Abbey- This is a rich,full-bodied Belgian Ale that was coppied from the Trappist style.They sometimes have a vinous character due to the high alcohol content and were named after the Belgian Abbeys'(monastery) that they were made in.Yes Monks drank beer.Colors range from deep gold to dark red.Esters, malt, and Phenols are useually dominant.
Ale- The English-language term for a brew made with a top-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, which should impart to it a distinctive fruitiness. These strains perform at warmer temperatures, the ferments are faster and fermentation by products are generally more evident. Ales are produced to a wide variety of colors, palates and strengths. Only in some American states is the term determined by law (wrongly) to indicate a brew of more than 4 percent weight (5 by volume).
Altbier - Also known as Dusseldorfer.Altbier means "old" or traditional in German. This refers to the old way beer was made by an ale yeast and then lagered for a long period after fermentation was complete.Theese are full-bodied and bitter. Color can be deep amber to brown.Also they are more drier and carbonated than an English Ale.
American Pilsner - This can also be called Premium Lager.They use adjuncts such as corn and rice, should be highly carbonated and served ice-cold.Light in color and hops.
Barley Wine- Also known as a wine in beer clothing.This has a HIGH alcohol content which at times may taste like sherry.Final gravities tend to be high which leaves a residual sweetness.This is balanced by a high hopping rate.Color is useually dark amber to copper.If let sit Barley Wine will reach its full maturity in about 1 year.
Belgian Red- Gets its red color from large quantities of Vienna malt. Is tart, spicy,and acidic comes from a long maturation in oak casks.
Belgian Strong Ale- Similar to Barley Wine in alcohol strenght. They use fermentable sugars to give it the high alcohol but doesn't have the maltiness associated with dopplebocks.Colr can be deep gold to red.
Biere de Garde/Paris - Moderate body and maltiness.Hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma are usually mild.Brewed in the same tradition as the Belgians.Color is amber to red.
Bitter - These are not as bitter as the name states.There are 3 subclasses which include ordinary,special,and best(E.S.B. and strong). They are more aromatic and spicy than they are bitter.Color can be bronze to copper and may have some fruitiness and butterscotch flavor in there profile.
Bock - Bock is a rich malty beer.Can be 6.5% alcohol or more.These were also drunk by monks.They are a lager but can be fermented with an ale yeast and then lagered for a period of time.Color can be deep amber to black.
Brown Ale - In the south of England, a dark-brown ale, sweet in palate, low in alcohol (3-3.5 by volume). In the northeast, a reddish brown ale, drier, of 4.4-5. The slightly sour, brown brews of Flanders are also ales, though they do not generally use the designation.
Californian Common - A lager fermented at either high lager temps. or low ale temps and than lagered.This is also called steam beer. Has a medium flavor and body.Well hopped in bitterness, flavor, and aroma. High carbonation levels.Color is pale staw to copper.
Canadian Ales/lagers - Similar to U.S. versions but they have a higher hop characteristic.
Cream Ale - An American or Canadian ale that is lagered after fermentation is complete.They can also be blended with a lager to
produce a smooth clean flavor.Color can be bronze to burnt copper.
Czech Pils - Started the Lager revolution.Pale straw to deep golden color.More complex and malty than American and European styles
Doppelbock "Double" bock - German extra-strong bottom fermenting beer, tawny or dark brown. Around 7.5 by volume or stronger. Southern speciality, seasonal to March and April. Names usually end in -ator.
Dortmunder Export - Has a full bodied and robust character.
Dry Beer- Originally a milder adaptation of the German Diat Pils, renamed Dry Beer by the Japanese. After its great marketing success in Japan, the term Dry Beer was taken up in North America. There, the style was made milder still. American Dry Beer has a conventional alcohol and calorie content but is notable for having scarcely any taste, and no finish.
Dubbel - A subclass of Belgian Trappist and Abbey.They are not twice as strong as Trappist or Abbeys but they do have a higher alcohol content. The term dubbel refers to the starting gravities.They can be somewhat sweet.Color can be reddish brown and benefit fromg a good aging time.
Eis Bock- German for Ice Bock.You freeze a Dopplebock removeing the excess water which gives you a maltier, sweeter,more alcoholic beer.
Export- In Germany, a pale, Dortmund style bottom-fermented beer, bigger bodied than a Pilsner and less dry, but not as sweet as a Munich pale beer. At 5.25-5.5 by volume, stronger than either. Elsewhere: usually indicates a premium beer.
