There
are many beer types available to consumers. In fact, there
are litterally hundreds of different styles to choose from.
To
get an understanding of these different beer types, let’s
first look at what beer is actually made of.
The
basic building blocks of beer are the four ingredients:
water, malted barley, hops and yeast.
In
its simplest terms, the factors that go into deciding the
style of beer to be made are the type and amount of malt
being used, the type, amount and method used when adding
the hops, and the strain of yeast used to ferment the beer.
To
get an even broader range of beer types, brewers will use
specialty grains (malts)
in a certain way that adds color and flavor to the beer
without adding fermentable sugars.
In
specialty beers, just about anything goes. People will use
spices, fruit juices, candy, and just about anything else
you can think of.
Types
of Beer
Basically,
beer is categorized into one of three different categories:
lagers, ales, and the rest fall into a category called specialty
beers.
The
difference between a lager and an ale is the type
of yeast used in fermentation.
Ales
An
ale yeast is called top fermenting because of its tendency
to flocculate (gather) at the surface of the brew during
the first few days before settling to the bottom.
To
brew an ale, fermentation must take place in warmer temperatures
for the yeast to multiply and do its magic. Ales are usually
higher in alcohol and will be noticeable fuller and more
complex.
Lagers
The
lager yeast simply flocculates (not at the surface) and
sinks to the bottom. Therefore it is known as bottom fermenting.
Lager yeasts need cool temperatures during fermentation
to perform their magic.
Lagers
tend to be lighter in color and usually taste drier than
ales. They are generally less alcoholic and complex. This
is the most common beer type sold in the U.S.
Specialty
Beers
Specialty
beers are either ales, lagers, or a hybrid of the two that
will contain other ingredients that cause it to not fit
into a true ale or lager style.
Click
on the respective pages for descriptions and examples of:
