Styles

You probably wouldn't order a "a glass of wine" or "a coffee" when out to dinner or at a bar. Most people would be more precise and ask for a sauvignon blanc or a shiraz, or an espresso or caffe latte. Unfortunately, many people don't think twice about ordering "a beer" just like they'd order a "glass of water".

For people who know beer this is amazing given there are probably more styles of beer than there are styles of wine.

For those willing to expand their horizons, there's a plethora of beer out there.

Sometimes interesting and unusual beers are quite easy to come by, while others need a bit of investigative work or a visit to a specialist beer bar or retailer to track down. Or you may decide to brew your own.

There is a beer for almost every taste. Some people like nothing better than a full-flavored, dark, bitter beer such as stout. Others prefer light, delicate beers, possibly a pale lager. Or there is always tart wheat beer, which some find unpalatable but others can't get enough of.

Over the next pages are explanations of the main beer styles, along with their typical original gravity (OG), alcohol by volume (ABV) and bitterness expressed in international bitterness units (IBUs). IBUs and European bitterness units, or EBUs, can be and are used interchangeably to express the bitterness of a beer.

More information on beer styles is available from the Beer Judge Certification Program website. The BJCP's style guide is also a free app for BlackBerry, Apple and Android phones and tablets.

Ale

The term ale is used interchangeably in some parts of the world to mean beer. However, a beer isn't necessarily an ale. Ales are made with a type of yeast that tends to rise to the surface of the sweet wort as it ferments. It works ideally at temperatures about 18ºC to 22ºC (64ºF to 72ºF) and produces more-fruity flavors and ferments less fully than lager yeasts, meaning the beer is a little more malty and has a fuller body. Before lager brewing swept the world in the late 1800s, ales were almost universal.

Below are some of the more common styles of ale.

Mild ale

One of the great styles of British beer, mild ale originally was a beer that had not been aged, as many beers were to “sour” them. Today, mild ale means lightly hopped and not bitter, and therefore slightly sweet. They are usually dark in color and have a rich, grainy character due to large amounts of cereal adjucts. They get their deep copper to dark brown color from caramel and roasted malts. While not particularly bitter, they can be full of flavor. They usually have a light body and are low in alcohol, but it is not always the case. It is a beer able to be drunk in quantity and was popular in industrial areas where a hard-earned thirst was a daily occurrence. After almost being lost, mild ale has had somewhat of a revival in Britain.
OG: 1.030 to 1.040. IBUs: 10 to 25. ABV: 2.5% to 3.5%

Bitter

Another classic British beer style. A bitter is, first and foremost, bitter, with characteristics such as color and body a secondary consideration. Generally bitter is lighter in color (copper, medium gold or light brown), more expensive, slightly stronger and drier than mild ale. Bitter can be divided into subsections — ordinary bitter, best bitter, special bitter and extra special bitter (ESB) — depending on its original gravity and bitterness. Ordinary bitters have dominant grain and mineral flavors with a fruity, estery aroma due to warm fermentation. Best bitters have a little more hops and malt. Extra special bitters are similar to best bitters but have a maltier, richer flavor and more hops to match and perhaps a slightly higher alcohol content.

In Australia, bitter has come to describe a usually bland (some would say flavourless), lager, such as Carlton and United Breweries' ubiquitous Victoria Bitter (which incidentally was originally an ale and surely more tasty than is the case now), Southwark Bitter or XXXX Bitter, also now lagers.

Ordinary bitter: OG: 1.030 to 1.045. IBUs: 17 to 40. Alcohol: 3% to 4.8%
ESBs: OG: 1.040 to 1.050: IBUs: 25 to 40. ABV: 3.5% to 5%

English pale ale

The line between pale ale and bitter is blurred, with some arguing that pale ale was in times past simply a bottled version of bitter. Pale ale, despite its name, ranges in color from light copper to dark golden to reddish to light brown. Aromatic hops are often Fuggles or Goldings. There is good hop flavor and good flavor from malts. The body should be medium to light.

The town of Burton-upon-Trent in the English Midlands made this style of beer famous. The water taken from the Trent Valley picks up calcium sulphate from the gypsum-rich sandstone through which it passes. In the past, most Burton brewers used the complex Burton Union brewing system to make their pale ales. Basically, the union system involves letting beer foam out of the fermenting vessel, allowing the yeast to settle out and then adding the liquid back into the brew. This method results in a clearer beer and also gives the brew unique, complex flavors. Few breweries still use the Burton Union system, although Marston's added to its "unions" at a time when others were removing them.

