds of beer available for my readers.
Disclaimer: This is about my understanding of the types available and most certainly I won’t be 100% correct.
Its a limitless world when it comes to Beer. Classic lagers, bold IPAs or the sour ales, each type of beer is the progeny for uncountable sub-categories.
Barley [or any other starch source], Hops [the flavor part], Water and Yeast are the fundamental elements behind brewing Beers. The kind of Yeast used for fermentation basically categorizes Beer.
The main classification of Beer is Lager and Ale.
Ales – Yeast is fermented at warm temperatures and settles on the top of the beer. This process is called Top Fermentation. The yeasts used for Ales usually have higher alcohol tolerance levels.
Lager – Yeast for lagers are fermented for a much longer time and under cooler temperatures. Unlike Ales, the yeast for lagers settles at the bottom of beers.
The Strength of alcohol in liquors is identified by A/V or ABV which is Alcohol by Volume.
IBU is also an important term for beer lovers which stands for International Bittering Unit, precisely to determine how bitter the beer is.
Lager Beers are of various styles and are the foundation stones for most people who love Beer. Mild Lagers are generally the ones with 4-5% ABV and the strong ones with 6-8% ABV, light and clear, slightly malty. Lagers are not really much about their flavor. Corona, Kingfisher, Budweiser, Tuborg, Fosters, Carlsberg are the most common lagers in India and abroad. Best served in frosty glasses.
Ales on the other hand is the biggest group of craft beers. Pale ales, Pilsners, Indian Pale Ales (IPA), Stouts, Porters, Belgian, Wheat Beer are all categories of beer that fall under Ales. These are the ones for which people visit micro breweries and these are best served in non frosted glasses as their volatile aroma gets easily destroyed in frosted glasses.
Pale Ales – Light colored and hoppy this beer category is usually under 7.5% ABV and much less bitter than the most.
Pilsner – Usual categories are Czech or German and crisp in flavor with medium bitterness and golden in appearance, this beer is considered a Lager among the crafted beers.
IPA – A huge category by itself, IPAs have characteristic fruity or citrus flavor, with medium to high bitterness and ABV can be well up to 10%
Stouts – This dark beer can be of English or American origin and each having their own characteristics. England or Ireland is known for their sweet stouts with low bitterness whereas American stouts are strong and highly roasted, with high malty flavors of dark chocolate or coffee.
Porters – Traditional Porters is another dark beer category with more chocolaty taste than Stouts but have the ingredients of a Stout.
Belgian – Another huge category and is known for having its own pale, dark and sour ales. Much low on bitterness and high on ABV this beer category usually has a fruity or spicy flavor.
Wheat Beers – Light colored beers with low ABV and often characterized by a tangy flavor are the perfect summer afternoon companions.
With this, lemme conclude this blog. Hope you guys have a little clear understanding now about beers. Keep following my adventures for more on Craft and Lager Beers.
Happy Hunting People.. CHEERS!
Beer Adventuress 