Beer Styles Lagers As history goes, lagers are “fairly recent” inventions. This is understandable because lagers require a significant amount of time and effort to produce. Let's review the differences between lagers and ales: Lagers Ales Yeast Species Saccharomyces carlsbergensis Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation Time 14 days 5 days Fermentation Temperature (average) 10° C 20° C Maturing Time 14 – 21 days 6 - 8 days Maturing Temperatures 4-5° C 18° C General Flavor Profile Neutral, Crisp Fruity In general, lagers require longer times and lower temperatures than ales. Historically, chilling food has been rather expensive and difficult. Special Processing Lagers (and ales), in addition to normal processing for stylistic considerations, additional processing can be used to create a unique product. There are a few key terms used in labeling that denote special processing: dry – reduced sugar, often done for sensory impact and to reduce calories ice – concentrated by freezing, can result in a higher ABV and more flavorful beer light – reduced calories, accomplished by lower sugar and alcohol Lager Styles Compared to ales, there aren't very many lager styles. Despite this, there are significant differences between lager styles. Below is a breakdown of the general lager styles and a few examples of each Lager Types Examples Pale Pale, Pilsner Amber Marzen, Vienna, Rauchbier Bock Bock, Doppelbock, Eisbock Dark Schwarzbier Pale Lagers Pale lagers are the most popular lagers today, and that includes the US. They are also the newest styles of lagers. Generally, darker lagers have been around longer than lighter lagers. The reason is that kilning technology has advanced to the point to allow finer control over the time and temperature malt is kilned at, making lighter malts possible. Pale lagers have minimal malt and hops impact. Essentially, the malt and hops flavors aren't allowed to impact the refreshing nature of these beers. Below are some details of specific pale lager styles, as well as the relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol (booze) for each style. The general impact of the hops, malt, and alcohol are in relation to all other lagers, and are meant to give you an informal basis of comparison. The stereotypical pale lager can have adjuncts added or not. American Pale Lagers are also known as “all malt” beers to some. AdjunctLagers No description of pale lagers is complete unless adjunct lagers are mentioned! Adjunct lagers are made using grains such as rice and corn in addition to barley. Hop addition is minimal and limited to Even though many consider adjunct lagers as inferior beer lacking taste and sophistication, even the critics cannot deny the popularity of them. Adjunct lagers are so popular because of their cost, ease of drinking, neutral sensory impact, and because they were (and still are) advertised as a b ...

1. Beer Styles
Lagers
As history goes, lagers are “fairly recent” inventions. This is
understandable because lagers require a significant amount
of time and effort to produce. Let's review the differences
between lagers and ales:
Lagers Ales
Yeast Species Saccharomyces carlsbergensis Saccharomyces
cerevisiae
Fermentation Time 14 days 5 days
Fermentation Temperature (average) 10° C 20° C
Maturing Time 14 – 21 days 6 - 8 days
Maturing Temperatures 4-5° C 18° C
General Flavor Profile Neutral, Crisp Fruity
In general, lagers require longer times and lower temperatures
than ales. Historically, chilling food has been rather
expensive and difficult.
Special Processing

2. Lagers (and ales), in addition to normal processing for stylistic
considerations, additional processing can be used to
create a unique product. There are a few key terms used in
labeling that denote special processing:
dry – reduced sugar, often done for sensory impact and to
reduce calories
ice – concentrated by freezing, can result in a higher ABV and
more flavorful beer
light – reduced calories, accomplished by lower sugar and
alcohol
Lager Styles
Compared to ales, there aren't very many lager styles. Despite
this, there are significant differences between lager
styles. Below is a breakdown of the general lager styles and a
few examples of each

3. Lager Types Examples
Pale Pale, Pilsner
Amber Marzen, Vienna, Rauchbier
Bock Bock, Doppelbock, Eisbock
Dark Schwarzbier
Pale Lagers
Pale lagers are the most popular lagers today, and that includes
the US. They are also the newest styles of lagers.
Generally, darker lagers have been around longer than lighter
lagers. The reason is that kilning technology has advanced
to the point to allow finer control over the time and temperature
malt is kilned at, making lighter malts possible.
Pale lagers have minimal malt and hops impact. Essentially, the
malt and hops flavors aren't allowed to impact the
refreshing nature of these beers. Below are some details of
specific pale lager styles, as well as the relative impact of
malt, hops and alcohol (booze) for each style. The general
impact of the hops, malt, and alcohol are in relation to all
other lagers, and are meant to give you an informal basis of
comparison.

