Types of Beers

Ale Beers

What Makes an Ale? The primary distinction of ale is the fermentation process. When the wort (pre- fermented malt and hop) mixture is ready for fermentation, the brewer adds yeast, which then converts the wort to beer. The type of yeast used is what will determine whether or not the beer is classified as ale or lager.

Ale yeast is commonly referred to as "top- fermenting". What this means is that the mixture of wort, after yeast has been added, will begin to form a thick layer of foaming action on the top of the wort. If you have experimented with making homebrewed ale, you have probably witnessed this. The bubbling action takes place at the top of the mixture, as the yeast converts the malt sugar into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Ales were the first beers to be produced. Ale is fermented in warmer temperatures than lager - around 60 to 75 degrees. Ales also ferment faster than lager.

Pilsner Beers

The origins of this style of beer can be traced to 1842 when the first pilsner was brewed in Pilsen, Bohemia (the Czech Republic today). This original pilsner was the product of the Mestansky Pivovar (meaning "citizen's brewery) brewery, which would later change its name to the Plzensky Prazdroj (meaning "original source of pilsner") brewery. The head of the operation was brewmaster Josef Groll, a young brewer of lager from Bavaria. His new product was later given the name "Pilsner Urquell", which means "original source". With this new beer, the pilsner style had been born.

The popularity of this new beer spread quickly throughout Europe. It was exported to the United States for the first time in 1871. To protect this new venture in malt beverage creation, the brewery made "pilsner beer" a registered trademark. This protective measure didn't last long. With the popularity of this type of beer growing so fast and being imitated so frequently, the term pilsner eventually became a generic word that was used to describe most any light lager, even if the beer wasn't that similar to the original pilsner.

Porter Beers

This style of beer has its origins in the 18th century, when it was first brewed in England. This type of beer was richer and more nourishing than the other popular beers at the time, and it was popular among porters and laborers; hence the name, porter.

According to English law at the time porter was developed, the price of beer was determined by the government. Regardless of the cost to the manufacturer, beer was sold with a fixed price. This, of course, led brewers to attempt to manufacture their product as cheaply as possible, in order to maximize profits. Since brown malt was the cheapest type of malt in the 1700's, it became popular as a main ingredient in beer, and this led to the development of the porter style of beer.

Stout Beers

Stout is a relatively young style of beer. It was first introduced to the world by Guinness, in 1759, as an "extra stout" version of its porter. The name "stout" referred to the fact that this beer was a little more assertive than the regular porter. This new beer was, indeed, darker, hoppier, and richer than the porter, and it eventually overtook porter in popularity, becoming a style of beer in its own right.

Wheat Beers

Wheat beer has been brewed since ancient times. But wheat beer, as we know it today, was first brewed in Germany. In 1520, Hans Sigismund of Degenberg was granted exclusive rights to brew wheat beer for the Bavarian region of Germany. In 1567, the brewing of wheat beer was outlawed. Duke Maximillian was able to supercede this law, however, because he was royalty. This gave the Duke a monopoly in wheat beer production. Gradually, this right to brew was extended to more and more brewers, provided that they were officially licensed to brew wheat beer.

Today, wheat beer is still associated with the Bavarian region of Germany and this region contains the most highly- concentrated area of wheat beer drinkers in the world. Wheat beer accounts for 30% of all beer consumption in this region.

India Pale Ale Beers

India Pale Ale It's no accident that IPA was given its name. This style of beer was named after India. The English created this type of beer because they needed a malt beverage that could survive the voyage to India. They quickly discovered that ordinary ale did not have the ability to remain fresh over such a long period of time. With the constantly changing temperatures aboard the ships and the constant rolling of the seas, a beer had to be capable of withstanding all of these harsh conditions. In order to preserve the beer, George Hodgson, an English brewer, decided to increase the amount of hops, and the India Pale Ale style was born! Extra hops meant that the beer would ferment more slowly. This ensured that, when the voyage to India was complete, everyone would have plenty of fresh beer to drink.

Bock Beers

Bock Beer The origins of bock beer can be traced to the city of Einbeck, Germany. When it was first brewed, it was referred to as "Einbeck" beer. In Bavaria, when people pronounced the name "Einbeck", it sounded more like they were saying "Ein Bock". Eventually, this style of beer was referred to as just "bock".

One common myth about bock beer is that it's brewed using the leftover malt sludge at the bottom of the fermenting tanks. This myth started because, since bock was a springtime beer and springtime was a time to clean out the brewing vessels, it was assumed that bock was probably brewed with the leftover malt that was present from the previous years' brewing activities. Rather than waste this malt, the legend developed that brewers used it to make bock beer. This is an old myth and there is no truth to it at all.