Pale ale has been around since the 1700s, but was not a common beer because the pale malt needed to make it had to be dried over coal or coke, which was expensive. Cheaper brown malt was smoked over wood and used in brown ale, which was the most popular style of beer until the “pale ale revolution”. The industrialisation of Britain meant lower coal prices, and thus cheaper pale malt, which led to the rise of pale ale.
OG: 1.040 to 1.060. IBUs: 20 to 55. ABV: 3.5% to 5%

India pale ale

IPA was first brewed in the early 1800s as a very bitter, very strong beer, to preserve it on the long, slow journey by sea from Britain to all corners of the British Empire, such as India. The high hopping rate of these beers would be unusual today, but India pale ales should still be stronger and hoppier than regular pale ales.
OG: 1.055 to 1.080. IBUs: 40 to 65. ABV: 5.5% to 7.5%

American pale ale

American pale ales are similar to British pale ales, but often with more alcohol, more hop aroma and flavour, and a lighter colour. This style has developed since the 1980s as the micro-brewery phenomenon has swept the United States and Canada. Cascade or other US-style hops are typically used, giving these beers a fresh, floral, citrusy aroma. The style is generally a darker golden to bronze color and made with a more neutral yeast than their British counterparts, making them less fruity and allowing the hops to be the focus of the beer. They usually also have less of a pronounced maltiness than their cross-Atlantic cousins.
OG: 1.045 to 1.065. IBUs: 25 to 55. ABV: 5.5 to 6.5%

American India pale ale is a stronger version of the American pale ale, while double IPAs are stronger and hoppier again.

Red and amber ales

These ales are a relatively new beers. They get their color from large amounts of crystal or munich malts, or small amounts of chocolate malt. There should be hop presence both in the bittering and aroma, and they should have a medium body with a crisp finish.
OG: 1.045 to 1.065. IBUs: 30 to 55. ABV: 4.5% to 5.5%

Porter

This is a style of beer that is slowly making a comeback after falling out of fashion and almost being lost at the end of the 1800s. For 150 years it was one of the most popular beers in London. In essence it is a light stout (stout was originally called stout porter). In its heyday, two types of porter were served, mild (fresh) and stale. Stale porter had been stored for a year or more, had started to go sour and was more expensive. The deliberate souring would give the brew a tang that was much sought-after. The drinker would mix two, and sometimes three, beers of different ages to his own tastes.

London brewers built huge vats in which to mature their porter and let the oxidisation of alcohol into acetic acid (as found in vinegar) occur. Where these vats were concerned, bigger was better, and some held one million gallons (about 4.5 million litres). Parties were sometimes held in them to celebrate their opening. A popular story goes that one of these vats burst in 1814 and the 750,000-gallon wave of porter killed eight people and demolished a row of terrace houses!

Modern porters lack the smokiness, burnt-bitter taste, sourness, high hop rates and colour that would have been so familiar to drinkers in 1800s Britain; porters these days are black; the original porters were brown. It is a medium to full-bodied beer with a distinctive roasty malt flavor. The malts will produce a chocolate or coffee dryness while the hops will balance the malt without dominating. British porters have a minerally taste from hard water. Color is dark brown to black.
OG: 1.045 to 1.060. IBUs: 25 to 55. ABV: 4.5% to 6.0%

American porter is similar to British porters but with a little more malt, hops and alcohol. US hops are generally used. The water can be softer, resulting in less taste of minerals.
OG: 1.050 to 1.065. IBUs: 30 to 65. ABV: 4.5% to 7.0%

Stout

Stout and porter are very closely related. All stout is black, but ranges from light-bodied, transparent beer to thick, syrupy and extremely bitter brews such as Coopers Best Extra Stout from Adelaide, South Australia, which is undoubtedly one of the best stouts brewed. Stout, like porter, gets its dark colour and rich, roasted flavour from grains that are roasted like coffee beans until almost burned.

