Ale Styles
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Bitter
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A light British ale that generally comes in three strengths (listed lowest to highest), "Ordinary", "Special", and "Extra-Special". These beers can be lightly or highly hopped. They are
usually served with less carbonation. These are generally the easiest styles that a homebrewer can make.
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Mild
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A brown ale of low alchoholic strength. It is neither robust or hoppy, but very thirst quenching. It is light to medium bodied.
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Pale Ale
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These are similar to bitter, but tend to be hoppier and have more alcohol. Classic English pale ales are brewed with extraordinarily hard water, which lends to the use of more hops and
contributes a dry character to the beer. Pale ales generally come in three strengths, the two stronger being India Pale ale and Old Ales. India pale ales usually have a slightly higher
alcohol content and have a much higher hop bitterness to them. Old ales are high alcohol versions of pale ales. But with the higher alcohol content, these beers have more body and sweetness
to them.
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Brown Ale
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These are generally sweeter, fuller bodied and stronger than a mild ale. These beers can have a variety of characteristics, from nutty to the unusual. A newer style of brown ale is the
American Brown Ale. These are very similar to their British cousins, but with a higher bitterness due to the use of more hops.
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Stout
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These are black ales with a high hop rate and roasted barley character. There are three main styles of stout available, Dry, Imperial, and Sweet. Dry is the most comman, and is usually low in
alcohol with a bitter taste. The foamy head usually seen with brands such as Guiness is due more to nitorgen gas in the can than anything else. Sweet stout has less bitterness to it, and
generally has some sort of sugar added to the beer after fermentation, before being pasturized. Imperial stout is by far the strongest. It is highly hopped and has a much higher alcohol
content. Because of this, it is a beer that can be aged to some degree.
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Porter
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This is a dark ale that derives much of its character from dark malts instead of the roasted barley. It can have a varying degree of sweetness and hop character, with an average alcoholic
strength. This was the style that was George Washington's favorite to brew.
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Barley Wine
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Because of their unusually high strength, these ales are refered to as barley wines. Some are as high as 12% in alcohol. They are very full bodied, with a malty sweetness and high hop
bitterness. These are to be sipped and enjoyed, with some barley wines meant to be aged over 25 years.
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Scotch Ales
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These ales are generally brewed in the northern climates of the United Kingdom. They are maltier and sweeter than their English counterparts, partly due to the fact that in days past, hops
were more expensive in Scotland than other parts of the Britain. They are usually classified by their strength from Light, Heavy, Export, to Scotch Ale.
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Wheat Beer
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Until recently, most wheat beer was brewed in Germany or Belgium. German 'Weissbier' are light in character, highly carbonated, and an aroma suggestive of bananas and/or cloves. Nearly 30% of
all beer consumed in Germany is of this style. These beers are made up of more than 50% wheat, and it is drunk with the yeast still in the bottle. Other variations of this beer include
Dunkelweizen (dark wheat) and Berliner-style Weisse. Belgium itself has a wide variety of wheat beers, and most are fermented with airborne yeast and bacteria from a unique area in that
country. These are generally very sour, low in bitterness, and more often than not fermented with fruit such as cherries, rasberries, or peach.
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Alt
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A German ale style that still survives in the Dusseldorf and Cologne areas. The Dusseldorf style is dark amber to brown, with little hop characteristics, but exploding with bitterness. Kolsch
is the other style, which in general is light, fruity, and dry, with a medium hop bitterness.
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Belgian Specialty
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Belgium is often described as the Disneyland of beer. There are many unique styles available there. Some of the more notable styles include Siason, Belgian White Beer, and Trappist Ales.
Siason is uniquely fruity and sour, bitter but not assertive, and light in color. White beer is brewed with unmalted wheat (beer appears cloudy), and its flavor is often enhanced by the
addition of coriander seed or orange peel. Trappist ales are the name given to the ales brewed by the six remaining Trappist monastaries in Belgium. They all are brewed to varying strengths
in each of the breweries, are light to copper colored with a slight acidity.