4. The stereotypical pale lager can have adjuncts added or not.
American Pale Lagers are also known as “all malt” beers to
some.
AdjunctLagers
No description of pale lagers is complete unless adjunct lagers
are mentioned! Adjunct lagers are made using grains
such as rice and corn in addition to barley. Hop addition is
minimal and limited to Even though many consider
adjunct lagers as inferior beer lacking taste and sophistication,
even the critics cannot deny the popularity of them.
Adjunct lagers are so popular because of their cost, ease of
drinking, neutral sensory impact, and because they were
(and still are) advertised as a beverage that everyone can enjoy.
If you think about it, that’s the exact opposite of craft
beers. Let’s raise a can or bottle to the finely-tuned perfection
of the world’s favorite alcoholic beverages!
Pilsners came from Czechoslovakia. They’re a bit hoppier than

5. a regular pale lager. Some pale lagers are erroneously
called pilsners. Not naming names…
Amber Lagers
Amber lagers are generally older bears than pale lagers. As a
rule of thumb, the darker a beer is, the further back its
history lies. As a style, amber lagers were originally developed
by Austrians in the 1840s. Nowadays, some of the
greatest examples of Vienna amber lagers are found in Mexico.
Austrians emigrated there in the late 1800s for a variety
of reasons. Also in this category are Märzen (a.k.a. Oktoberfest
beers) and the very dark and smoky Rauchbeirs. Below
are some details of specific amber lager styles, as well as the
relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style:
The Vienna lager has been popular in Mexico for at least 100
years
Pilsner, Pilsener, Pils?
You may not know that pilsner has multiple spellings and
abbreviations because “pilsner” is the most popular in the US.

6. The “pilsener” spelling is meant to be more of a nod to the
pronunciation of the beer’s city of origin, which is Plzen.
Owever you spell it, the pilsner provided the inspiration for
most other pale lagers, making the pilsner the unofficial
father of the the most popular beers in the world. If you’re
looking for a bona fide pilsner, Pilsner Urquell is the first
pilsner ever produced, and it is still being made today!
Marzens are typically consumed in October during Oktoberfest.
They are produced in March and lagered (stored) over
the summer.
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is one of the largest volksfests (think beer and a
travelling fair) held in Germany on an annual basis. THE
Oktoberfest is held in Munich, and it is a 16 day affair
stretching from September through October. At Oktoberfest,
you
can find plenty of beer tents (Festzelte), usually run by
brewers, offering lots of beer served by a waitress wearing a
traditional Austrian/Bavarian servant outfit called a dirndl
(pronounced durn-dull) like the one pictured below.

7. Woman wearing a dirndl Festzele at Oktoberfest in Munich
Rauchbiers are unique because they are much darker than other
amber lagers. They get this color from drying green
malts (i.e. unkilned malts) over open fires fed with beech wood.
Drinking a rauchbier has been described by some (your
professor included) as “drinking a campfire” due to the strong
smokiness of the flavor.
Bocks
Bocks are among the oldest types of lagers. The original bocks

8. were created in the 14
th
century in the German city of
Einbeck. According to some historical accounts people in
Munich (a city around 350 miles south-southeast of Einbeck)
mispronounced the city name as “ein bock”. “Bock” means
“goat” in German.
Bocks range from light copper to very dark brown, and eve
black. The unifying characteristics of bocks are that they are
very “malt-forward” (doppelbocks are even called a “meal in a
glass”) and have a significant ABV (> 6%). Below are some
details of specific bock styles, as well as the relative impact of
malt, hops and alcohol for each style:
Doppelbocks (literally “double goat”) are sometimes referred to
as a “meal in a glass” due to their thick mouthfeel and
heavy malt character.
Getting the Goat

