AMERICAN IPA

A showcase for American hops, supported by an underlying, sweet malty body. Exhibits more bitterness than many other hops, and has flavors reminiscent of pine, citrus, tropical fruit, or even hemp. Tends to have a long, lingering bitter finish.

AMERICAN PALE ALE

Has a light, malty sweetness, but is really all about hops. These styles are the least bitter showcase for American hops, and can exhibit flavors of citrus, grass, pine, tropical fruit, or many other botanical flavors, depending on the hops in use.

AMERICAN STOUT

Characterized by piney, grassy, or citrusy note of American hops, this is more bitter than other stout styles. The tannic character of the roasted malt tends to stand out, lending a bittersweet note of baker’s chocolate, or French Roast coffee.

BALTIC PORTER

Similar to English porters in their coffee, chocolate, and caramel notes, but sweeter, more alcoholic, and tends to carry notes of molasses or dark fruit. Traditional Baltic porters are lagers, rather than ales, and originate from countries around the Baltic Sea, making this style closer to German brewing traditions than English.

BARLEYWINE

Originating from 18th-century Britain, a strong, sweet, malty beer, with big fruit and biscuit notes. Hops, correspondingly proportioned, can lend peppery or spicy notes; American barleywines, unsurprisingly, are loaded with citrusy or piney hops.

BELGIAN/ABBEY ALES

Refers to a range of complex beers that tend to be quite dry, “digestible,” and highly carbonated. Traditionally produced in Trappist monasteries, primarily located in Belgium, there are typically two main styles—dubbel and tripel. Dubbels are dark, dry, malty beers with vinous notes of dark fruit and chocolate. Tripels are high-alcohol golden beers with rich, malty palates and fruity notes.

BITTER, BEST BITTER, EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

English pale ales, characterized by a rich, malty body, often with caramel or toffee notes, and a notable British hop presence. Bitter (also referred to as ordinary bitter) is the lightest of them. A slightly stronger/hoppier version would be called special bitter, best bitter, or premium bitter. Stronger and hoppier yet is extra special or strong bitter.

BOCK

Originating from the northern German city of Einbeck, the name means “goat” in German (goats are often used in advertisements); a dark, strong, toasty lager with flavors like dried fruits, or sweet caramel.

BOHEMIAN PILSNER

Originally brewed in Plzeñ (Pilsen in English), western Bohemia (now the Czech Republic); a light-colored, malty lager, traditionally brewed using Czech Saaz hops, which lend a light bitterness, and a spicy, floral character.

BROWN PORTER

Dark brown ales, flavored with “black” or “black patent” malt, giving them a distinctive coffee/espresso note alongside chocolate and nutty flavors. Brown porters are the lighter and sweeter of the two types of English porters, and can only be distinguished from brown ales by the inclusion of the black malt coffee notes.

CALIFORNIA COMMON/STEAM BEER

An amber lager, originating from San Francisco in the days before refrigeration; fermented at warmer temperatures, closer to those for ale fermentation (which is why it is referred to as “steam beer”); fruity and malty, with notes of grain, caramel, and—because of the lager yeast—a bit of sulfur, which dries it out and allows the traditional Northern Brewer hops to shine through. The name “Steam Beer” is trademarked by Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, so the style is generally referred to as “California Common.”

DOPPELBOCK

A more alcoholic and darker version of Bock, sometimes with rich toffee or chocolate notes in addition to fruitiness. Doppel means “double” in German and refers to the fact that Doppelbocks are normally much sweeter and stronger than traditional bocks.

DRY STOUT

First popularized in Ireland as an offshoot of porter, dry and bitter, with notes of coffee, espresso, and cocoa. They are often creamy and jet-black with a thick tan- or brown-colored head.

DUNKELWEIZEN

Literally “dark wheat”; a wheat beer made with dark malts to create a a full, bready palate. The result of combining wheat and dark malts is often reminiscent of rich caramel and light chocolate. Can have a wide range of flavors in common with their light cousins—from bananas to cloves, bubblegum, or vanilla.

ENGLISH IPA

A highly hopped pale ale, originally created in the 1700s to withstand a long sea journey, India pale ales exhibit a light malty sweetness, and may have some caramel character. Not as bitter as American IPA, and made with British hops which lend an earthy, floral, and sometimes leathery flavor.

INTERNATIONAL LIGHT LAGER

The most common style of beer, neither malty nor hoppy, made with a large portion of corn or rice, to lighten body, and create easily fermentable sugar without much flavor, leaving the finished product pale, highly carbonated, and a touch sweet.

