MySpacea place for friends

Beers produced from top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures. Ales are usually fruitier, more complex, and richer than lagers. The term ‘Ale’ refers only to the brewing method and has nothing to do with the ingredients.

The term Pale Ale refers to the bottled version of an English cask-conditioned Bitter. Pale Ales are more heavily hopped and are higher in alcohol to help preserve them in the bottle longer than the cask version. These brews display a nutty maltiness and a firm, dry hoppy finish.

I.P.A. was accidentally created when the English were trying to supply beer to their troops in India. To survive the long journey by sea the beer had to be much hoppier and higher in alcohol. This potent brew found its way back to England by accident. A ship bound for India crashed off shore and the beer was rescued, much to the locals delight.

A maltier, darker cousin of Pale Ale, these style beers are brewed with dark malts to give them a richer caramel and nut flavor.

These are Scottish versions of the English pale ale. The brewers in the north of England favored darker malts and sugars because of the weather. These malts produce a more full-bodied, nuttier, and slightly sweeter brew.

Also known as Irish Reds, these brews were originally spiced with bog myrtle instead of hops. Now there are very few that do not use hops exclusively. A nice middle ground between a pale ale and a Scottish ale.

The only remnant of pre-prohibition ale brewing left on the market. These ales are considerably lighter and cleaner than their English counterparts. This style was created to be very thirst quenching and easy to drink.

Very spicy, tart, and fruity style of wheat beer. Most are often spiced with coriander and orange peel; and sometimes cumin and oats for more complexity. Belgian style wheats are also bottle-conditioned like their German cousins.

Originally made for the workers on Belgian farms, these beers are traditionally brewed during the winter months and lagered until the summer when they were consumed. These bottle-conditioned, unfiltered beers are usually spiced to offset the intense fruitiness and tartness. These beers have become something very special over the years.

These very strong and intense straw colored brews are chock full of complex fruit, hop and alcohol character. Goldens are usually produced with a high percentage of brewing sugars to amplify their effect.

Produced at the six remaining monastic breweries by the resident monks, these complex, potent ales are the pinnacle of the brewing art. These special brews display complex fruits and earthiness not found in other ales. The gentle carbonation derived from bottle-conditioning helps to underscore the intensity of the flavor. Trappists are categorized by their alcoholic strength as Single, Double, Triple, and Quadruple.

These are examples of traditional trappist beers. Very often the names of these beers are the same as the original Abbey.

Ales produced using wild airborne yeast native only to the Senne Valley just south of Brussels, Belgium. Lambics are brewed using mature hops (for their preservative qualities only), malted barley, and at least 30% raw wheat. Matured for up to three years in oak, the lambic is then blended with younger ones to achieve the sweet and sour flavor. The resulting brew is called Gueze (pronounced gooze). It is then primed with a little sugar or whole fruit where it ages for a few weeks to a month before bottling.

Beers made with about half wheat and half barley. Wheats tend to be slightly tart, fruity, acidic, and quenching. These properties make them excellent companions to food.

These are German style wheat beers that are very subtly hopped, and naturally carbonated with fresh yeast in the bottle (bottle-conditioning). These beers display good acidity and have a banana and clove flavor. Served with or without the yeast and with or without the lemon.

A wheat beer brewed with dark malts. This adds a deeper, earthier quality to the fruity and tart weizen characteristics.

These are simply stronger versions of Hefe-Weizens. They are 50%-100% stronger, much hoppier and more complex. Some can be aged to intensify their qualities.

These deep garnet to pitch black brews display chocolate, toffee, caramel, and coffee flavors alongside the requisite herbal hop notes.

Originally a blend of three beers (leftovers from the bitter, mild, and old ale casks), Porter was born in London and evolved into a bottled version that showed off the new darker malts being produced at the time. This style got its name because it was most popular among the porters in the rail yards (it was the least expensive beer served).

Arthur Guinness had originally been a porter brewer. His malt house produced a black, bitter roasted barley that gave off a more intense flavor than anything being put into porter at the time. Guinness dubbed the resulting brew a ‘Stout Porter.’ The name was shortened to stout and the style was born.

Sweet stouts are either maltier versions of oatmeal stout or they are produced with lactose (which is a milk sugar and evidently how cream and milk stouts got their names). These beers tend to be lower in alcohol and make an excellent dessert drink.

These Stouts were created in the U.S. with a much higher hopping rate, higher alcohol, and a drier malt character than their traditional English versions. Oatmeal is added to increase the body and to give it a more complex malt flavor.

This classification refers to the cool fermentation and conditioning process. Lager means to ‘lay-down’ in German. The cooler temperatures impart a cleaner crisper flavor and texture.

Helles is a Munich-style light lager that is usually well-hopped yet very crisp.

Originated in Pilsen, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), this dry lager uses the classic spicy Saaz hops to produce a clean and refreshing beer. The German pilsners exhibit an even drier palette from the addition of hallertau hops.

Bocks are lagers that were originally brewed stronger and more heavily hopped to survive the hot weather (however, not all strong lagers are bocks.) The “ur” or original bocks are normally a bit darker with notes of toffee and caramel.

Tawny colored lagers with a caramel accent. These brews tend to be a touch maltier than a straw colored Lager.

Even darker than Maerzen, these brews are the porter and stout of the Lager realm. Usually on the dry side, the complex coffee and caramel flavors blend well with the spicy hops in the finish.

Steam beers are produced with Lager yeast, but ferment at Ale temperatures. Also known as California Common, this is the only indigenous American beer style. True to West coast brewing, these are intense hoppy brews along the lines of a Pale Ale except they are cleaner tasting from the lagering.

A specialty from Southern Germany, these brews are produced with malt dried over a beech wood fire instead of in a kiln. The fire imparts an intense smoky flavor and aroma.

This Japanese specialty beer is produced with both an ale yeast and a sake yeast. Red rice is used for color and gives it a unique fruity flavor which balances out the sake alcohol kick.

A very unique brewery in Quebec, Unibroue produces only high-octane Belgian-style beers. These brews are bottle-conditioned and display the spicy character common in most Belgian style beers.

These brews are basic, pale beers with fruit added for a sweeter flavor. (Melbourne Bros. in England uses traditional Lambic process).

Very high alcohol ‘Budget beer.’ Sometimes found in brown paper bags.

You have been marked on my profile map! Click to zoom-in.