9. As a joke, labels on many bocks contain an image of a goat.
This is a nod to the original mispronunciation that lead to the
beer style’s name. Here’s a sampling of bock, doppelbock, and
eisbock labels that have “got the goat”:
Eisbocks are made from freeze concentrating regular bocks.
This concentration causes both the malt character and ABV
to increase, in many instances over that of a doppelbock.
Eisbocks are the highest ABV and maltiest lagers there are.
Dark Lagers

10. Despite their appearance, dark lagers are not particularly high
in ABV or very malty. The word “dunkel” means “dark” in
German, and many dark lagers are prefaced with dunkel. Dark
lagers are as old as bocks are. Below are some details of
specific dark lager styles, as well as the relative impact of malt,
hops and alcohol for each style:
Specialty Lagers
Specialty lagers are a hodgepodge of different flavors
(herbs/spices, smoke flavor, or fruit). They are often very
seasonal
products with flavoring added to evoke an impression of a
specific holiday (i.e. Christmas lagers). Other than the fact
they all have added flavorings, there’s no other defining
characteristics of these lagers
Ales
In general, ales require shorter times and higher temperatures

11. than lagers. Historically, ales were much easier to
produce than lagers because the fermentation could be done at
essentially room temperature. There was no need to go
to extraordinary lengths to keep the brew cold.
Compared to lagers, there are many different ale styles. This is
understandable due to the relative ease of working with
ale yeast and the longer history of ales. Below is a breakdown
of the general ale styles and a few examples of each:
Ale Types Examples
Porter Brown
Stout Dry, Russian Imperial
Brown Mild
Amber/Red Amber
Pale Pale, India Pale Ale (IPA)
Strong Barleywine (American and English), Scotch Ale
Belgian (Trappist) Dubel, Tripel, Quadrupel
Belgian (Ales) Golden
Belgian (Sour) Flanders Red
Wheat Hefeweizen
Spontaneously - Formed Lambic

12. Porters
Porters are dark colored beers that were made popular by
working class laborers in 18
th
century London. Porters are
named after porters, which are people who carry goods around
(basically delivery workers, truck drivers, movers, etc.).
The modern-day porter (the drink) ranges from “normal” ABV
to strong (i.e. Baltic (Imperial) porters) and everywhere in
between. Even though porters can be quite strong, they are true
to their roots in being a drink that’s easy to enjoy. Like
all ales, Americanized versions of porters are typically hoppier
and higher in ABV. Below are some details of specific
porter styles, as well as the relative impact of malt, hops and
alcohol (booze) for each style. The general impact of the
hops, malt, and alcohol are in relation to all other lagers, and

13. are meant to give you an informal basis of comparison.
The typical, run-of-the-mill, porter can be known as a brown
porter. Baltic Porters (names because they were special,
fortified, porters shipped to countries bordering the Baltic sea)
are sometimes known as “imperial porters”. In fact, any
beer (porter or otherwise) that has “imperial” in its name means
that that particular beer has a higher ABV and
sometimes higher hop character than its non-imperial
counterpart.
Stouts
The strongest porters are traditionally referred to as “stout”, and
stouts are much like porters in terms of color. How
stouts differ from porters is in terms of ABV (higher), grain bill
(some stouts contain oatmeal and barley), additives
(some stouts contain lactose), and carbonation (some stouts are
not carbonated but instead use nitrogen). There’s a

14. wider variety of stouts, and this is an indicator of popularity.
Many of the strongest stouts are prized for their ability to
age well. . Below are some details of specific stout styles, as
well as the relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for
each style.
Dry stouts are named for their low sugar concentration. One of
the most famous dry stouts, Guinness, has nitrogen gas
dissolved in it instead of carbon dioxide. Nitrogen is not as
soluble in water as carbon dioxide, so it forms smaller
bubbles that easily leave solution. The nitrogen bubbles are part
of the reason why Guinness has an interesting cascade
of bubble going down the inside of the glass when it is poured.
The Russian Imperial Stout is the “strongest” stout there is.
Originally intended as a gift to the court of Catherine II
(Catherine the Great) of Russia by the British, Russian Imperial
Stouts are considered by many to be the best beers in the
world, next to India Pale Ales.
Chemistry and Physics of Nitro Stouts