English stouts tend to be some of the sweeter of the type. Indeed, milk stouts, also called sweet or cream stouts, are sweetened with lactose, which does not ferment and thus leaves residual sweetness and adds to body. This style is much smoother and not as bitter as Irish stouts (see below). Some milk stouts have sugar added after they are pastuerised to kill the yeast and prevent fermentation of the sugar. Color is dark amber to black.
OG: 1.030 to 1.050. IBUs: 25 to 35. ABV: 2.5% to 4.0%

Oatmeal stouts are also classified as sweet. The late Michael Jackson, in his Beer Companion, says that even small quantities of oats result in a stout with a “distinctly firm, smooth, silky body and a hint of nuttiness in their complex of coffee, chocolate and roast flavours”. These beers are stronger and a little more bitter than milk stouts. Oatmeal is used to add body and sweetness. Lactose may also be used.
OG: 1.050 to 1.075. IBUs: 25 to 55. ABV: 4% to 7.0%

Dry stouts are a favorite in Ireland and have a strong roast flavour and good hop bitterness. They are rich and black. Their dryness comes from roasted barley and lots of hops, while the richness comes from barley flakes. The water should be hard and buttery flavours from the yeast are typical.
OG: 1.040 to 1.050. IBUs from 40 to 85. ABV: 4.5% to 5.2%

Extra stout is what most people think of when they thing of stout, and Guinness (not the dry stout version found on tap or in the 440ml cans) is perhaps the best-known example. This style is is stronger and richer and has more body than a dry stout, but similar in taste.
OG: 1.055 to 1.075. IBUs: 45 to 85. ABV: 5.5 to 7.0%

The rare oyster stout is also a dry stout, and, usually but not always, made with some part of an oyster, be it concentrate or the juice from when they are opened. It is said that even in oyster stouts made with oysters, the seafood taste is not at the fore. A similar beer is mussel stout.

American stouts are, like most American beers, hoppier and stronger than their British ancestors. There should be a dry finish from the hops and roasted malts. The yeasts used won’t give off as many fruity esters, letting hops rather than malt come to the fore.
OG: 1.050 to 1.075. IBUs: 35 to 80. ABV: 5.5% to 7.5%

Imperial stout is a stronger, more bitter stout, sometimes with an alcohol content above 10 per cent. Also called imperial Russian stout, it was originally made by the British for export, primarily to the Baltic states. Most recommend it be matured for at least two years before being drunk. This style is made with lots of dark roasted malts and hops for balance, giving it an almost tar-like intensity. See our homebrew recipe for imperial stout.
OG: 1.075 to 1.115. IBUs: 50 to 100. ABV: 7.5% to 10.0%, or more

Some stouts, such as Abbotsford Invalid Stout (brewed by Carlton and United Breweries in Victoria, Australia) and Cascade Special Stout (brewed by another CUB division, Cascade Brewery in Tasmania, Australia) are now made with bottom-fermenting lager yeast.

Dark ale/brown ale

This is one of the oldest types of English beer, which was drunk widely from the 12th century until the the early 1800s. Strictly, it is made from smoked malt, giving the beer a rich, smoky taste. This was the main type of beer until the pale ale revolution of the 1830s. The version of this style that we know today originated in the heavy-industrial area of Newcastle, England, and is enjoying something of a comeback around the world. Generally it is nutty, has a gentle fruitiness and is malty.

Southern English brown ale is dark brown and sweet due to the use of crystal (caramel) malts. It is low in gravity and bitterness.
OG: 1.030 to 1.045. IBUs: 10 to 25. ABV: 2.5% to 3.5%

Northern English brown ales are drier, hoppier and stronger than their southern counterparts. Their nutty flavor comes from crystal malts. They are clearer and lighter in colour than southern brown ales.
OG: 1.045 to 1.055. IBUs: 20 to 35. ABV: 3.5% to 4.5%

American brown ale is similar to the northern English style but with more alcohol and hops. A faint dry roasty taste may be present. The body is medium and colour is dark amber to dark brown.
OG: 1.050 to 1.065. IBUs: 25 to 55. ABV: 4.5% to 6.5%

Strong ale

A malty beer with high alcohol, strong ales often have fruity flavors developed by warm fermentations. They are hoppy to match the malt and finish medium to full bodied. They're usually amber in color.
OG: 1.060 to 1.100. IBUs: 30 to 90. ABV: 6.5% to 10.0%