Faro- A Belgian Lambic that is spontaneously fermented with wild yeast and then candy sugar is added to restart fermemtation.It is slightly sweet,lactic, and acidic but with a winelike character.
Festbier - In Germany, any beer made for a festival. Styles vary, but they tend to be above average strength, often 5.5 - 6 volume.
Framboise- A lambic or gueuze with fresh raspberry juice.Should be minimally hopped. Sour & cloudy.
German Pils - A spin off of the Czech Pils.More paler, effervescent, and hoppier than the Original.
Grand Cru- A strong seasonal beer.Higher in alcohol than Belgians and pale in color.
Gueuze - old lambic(2-4 years old)and a young lambic(1/2-1 year old) are mixed and then fermented again.Then age for one year in the bottle.
Hefe- The German word for yeast, indicating that a beer is bottle conditioned and sedimented.
Ice Beer - lager that ferments at very cold conditions.This produces a very clean and smooth beer.Then the beer is frozen and the ice is removed just as the Eis Bock.
I.P.A. - I heard two stories about the origination of an I.P.A. We all know that I.P.A. stands for India Pale Ale.The first story is that when England brewed beer to send to their troops in India it was of a high alcohol strenght and very hoppy. These act as a preservative and help preserve the beer on its long journey.The other was a ship was forced to land at Londons "India Dock" that had a cargo of,you guessed it, beer. Henced the name India Pale Ale.
Irish Red - This gets its' color from the use of roasted barley.Has more sweetness and body than English Pale.They are malty,lightly hopped and may have a buttery quality.Can be an ale or a lager but traditionaly the are ales.
Kellerbier - A fruity Bavarian lager.High is hops and lightly carbonated. Similar to homebrew lagers.
Kolsch - Has medium bitterness.Can be cloudy.Slightly Lactic. Always blond colored.
Kriek- A lambic or gueuze that has gone under a long second fermentation with cherries in oak.
Lager - Any beer made by bottom-fermentation with Saccaromyces Carlsbergenis yeast and colder fermentation temperature than ales. This colder fermentation process inhibits the production of esters, creating a cleaner taste. In Britain, lagers are usually golden in color, but in continental Europe they can also be dark. In the German-speaking world and The Netherlands, the term may be used to indicate the most basic beer of the house, the biere ordinaire.
Lambic- A beer that is fermented with wild yeast.To be traditional it must have 30% wheat.Lightly hopped ans sour.Can be flavored with fruit but than it is called a Framboise.
Maibock - Celebratory springtime or "May" Bock, often released in April or even late March, Often pale.
Malt Liquor - Not malty, and sometimes containing substantial amounts of cheaper sugars. Not a liquor, either, but usually a strongish variation on a regular American lager. Intended for a cheap "high". Some states require the term malt liquor to be applied to all beers of more than 5.0 percent by volume.
Marzen- To be labled a tru Marzen it has to be brewed in March and served in late September or early October.Similar to Vienna but slightly darker and stronger. Should be smooth and malty but well balanced with Czech or German hops.
Mild Ale- These are low alcohol,medium to light body,witha slight sweetness.Color can be copper to dark brown.
Munchener/Munchner - Means "Munich-style". In international brewing terminology, this indicates a dark-brown lager, a style developed in Munich (although another Bavarian town, Kulmbach, also has a long tradition of dark lagers). In Munich, such a brew is clearly identified by the word Dunkel ("dark"), and classic examples have an alcohol content of around 5 percent by volume. Bavarian brewers in general also impart their own distinctively malty accent to their everyday, lower-gravity (alcohol content around 3.7) pale beers. These are sometimes identified as Munchner Hell, to distinguish them from the same brewers' Pilsener-style product.
Munich Dunkel- Dunkel means dark.So this is a dark lager.Usually malty and somewhat sweet but well balanced by the use of Bavarian holps.
Munich Helles - This is just a pale version of Munich Dunkel.Helles in German means pale.
Okterberfest - An American term for Marzen.Served at festivals in october.
Old Ale- A higher strenghth beer.They are close to Barley Wine strength. This also should sit for at least one year before serving.In olden time it was a very expensive brew and was mixed with an English mild to produce porter.Today we know this mixing as being called a black and tan.