15. Disproportionation is the tendency of larger bubbles to absorb
smaller bubbles and become larger in the process. This is
usually the case in carbonated beer. Nitro beers, which aren’t
carbonated to a great extent, don’t show this physical
phenomenon, so the bubbles remain small.
Another interesting phenomenon that’s visible in nitro touts like
Guinness is the cascade of bubbles going down the inside of
the glass, instead of up like one would expect. The reason for
this phenomenon is that bubbles traveling up the side of the
glass drag against the sides of the glass, while bubbles in the
center of the glass move more quickly. This creates a
convection-
like current that pushes the bubbles on the side of the glass
down, like you see below. This phenomenon is present in all
beers
really. You’re just better able to see it in a nitro stout because
of the creamy appearance and uniform size of the nitrogen
bubbles.
For a great look at the cascade, check out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2BTYuSbIWg

16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2BTYuSbIWg
Brown Ales
Brown ales are named so because in the 18
th
century, they were brewed from 100% brown malts (a rarity
nowadays).
Below are some details of specific brown ale styles, as well as
the relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each
style.
A “session beer” is a beer with a low ABV (lower than 4%) that
is meant to be enjoyed during midday (i.e. a session).
Mild brown ales are session ales.

17. Amber/Red Ales
Amber ales have a wide range of characteristics. This is not
surprising because the category is a hodgepodge of darker
colored ales from different geographic locations. Below are
some details of specific amber ale styles, as well as the
relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style.
Pale Ales
Like their lager counterparts, pale ales are meant to be
refreshing and accessible. Because of this, they are the most
popular styles of ales today, with India Pale Ales (IPAs) at the
top of the pale ale list. They are also the newest styles of
ales. Generally, darker ales have been around longer than
lighter ales. The reason is that kilning technology has

18. advanced to the point to allow finer control over the time and
temperature malt is kilned at, making lighter malts
possible.
Pale ales have moderate to heavy hops impact which make them
popular amongst people who think pale lagers don’t
have enough of a sensory impact. Below are some details of
specific pale ale styles, as well as the relative impact of
malt, hops and alcohol for each style.
India pale ales stand above regular pale ales because they are
much hoppier. This is one reason why they are currently
very popular in the US.
A brief history of the IPA

19. The IPA traces its origins back to the late 1700s. At that time,
the British Empire stretched far to the east through India.
Since the Suez Canal was not finished until 1869, traders had to
make a 6 month journey around the Cape of Good Hope
at the southern tip of Africa. Such a long trip was damaging to
beer quality. A few enterprising brewers started hopping
their beers more heavily in order to help preserve the quality.
We enjoy those hopped beers today in the form of the
IPA.
Strong Ales
As the name implies, strong ales are quite strong. Barleywines
are the strongest class of ales, with Scotch ale (a.k.a.
“Wee Heavy”) and Old ales not too far behind. These ales have
a higher ABV, on average, than even Russian Imperial
stouts. For all of these ales, the impact of malt and/or hops is
usually very noticeable. This is to help counterbalance the
strong “boozy” characteristics imparted by the high ABV.
Suffice to say, strong ales are not meant to be refreshing!
Below are some details of specific strong ale styles, as well as
the relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each
style.

20. Not included in this section are American Strong Ales, which
are only a few decades old. American Strong Ales are also
pretty difficult to typify rather than just having a high ABV.
Belgian Trappist/Abbey Ales
These ales are brewed in Trappist breweries (Catholic monks
that follow the Rule of St. Benedict), most of which are
located in Belgium. A few are located elsewhere in Europe, and