Old ale

A typical old ale has a rich flavor, perhaps of currants and black treacle, with full colour and is usually sweet. This, combined with a fairly high alcohol content (by British standards) of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent make it an ideal winter drink. However, old ale is a broad category. Sometimes it indicates an ale that has been aged, or is made to be aged. Eldridge Pope's now-defunct Thomas Hardy's Ale was almost 12.5 per cent alcohol, and the brewery suggested it would be at its best after five years and still drinkable after 20. It has been said that Gale's Brewery's Prize Old Ale needs at least 20 years in the bottle. The widely available Theakston's Old Peculiar is regarded as perhaps the definitive old ale.
OG: 1.050 to 1.125. IBUs: 30 to 100. ABV: 6.5% to 12.5%

Barley wine

In Britain a brewery's strongest ale is usually called barley wine, a tradition that has been adopted by some North American breweries. Typically a barley wine is in the range of 7.5 to 12.5 per cent, but could be up to 15 per cent, which is getting towards the limit at which beer yeast will ferment. Barley wine's colour is darker than bronze, and the beer is very fruity, malty and full-bodied. The warmth imparted by abundant alcohol makes barley wines popular as dessert beers or as a nightcap. Barley wine is similar to whisky-malt beers and strong Scottish ales. Very high bitterness balances the maltiness. Like old ales, they are best when aged.
OG: 1.075 to 1.130. IBUs: 50 to 100. ABV: 7.5% to 12.5%

Scottish (Scotch) ale

Scottish ales are full-bodied, malty and darker brown. They are sometimes sweeter than the original gravity would suggest, as the Scottish brewers tend to towards techniques and yeast that ferments the beers less fully. The designation of 60/-, 70/-, 80/- and 90/- have enjoyed a revival over recent years. It refers to the prices, in shillings, of the beer in the late 1800s. The more expensive the beer, the stronger it was.
OG: 1.030 to 1.050. IBUs: 10 to 20. ABV: 3.0% to 4.5%

Wee heavy is a strong scotch ale. It is rich and has a full-bodied, malty character. There are more hops to balance out the intense maltiness. Roasted malts are often used.
OG: 1.060 to 1.085. IBUs: 15 to 35. ABV: 6% to 8%

Irish ales

While Ireland is famous for its stout, notably Guinness, the Irish also enjoy their reddish-coloured ale. Irish ales are rounded beers, with soft fruitiness and a “butteriness”.

Cream ales

These are similar to American pale lagers. Adjuncts such as corn and rice may be used. The beer has a low bitterness and it has a light body and is well carbonated.
OG: 1.040 to 1.055. IBUs: 10 to 20. ABV: 4.5% to 7.0%

Australian ales

In 1863, Thomas Cooper founded his brewery in Adelaide, South Australia. The beers from Thomas Cooper and Sons Brewery, now just Coopers Brewery, are included in their own section because they are unique. The Sparkling Ale (5.8 per cent ABV) is one of a kind. It is a bottle or (stainless steel) keg-conditioned ale, having been matured for six weeks before its release onto the market. The sediment in Sparkling Ale disconcerts those unfamiliar to it, and they prefer to gently pour their beer into a glass without disturbing the yeasty residue at the bottom. In South Australia, however, it is traditional to tip the bottle upside down briefly before opening it so as to churn up the residue to create the cloudiness traditionally associated with this beer. On tap, the cloudiness increases as the keg empties. Other bottle-conditioned and keg-conditioned ales the brewery makes are a fabulous Original Pale Ale (at 4.5 per cent ABV a lighter version of the Sparkling Ale); a Dark Ale (also 4.5 per cent); mid-strength (for Australia) Mild Ale (3.5%) and Best Extra Stout (6.3 per cent and until the 1990s 6.8 per cent), which is surely one of the world's great stouts.

Belgian ales

Belgium, with Britain, was one of the last bastions of ale brewing before the craft beer revolution that began in the US in the 1980s started to re-educate the world about ales. Many Belgian ales are similar to English pale ales, but more aromatic and spicy with a strong yeast and malt character. The spiciness is often imparted by the yeast. Most Belgian ales are about 5 per cent ABV.