KÖLSCH-STYLE BEER

Light, clean, crisp, and grainy, similar to a pilsner, but fermented with ale yeasts at low temperatures to stop the robust formation of esters. Unlike pilsners, it tends to have a light fruitiness, and only a light hop bitterness. Technically, only beer brewed in and around Köln, Germany, is allowed to be called Kölsch.

MAIBOCK/HELLES BOCK

A paler version of a traditional bock, sometimes with more hop character. While they retain the rich malt complexity of Bocks, they lack the dried fruit character. Helles means “a light one” and Mai is “May” referring to the fact that Maibock is traditionally served in the springtime.

MARZEN/OKTOBERFEST

Traditionally a version of Vienna lager brewed in Munich, it is now associated primarily with the annual Oktoberfest festival held in Munich each year. Rich and malty, with little-to-no hop character, a Festbier can range from bright golden to coppery orange.

MILD ENGLISH BROWN ALE

Originally referring to a beer that was young or fresh, in modern times refers to a light brown ale with moderate hop bitterness. There are two varieties of English brown ale: a southern English brown is sweet, malty, and nutty with notes of chocolate and dark fruit, while a northern English brown is drier and hoppier.

MUNICH DUNKEL

Dunkel means “dark” in German. This is a dark, rich, malty lager based on a Marzen, but with complex notes of chocolate, caramel, and coffee.

MUNICH HELLES

Takes its name from the German term meaning “a light one,” has a light, straw-to-golden color, but a rich, malty flavor, and not very hop-forward.

RAUCHBIER

A smoked beer originating from Bamberg, Germany, brewed with large portions of beech-smoked malt, often in the style of an Octoberfest or Marzen. The flavor profile can be reminiscent of ham or bacon, and it pairs well with food.

ROBUST PORTER

A darker, roastier, more alcoholic version of a brown porter. In addition to coffee/espresso character from the inclusion of black malt, it can have notes of dark chocolate or burnt caramel.

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

Originally an extremely strong porter brewed for the Russian Imperial Court—for Catherine the Great herself—a big, boozy beer, with rich, full palates of chocolate, coffee, molasses, caramel and toffee, alongside dark fruit characteristics like plum, raisin, figs, or dates.

SAISON

Traditionally a low-alcohol ale brewed for farm workers that used leftover grain from the farm, today it is much higher in alcohol and carbonation, and typically uses a combination of wheat and barley (though many other grains can be used). Has a distinctive yeast, that produces dry, spicy beer. Additional spices, like star anise, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, or basil, can be found in some versions. Color ranges from bright yellow to orange.

SCHWARZBIER

Literally, “black beer” in German, these beers are sometime referred to as “black Pilsners.” This style is similar to a Munich Dunkel, but it is drier, with flavors of roasted grain or bitter coffee, and a moderate hop character.

SCOTTISH ALES

Ranging from light and fairly dry to rich, dark, and sweet, it has almost no hop character, but sometimes exhibits a light, smoky character, usually from yeast. Scottish ales are traditionally named after the taxes that were charged for the malt. The lightest Scottish ale is a 60 Shilling (also written 60/-). Also available are 80 Shilling, 90 Shilling, and 120 Shilling, each version getting gradually darker, sweeter, roastier, and more alcoholic.

SWEET STOUT/MILK STOUT

Made using lactose, a complex sugar molecule found in milk that cannot be digested by yeast, has much more body, and a lingering sweetness, often exhibiting chocolate, coffee, or espresso flavors. The end product can taste like sweetened coffee or, because lactose has a milky tang, like a milk chocolate bar.

TROPICAL STOUT

Also known as “Foreign Extra Stout,” popularized in the Caribbean and typically brewed for tropical markets, it is higher in alcohol than dry or sweet stouts, and characterized by fruitiness as well as traditional chocolate and coffee flavors.

VIENNA LAGER

A rich, malty, amber lager, with little-to-no evident hop character, that finishes crisp and dry. Popularized in Vienna, common in Central America since German immigration in the 1800s.

WEISSBIER OR WEIZEN

“White” or “wheat” beer refers to light German beer made with high proportions of wheat, with no apparent hop character. Wheat lends a full, creamy mouthfeel, even in a light refreshing beer. The yeast used in most weissbiers creates flavors reminiscent of bananas and cloves.

WITBIER

Means “white beer”; a light, wheat-based ale like a weissbier, but traditionally brewed with coriander and bitter (Curaçao) orange peel. It is light and zesty, with a citrus character from the spice additions, the same hazy character of other wheat beers, but not the banana and clove characteristics of German weizens.