quiz 2.3

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 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 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.

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.

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 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

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

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 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

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 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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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

Cassis – lambic flavored with black currant

Kriek – lambic flavored with cherry

Peche – lambic flavored with peach