Many Flemish brown ales and red ales are complex and, according to the late Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, are reminiscent of olives, raisins and spices. They have a sweet-and-sour character and are best served cool, at cellar temperature. Some are sweeter and more suited to drinking with rich desserts. They get their sourness from lactobacillus bacteria, which is also the culture used to make yoghurt. Some people dislike this sharp, lactic flavour, but it makes the beer extremely refreshing. There is a long aging period, usually in wooden vats, and blending of old and new beers.
OG: 1.045 to 1.055. IBUs: 20 to 35. ABV: 4.5% to 5.5%

Saison is a heavily hopped, crisp, spicy and tart style of beer. Some include herbs or spices such as orange peel, licorice and star anise. They were originally a seasonal, thirst-quenching summer beer. The color is orange, carbonation is high. This style should have a crystal malt flavor and be well hopped.
OG: 1.050 to 1.080. IBUs: 15 to 35. ABV: 5.5% to 7.5%

Witbier (or wit bier), also known as Belgian white, is made with unmalted wheat, oats and pale malted barley. Spices such as orange peel or coriander, or both, add flavour. The yeast adds sourness and haziness. Body is light to medium and these beers are extremely refreshing.
OG: 1.045 to 1.050. IBUs: 15 to 25. ABV: 4% to 5%.

The most famous golden ale outside Belgium is Duvel, upon which most beers of this style are based. Interestingly, Duvel has only been brewed since 1970. Its light color is deceptive, as it has quite a high alcohol content, at 8 per cent by volume. As far as ales go, it is unusual because it can be served very cold, and is in Belgium. When warmed, it is more fruity.

Trappist beer

In five Trappist abbeys in Belgium (Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren) and two in the Netherlands (Achel and La Trappe), monks produce a distinctive style of beer. Beers brewed in monasteries in Austria and Germany generally reflect mainstream beers in those countries. But Trappist beers are different. They all are fairly strong, dry and bottle-conditioned, contain lots of yeast sediment and are fruity and aromatic. The unique yeasts give a sour, phenolic edge. Candy sugar adds flavor, character and alcohol. Chimay is probably the most widely known Trappist beer. The style has been copied the world over, but only those made in the Trappist abbeys can be called Trappist beers.

"Singles" are dominated by malt and are usually found only at the monasteries.
OG: 1.050 to 1.095. IBUs: 20 to 45. ABV: 5% to 11%

"Dubbles" (or doubles) are dark amber in colour with a full body. They usual have caramelised candi sugar and some hoppy dryness to balance.
OG: 1.063 to 1.070. IBUs: 18 to 25. ABV: 6% to 7.5%

"Tripples" (triples) are medium-gold in colour with a dry, citric flavor in the finish. They use light candi sugar and the yeast will give a rich phenolic flavor. OG: 1.070 to 1.095. IBUs: 20 to 25. ABV: 7% to 10%

Altbier

Altbiers originate in northern Germany and are dryish and copper, light gold or dark brown coloured. This style survives in areas where lager brewing did not take off and is the German version of the English pale ale. It is quite dry with a malt flavour, and the hops are strong, but moreso for bittering than aroma. Body is light to medium. A cold maturation (as with lagers) produces a very smooth beer.
OG: 1.040 to 1.055. IBUs: 30 to 55. ABV: 4.5% to 4.7%

Kolschbier

A delicate, golden German style, which is quite bitter with a gentle fruitiness. It is traditionally made by about a dozen breweries around Cologne, although the style is often replicated around the globe. Kolschbier is quite blonde in colour, includes 10 to 20 per cent wheat and is a light-bodied, dry and hoppy beer. Often there is a “fruity-winey” bouquet.
OG: 1.045 to 1.050. IBUs: 16 to 34. ABV: About 5%

Biere de garde

A rich, earthy beer brewed in France near the Belgian border. It is malty and the hops provide balance. The yeast gives a slightly sour taste.
OG: 1.060 to 1.075. IBUs: 20 to 30. ABV: 6.5 to 8.5%

Dortmunder adambier

This is a very strong, high-gravity beer aged for up to 10 years. It is medium-amber to brown, and very rich and full-bodied. Hops provide balance to the intense maltiness. OG: 1.070 to 1.110. IBUs: 35 to 65. ABV: 6.5% to 10%

Lager

Lager yeasts are efficient workers and are able to ferment more of the sugars in a wort than ale yeasts. They also produce fewer fruity compounds. This results in a crisp-tasting beer of generally lighter body and less-fruity aroma than an ale. In the past 100 years or so, lagers have become the predominent beers of the world, so much so that many types of ales and ale brands have been lost.

Lagers are made at lower temperatures (about 10ºC (50ºF) or so) and should ideally be “lagered” for at least several weeks close to freezing point after fermentation to produce a smoother, rounder beer. The advent of refrigeration allowed lagers to sweep the world.