21. the newest is located in the US. A total of 8
monasteries (6 in Belgium) brew authentic Trappist Ales (7
total), with craft breweries elsewhere brewing Trappist style
ales. Apart from learning the products themselves, one can
easily spot an authentic Trappist ale by looking for a
hexagon logo like the one below:
Trappist ales are classified specifically by ABV, with
descriptive words like “dubel”, “tripel”, or “quadruple”.
Generally,
trappist ales are highly carbonated (due to being stored and
bottle conditioned), cloudy (yeast from bottle conditioning)
and malty (pretty common for European beers in general).
Below are some details of specific trappist ale styles, as well
as the relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style.
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h7kTM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://trademark.markify.com/tr
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22. g=AFQjCNFm3EUHL-G1xg_wMAsj-
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So where are these Trappist ales brewed? They are allowed to
be brewed in the 11 locations below:
Brewery Country Located Year Opened
Brasserie de Rochefort Belgium 1595
Brouwerij der Trappisten van
Westmalle
Belgium 1836
Brouwerij Westvleteren/St Sixtus Belgium 1838
Bières de Chimay Belgium 1863
Brasserie d'Orval Belgium 1931
Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de
Achelse Kluis (Achel)
Belgium 1998
Brouwerij de Koningshoeven (La
Trappe)
Netherlands 1884
Stift Engelszell Austria 2012
St. Joseph’s Abbey United States 2013

23. Brouwerij Abdij Maria Toevlucht Netherlands 2014
Tre Fontane Abbey Italy 2014
Belgian Ales
The Belgians have a rich tradition of brewing that extends past
the walls of the Trappist monasteries. Generally, all
Belgian ales are much the same: cloudy, carbonated and malty.
How they differ is by ABV and storage ability. Below are
some details of specific Belgian ale styles, as well as the
relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style.
Belgian Sour Ales
Belgian sour ales are quite different from every other ale style
because they are very distinctly sour. The sour taste
commonly comes from lactic acid produced by Lactobacillus or
Pediococcus bacteria, and occasionally special types of
yeast other than Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Belgian sours are
very difficult to make, and they require months to ferment
and years to mature.

24. All traditional Belgian sour ales are made in the Flanders region
of Belgium, which occupies the northern half of the
country. The Flemish people are Dutch speaking.
Below are some details of a specific Belgian sour ale style,
known as Flanders Red.
Pictured: Map of Europe with Belgium magnified. Flanders in
red.
Wheat Ales
Wheat ales are brewed from at least 50% wheat, with the
remainder of the grain bill being barley. As a style, wheat ales
originated in Germany, and they have gathered a significant
amount of attention worldwide. Wheat bears typically have
the “fluffiest” heads of all ales due to the impact of wheat
proteins on head stability. Wheat beers also have distinct
phenolic notes of clove and banana due to the yeast. Below are
some details of specific wheat ale styles, as well as the
relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style.

25. Spontaneously-fermented Ales
Spontaneously-fermented ales (often called lambics) are ales
that rely on wild yeast found in the environment for
fermentation. Lambics are another type of beer native to
Belgium. Wild yeasts can form compounds that impart earthy
flavors to the beer. Typically, fruit flavors are added to lambics
(making fruit lambics, which are the most popular types
of lambics). Fruits that are commonly used include raspberry
(framboise), peach (pêche), blackcurrant (cassis), grape
(druif), or strawberry (aardbei). Below are some details of
specific spontaneously-formed ale styles, as well as the
relative impact of malt, hops and alcohol for each style:
Hefes and…Lemons?
Ask a German tourist if he or she wants a lemon wedge in their
hefeweizen, and they’ll proboably give you a horrified
look. Lemon wedges added to hefeweizens are an American
invention. The banana and clove flavors that dominate
hefewiezens are not to the taste of some people, and a bit of
lemon juice helps to cover the flavor. If you’re ever in
Germany, try to seem more “cultured” by enjoying a hefeweizen
without the lemon!

26. Specialty Ales
Specialty ales are exactly like specialty lagers. More drinkers
are familiar with specialty ales (especially pumpkin and
winter/Christmas ales) than lagers, however.
A Lambic by Any Other Name…
Lambics are some of the oldest types of beer known. It’s not
surprising to see that there are several different kinds.
The highlighted ones are fruit lambics, named after the Belgian
word for the fruit used:
Gueueze – a tart lambic without fruit
Faro – sweeter, but still no fruit
Framboise – lambic flavored with raspberry
Pomme – lambic flavored with apple

27. Cassis – lambic flavored with black currant
Kriek – lambic flavored with cherry
Peche – lambic flavored with peach