You would think that after 12 years of intense beer drinking that I would "know" the type of beer that I am drinking! To the contrary, I am fairly limited to the likes of bud "light" or "heavy." I have started to enjoy the IPAs and Lagers of the world, but I still don't know the classification of the beer caste system. I read a book on wine, and they laid out simplistic terminology the difference between a "heavy" wine like beourdouex compare to a "light" wine like pinot noir. The best answer would be similar to that wine comparision…
Thanks!
Two classes of beer collectively make up thousands of different varieties of beer.
The two different categories of beer differ in the type of yeast used to brew them and the temperature at which they are brewed. Beer that is classified as lager uses special yeast that ferments best at cooler temperatures. Beer classified as ale uses another type of yeast that ferments best at warmer temperatures. Both lagers and ales contain hops, malted barley, yeast and water.
There are basically four types of beer that fall under the lager category: American style pale lager, pilsner, light lager and dark lager. Pale lager usually contains more carbonation than the other types of beer. It tends to be light in colour as well as in body. The most popular brands of beer in the United States, such as Coors and Budweiser, are examples of a pale lager.
Pilsner is another type of lager that is pale in colour. However, pilsners tend to have more distinct flavours and are often more bitter than American style pale lager. In the U.S., light lager beer contains less hops and barleys, which reduces the caloric content of the beer. Light beer also has a slightly lower alcohol concentration than regular beers. In Europe, a light lager is a beer that is light in colour rather than calories. Dark lagers are made with roasted barley and hops, and therefore have richer flavour, a very dark colour and a full-bodied taste.
The main types of beer that are referred to as ales include brown ale, porter and stout. Brown ale is usually red or copper coloured rather than brown. It has a milder flavour than the other types of ale beer.
Porters are darker and more full bodied. Porters usually have a more noticeable barley flavour that is reminiscent of chocolate, along with a mild hop flavour. Stouts are the darkest type of beer, almost black in colour. They are thick and taste strongly of the barley and hops that they are made from.
Although there are generally only two types of beer, several thousand unique types of beer are created through different combinations of ingredients and added flavours. Fruit, vegetables, spices and so on are added to both lagers and ales to create beer with flavours like cherry wheat and pumpkin spice, for example.
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