Pilsner

Also spelled pilsener, plizner or pilzener, or called pils, this is one of the world's great (and possibly most widely copied) beer styles. The term pilsner is often misused to describe a golden lager. True pilsners are soft and malty, have a full, flowery hop aroma and good hop bitterness, creating a dry finish. Budweiser Budvar and Pilsner Urquell, both from the Czech Republic, are two classic pilsner-style lagers. The first pilsner was brewed at a brewery in Pilsen (Plzeň), Bohemia, in the current-day Czech Republic, west of the capital, Prague.

Germany and the Czech Republic are the centres of pilsner brewing, while the style is also strong in Belgium, where Stella Artois is made. Czech pilsners are more malty than their German counterparts. In the US and many other countries, Budweiser Budvar is called Czechvar due to trademark battles with the maker of the bland US lager Budweiser.

Purists argue that pilsners should only be made with barley grown in Bohemia and Moravia, and Saaz hops from the Zatec region of Bohemia.
OG: 1.040 to 1.050. IBUs: 25 to 45. ABV: 4% to 5%

Vienna/Oktoberfest

This dark lager from Germany is full of character and drunk in copious quantities at the two-week Oktoberfest (the majority of which actually falls during September) in Germany. They are spicy, reddish or copper-colored and slightly sweet.

Dark lager

Once, when drinking vessels were metal or pottery, the colour of beer wasn't important. Then along came glass and the pilsner style. Dark lagers have a well-balanced spicy maltiness and a roundness imparted by the lager yeast. Some also have a grainy character.

Dortmunder

In his Beer Companion, Michael Jackson describes the dortmunder style as “fuller in colour and body than a pilsner. It is less aromatic, hoppy and bitter than a pilsner, but drier and firmer than the malty pale lagers of Munich. It is also slightly lower in carbonation and less foamy.”

Bock

This style is traditionally smooth, generally dark and slightly sweet with a high alcohol content. Double bock is a stonger version. There is also a weizenbock, a strong version made with wheat.

Helles lager

A golden lager from Germany, its name means “bright”. These lagers are less bitter than pilsners and have a lighter body than dortmunder-style beers. They are on the sweet side, but with a delicate, spicy hoppiness.

California common/steam beer

These are lagers that are fermented at ale temperatures. These beers, of which Anchor Steam Beer from San Francisco is the best-known example, have a yeasty, citric flavor from the warm temperatures. There should be lots of caramel maltiness and a fair amount of hops both in the bittering and on the finish. Northern Brewer hops are often used. This medium-bodied beer should be amber colored.
OG: 1.045 to 1.055. IBUs: 35 to 45. ABV: 4.5% to 5.5%

Australian lagers

These rank, alongside most mass-market lagers from the United States, as some of the most bland — Oliver and Geoff, and many others, would say worst — beers in the known universe. They include the likes of Southwark Bitter and West End Draught (South Australia), Toohey's New (New South Wales), XXXX Bitter (Queensland) and Victoria Bitter (Victoria). They are highly carbonated and made with generous amounts of adjuncts such as cane sugar. In Australia, a light beer is a low-alcohol versions of these lagers, rather than low-calorie beers as they are in the US.

American pale lager

The vast majority of beer drunk in the US falls into this category. It is made with light grain and adjuncts such as rice to lighten the body and colour of the beer. Hop bitterness is very low, body is light, carbonation high and taste is dry. Light beers are lighter-bodied beers with even less flavor.
OG: 1.025 to 1.050. IBUs: 8 to 15. ABV: 2.8% to 5%

Wheat beer

Many beers contain small amounts of malted or unmalted wheat. However, those with large quantities of wheat and brewed with traditional wheat yeast are often tart and good thirst-quenchers. The term wheat beer is slightly misleading, as this style is not made with only wheat, but rather with malted barley and a high proportion of malted wheat. A typical wheat beer will contain no more than 50 per cent malted wheat. Wheat imparts flavors of plum and apple and the yeast often gives a spiciness.