Oud Bruin - Also known as Old Brown.This is a Belgian that has a long secondary fermentation That is done in casks.This process pick up some sourness but has a winelike profile.Theese can be flavored with raspberries or cherries and all have a low hopping rate.
Pale Ale - A full bodied beer with balanced maltiness,bitterness, and fruitiness. They are not pale as the name implies but are not as dark as say a stout.Color can be amber to copper.
Pilsener/Pilsner/Pils- Loosely, any golden-coloured, dry, bottom fermenting beer of conventional strength might be described as such (in its various spellings abbreviations) though this most famous designation properly belongs only to a product of "super-premium" quality. Too many brewers take it lightly, in more senses than one. In their all-round interpretation, German brewers take the style most seriously inspired by the Urquell (original) brew from the town of Pilsen, in the Czech province of Bohemia. A classic Pilsener, has a gravity of around 12 Balling and is characterized by the hoppiness of its flowery aroma and dry finish.
Porter - This was made by blending an old ale with a mild or brown ale.Should have a spicy chocolate profile.
Rauchbier - A German smoked beer.Theese go great with Sausages, cheese, or any other smoked food. They get the smokey flavor by the use of smoked malts.The malts were smoked with either oak or beechwood.
Roggenbier- Also known as Rye Beer.Made from at least 60% malted or roasted rye.
Saison - An earthy ale that is brewed in the French speaking region of Belgium. Brewed in the winter for spring consumption.They use an ale yeast,dry hopped and then bottled in a corked bottle.
Schwarzbier - This is a black beer lager from Germany.Has a bitter sweet chocolate flavor.Darker than the dunkel and more aggressive. Surprisinly some of the best comes out of Japan.
Scottish- There are three subclasses for this.Light,Heavy,and export (eg.60 shilling 70 shilling, and 80 shilling).Low hopping rates are used.
Scotch Ale - Could be called wee-heavy and is a subclass of scottish. They are often dark,rich,and complex in character and approach Barley Wine strenght.
Steam Beer- See Caifornian Common
Steinbier- A wheat beer brewed in Germany. Steinbier litterally means stone beer and is made by dropping very hot stones into a cask filled with wort. This would boil the wort and the sugars would crystallize on the stones. Then the stones were placed in the beer to be fermented. This process would give the beer a smokey,sweet flavor.
Stout - An English ale that is darker than a porter. Made with roasted barley to give the beer a roasted coffee taste. They can be either sweet, dry or an imperial.
Trappist- The only beer to be called a trappist has to be produced by Trappist monasteries.They are lightly hopped and very strong (6-10%alcohol). They are estery,phenolic,and have a complex malt character.Candi sugar is often used.
Tripel - These have trappist origins and are three times the O.G. of a pale ale. They use a generous amount of candi sugar.
Vienna- A malty lager that is brewed in late winter for the harvest in autumn. Very malty,well balanced,and moderately strong.
Weisse/Weissbier, Weizenbier - The German term for "white" beer, implying a pale brew made from wheat. In the north, a special renown is enjoyed by Berliner Weisse, a style in its own right. A different style of Weissbier is made in the south, with a more conventional alcohol content (usually a little over 5 percent by volume), a higher proportion of wheat (at least 50 percent) and a yeast (again top-fermenting) that produces a tart, fruity, spicy palate, sometimes with notes of cooking apples and cloves. Often, instead of Weissbier, the southerners prefer the term Weizen (a similar-sounding word but it means, quite simply "wheat"). If the beer is sedimented with yeast, it may be prefixed. Hefe-. Southern wheat beers are also produced in dark versions (these Dunkel Weizen brews have a delicious complex of fruitiness and maltiness), and in Export and Bock strengths. Weizenbock is sometimes served as a Christmas beer.
Wheat/Weizen- Uses wheat along with the 2-row.Can be redish gold to dark brown.Bavarian styles have more banana and clove esters.
White- A term once used to describe wheat beers. Apart from those of German-speaking countries, Belgium's white beers (Witbier, Biere Blanche) are of considerable interest.
Wiesen/Wies'n- Among several words that are confusingly similar to the non-German speaker, this one means "meadow". It implies a beer brewed for a carnival or festival (an Oktoberfest beer may be described as a Wies'n Marzen) or a rustic speciality (such as Kuppers' unfiltered Wiess).
Witbier- A cloudy wheat beer.Use of unmalted wheat, corriander, cumin, bitter, and sweet orange peel are not unusual.
