BEER
BEER VARIETIES
PILSNER
Pilsner is one of the youngest beer styles in the world; it’s a clean and simple pale lager and one of the more popular beer varieties. It was originally brewed in Plzen, Czechoslovakia in 1842 using the regions distinctive Noble Saaz hops.
WHEAT BEER
Wheat beer is reminiscent of the first brewed beers. They’re a mixture of barley and wheat grains, have a low to nonexistent hops presence, cloudy appearance, and often prominent yeast flavor. The yeast used is a specialized ale yeast used only in wheat beers and contributes much of the aroma and flavor of the brew.
PALE ALE
Pale ale is one of the world’s most popular beer styles. It was invented thanks to innovation in brewing technology where they discovered a method to gently roast the barley. It’s made with the use of pale malt.
BROWN ALE
True to its name, brown ale is a dark amber color. It’s a very old style beer, whose history dates back to unhopped ales. In the 18th century, brown ales were lightly hopped and brewed from 100 percent brown malt — which is how they got their distinctive color, but today the term brown ale incorporates many different kinds of brews.
INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
During the 1700s, when English troops lived in India the typical pale ale brew most Englishmen drank would spoil before the ship reached the Indian shores. In order to prolong the beers shelf life, brewers added more hops (a natural preservative), and hence the origin of a now very popular beer.
DOUBLE IPA
Double IPAs are also called “Imperial” IPAs. These beers have even more hops added to them than traditional IPAs, sometimes double to triple the amount. To balance the strong hoppy taste, more malt is also added which makes this beer a strong one.
BOCK
Bock beer is stronger than your typical lager and has a more robust malt character. In the Medieval days, German monasteries would brew strong beers, such as this one, for sustenance during their Lenten fasts.
PORTER
Porters are very dark, almost opaque. They consist of roasted malts or roasted barley, and are typically brewed with slow fermenting yeast.
STOUT
Stouts have an unclear history, yet it’s strongly held by many that they derive from porters. They’re made with black unmalted barley which contributes to most of the color and flavor characteristics common in all stouts. The head of stout should be thick and is usually tan to brown.