Berliner weisse

This is the most refreshing style of wheat beer. It has a low alcohol content, light body and high carbonation, and is very tart. Cold maturation produces a flowery, delicate fruitiness. They are pale and hop bitterness is not obvious. Lactic cultures (Lactobacillus, such as in yoghurt) are used as well as yeast to produce lactic acid, which makes Berliner weisse very tart. Its acidity also means it will not hold a head. Berliner weisse is sometimes served with a dash of fruit or herbal syrup to counter the acidity. It is made with about 25 per cent wheat.
OG: 1.030 to 1.035. IBUs: 4 to 10. ABV: 3% to 3.5%

South German weizenbier

A good summer beer, light and sparkling, spicy and with the acidity of apples or plums. Colour can vary from pale to dark and some are clear while others are cloudy. The yeast imparts clove-like flavors and hop bitterness is low. Traditionally weizenbier was bottle-conditioned (hefeweizen), giving it yeast residue which would make the beer cloudy when poured. These days some are filtered or pasteurised (kristallweizen) and some kristallweizens have a sterile protein added to make them cloudy and appear to be a hefeweizen! Sometimes, but rarely (not rarely enough, some would say), this style is served with a slice of lemon in the glass.
OG: 1.045 to 1.060. IBUs: 13 to 20. ABV: 4.5% to 5.7%

German dark wheat beer (dunkelweizen)

These beers taste of toffee, have the sharpness of wheat and spiciness of Bavarian ale yeast. Lovely as a thirst-quencher or a dessert beer. This is a dark weizen with a more robust flavor. Its colour is light amber to dark amber.
OG: 1.045 to 1.065. IBUs: 15 to 20. ABV: 4.5% to 6.0%

Weizenbock

A wheat beer made to bock strength. There will be the strong maltiness and full body of a bock with wheat “breadiness” . Hops are just to balance.
OG: 1.064 to 1.080. IBUs: 15 to 25. ABV: 6.6% to 7.5%

Belgian wheat beer

These beers are spiced, usually with Curacao orange peel and and coriander, and sometimes other spices, as well as hopped. The Belgian wheat beers are generally bottle-conditioned and do not have the acidity or clove-like character of other wheat beers. They are made with large amounts of unmalted wheat, which adds to the body and provides a graininess. Unmalted wheat also aids head retention and these beers have a firm, dense head.

Wheat ale

A relatively new style, which has more character than regular wheat beers brewed with wheat beer yeast. However, they remain thirst-quenching and crisp. They are mainly brewed in the US and Britain.

American wheat beer

These beers are light and soft, with low hop bitterness. They do not have the clove-banana flavor that yeast imparts to German hefeweizens. The yeast is usually neutral, like most yeast favoured in US craft beers, and the flavor comes from the wheat and hops. The color is pale straw to gold.
OG: 1.040 to 1.050. IBUs: 15 to 20. ABV: 4% to 4.5%

Lambic beers

Generally, beer is made under controlled conditions and the brewer will do everything to keep all bacteria out of the fermenting wort except the yeast that he or she chooses to pitch in order to ferment the wort. But lambic beers are made by spontaneous fermentation. The unfermented wort is left in open vessels for wild yeast to settle in, multiply and ferment. Lambics also contain at least 30 per cent unmalted wheat. Strictly, the style is produced by only a handful of brewers in the Senne Valley, within 10 kilometres of Brussels. Lambic production has been tried elsewhere in Belgium, but has not produced beer of the same character. The microbiology of the breweries is not something that can be created in years, or possibly even decades.

Lambics are also unusual in that they are made with aged hops. Ageing hops (lambics use hops that are about three years old) reduces their flavor, but not their preservative qualities, which is why they are used in lambic beers. Stong hop flavors and wheat beers do not go well together. The brewing process is more or less standard until it comes to fermentation. The wort is run into large, shallow, open vessels. The windows of the brewery are left open and wild yeast blows in from outside or from within the brewery building and begins its magic. When fermentation is finished the beer is transferred to wooden barrels and left to mature for several years.

The brewing process produces a dry, earthy beer with sharp lactic characteristics and little carbonation. Tasting lambics for the first time can be a confronting experience!

Gueuze is a blend of old and new lambics that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. It is more delicate and carbonated than an unblended lambic and has a toasty aroma. Some gueuze is filtered, bottled and pasteurised, which results in a less-complex beer, but one that is easier to drink.

Faro is a lambic beer that has been sweetened. The bottled examples are filtered or pasteurised to kill or remove yeast and prevent the added sugar fermenting.

Kriek and Frambozen are lambics to which fruit, usually and traditionally cherries or raspberries, has been added for flavour or as extra fermentable sugar, or both. Most lambic brewers add the fruit fresh to the fermented wort when it is in the barrel maturing, so it takes some wild yeasts with it.

OG: 1.045 to 1.055. IBUs: 15 to 30. ABV: 3.5% to 6.5%