A Brief Guide to Beer

Published On: Thursday, April 10, 2008

We all know that we will knock that cold one back when handed to us. And aside from the fact that we might not drink it if we don’t like the taste, have we ever really stopped to think about what we are consuming?

There is a whole world of beer aficionados, and way too many details to get into here. However, if one is new to the beer drinking art form, the following is a very brief guide to beer and basics everyone should know.

If you were to walk into a bar, or perhaps a pub with an extensive list of beers, you would most likely find the menu divided into foreign and domestic. As these names suggest, foreign would be any beer that has to be imported, like a Corona, and domestic is any beer brewed in these fifty states of ours, like a Budweiser.

From this point on, things get a little bit more complicated. You can stick to what you know, like a locally brewed favorite, or you can stretch your legs and try a beer from one of the following categories.

Most beers fall into the following two sections, lager or ale. Lager beers are beers brewed using slow acting lager yeast, known as bottom fermenting yeast. They are also referred to as a pilsner, and run the spectrum from bitter to sweet tasting, and black to pale. They are the most common forms of beer.

Next you have your ales, which use top fermenting yeast, and mostly pale malts. They are also fermented at higher temperatures that lagers. The most common form is pale ale, that has medium body and low to medium maltiness. There are many options available when considering an ale.

Of course, there are many styles available, including light, dark, and stout. Light beer generally means a lighter color, and causes a one to feel less full after consuming it. Dark beers are characterized by their very dark color and fuller bodied taste. Included in this label are stouts. These are made using roasted malts or roast barley. These dissolve into even further categories, with Porter, Baltic Porter, Sweet Stout and Imperial Stout.

Truthfully enough, the best way to find the differences between all of these forms of beer is to try them. One can never go wrong by traveling to your local pub house and asking for the best they have to offer in each category. Some places will even have specials on sampling, where for one fee you can try a few ounces each of up to four different beers of your choosing.

Hopefully this information has opened up a new section of beer consumption to you, and the next time you head out for a tall cold one, you can make a better informed decision.

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