The Beer Church Beer Style Guide

So much beer, so little time. You might as well know about the beer you're drinking.

Beer Church is happy to provide this basic guide to beer styles. If you are a serious beer geek, you may be interested in seeing the real deal. There is a ton of information (and mis-information) about beer styles on the Internet. If you are looking for the serious, official definition of beer styles then you need to talk to the folks at The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). Check out the BJCP Style Guidelines for Beer, Mead and Cider. (note - it is in PDF format and it's 46 pages long)

TOPICS

Styles of Beer
Styles of Lager
Styles of Ale

Styles of Beer

Beer can be divided into two basic categories: lager and ale.

Select a topic on the left to learn more about the different styles of lagers and ales.

The most basic difference between the two is that lagers are made using a bottom fermenting style yeast while ales use a top fermenting style yeast. Lagers are generally fermented at cooler temperatures (below 50 degrees F) while ales are generally fermented at warmer temperatures (60 - 70 degrees F).

Some people think that lager means light while ale means heavy (or dark). Although this is a gross simplification, it is an understandable stereotype. Most ales are darker than most lagers.

Styles of Beer | Page 1 of 3 | Styles of Lager


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