Has anyone ever wondered what an I.P.A. (India Pale Ale) is?  I'm going to talk about Pale Ales first because an India Pale Ale is an amped up version of the former.  I've actually already given some good information on Pale Ales when we had Samuel Smith's Pale Ale (here is a link to that article and review).  Even though I've covered some of the bases before, let me just briefly define a Pale Ale. A Pale Ale is not pale at all.  The utilization of lighter grains as compared to those used in English Porters and Stouts helped to give this beer its name.  Some of this had to do with technological advance.  I've written some stuff on grains already, so I'm not going to cover it much here (I'm providing multiple links in the articles to cover some other questions you might have).  In addition to being lighter than other Ales of the time, the beer was also more hopped than a Porter or Stout might typically be.  Rolling Rock is not actually a good example of a Pale Ale (check out the Samuel Smith's that we have reviewed on here for a more classic example of this beer type). Well, Pale Ales were great for the homefront.  But what about people ...

As the title indicates, this article will cover more ground than just a single type of beer.  However, it will deal with a singular concept, namely, the role of hops and grains in English Ales.  There will be plenty of time to cover other Ale considerations in future articles.  The particular types of top-fermented Ale covered in this article will be "Normal" English Ales, Milds, Bitters, and Extra Special Bitters (E.S.B.s).  As I mentioned above, hops are the major consideration in the variance of these types of Ales.  I'm using "Normal" to designated an English Ale that cannot be further defined by another category of Ale (i.e., it is not a Bitter, Pale Ale, Irish Ale, India Pale Ale...you get the idea).  So, in some ways it is a catch-all phrase.  I suppose these "Normal" Ales have also been called "Pub Ales" (of course, Bitters can also be called by the same name).  Hobgoblin might be a good example of "just a normal English Ale."  If you see the simple terminology of English Ale or English Style Ale, you are probably dealing with a "Normal" English Ale.  A beer that is less hopped than a "Normal" Ale is often characterized as a "Mild Ale."  ...

It's been a while, but we're getting around to writing about Ales.  If you want to know what distinguishes an Ale from a Lager, check out this article.  Basically, it breaks down in terms of where and how fermentation takes place.  Many people assume that when we are talking about Ales, we are talking about English beer.  It is almost an aphorism to hear people speak about beers in this manner.  In one sense it is true that the British are known for their Ales.  In quite another sense, it is fundamentally wrong-headed to speak about beer in this way.  Before the storage of beer in caves and the Lager revolution, all beers were Ales.  This is the case because Lager temperatures were not consistently achievable until the mastering of refrigeration (there is so much on this website to read, if you don't know what I'm talking about).  In fact, Lagers are actually the anomaly in beer history...despite what Budweiser says about their long brewing tradition.  Perhaps a counter-claim to the Budweiser mantra would be, "Ales are the king of beers."  There happens to be a very wide variety of distinguishable styles of beer that can properly be considered Ales, so there is a great deal on which ...

This article has been a while in the making.  Part of the reason for the delay is that I was not quite sure how to address the rest of the Lager family of beers.  After a considerable amount of deliberation on the subject, I've decided to put them together.  As I've said at numerous points in this blog, Lagers are more about yeast strains and fermentation temperatures than color.  The color of a Lager can be iridescent.  The palest blond beer can be a Lager...but so can a black beer.  Here is the hit list of various lagers that can be considered distinct styles: American  Microbrewery  Lager - this style distances itself from Mega-breweries and emphasises domestic hops. Australian and Mexican Lagers are worth a mention if only for the fact that they are based on Czech, Bohemian, and German traditions of Lagers. Bierre de Garde beers (from France) are aged for long periods in order to mellow them out. The rest of the styles that could be mentioned are often defined by where they are made.  Bohemian, Czech, Dortmunder, Erlanger, Munich Dunkels, Kulmbacher and other area defined beers vary in darkness and alcohol content but are not necessarily well-defined beyond the appellations that they carry.  Some Lagers such as Klosterbier are monastery ...

In order to continue our style series and given that we just drank a Double Bock, I think that a discussion on Bock beers is appropriate.  First of all, a Bock is still in the family of Lagers.  Although top fermenting (i.e., Ale Yeast) can be be used in this beer at cooler temperatures, it is preferable to use Lager Yeasts in this style.  So what does Bock mean?  The thinking on the subject is that Bock beer originated in Einbeck Germany but began to be pronounced Bock as it moved geographically.  Bock was simply intended to indicate "strong."  However, due to the corruption in pronunciation, it became associated with a Ram or male goat.  This is why a goat is often pictured on the labels of this style of beer. The reason that these beers had to be strong was because of their long storage periods, shipping times, and sustaining qualities.  In fact, German Monks would often drink this style when fasting food.  These beers are certainly strong in nature.  They are rich and malty with little emphasis on hops.  What about Double/Doppel Bocks?  Essentially the term means extra or double strong.  So, if you wish to drink a Double Bock, expect a little extra.  Sam Adams makes a Triple ...

Since I mentioned Lagers first, that is what  I'm going to talk about (yes, it's that arbitrary).  I know that we have all heard the term "Johnnie come lately."  In the beer world, the pinnacle of this saying is found in the Pilsner style of beer.  As you might or might not have guessed, Pilsner is actually an appellation that denotes where the beer came from.  Pilsners came from a Czech town called Pilsen.  A few factors really led to the dominance of Pilsners.  Here they are. One: Pilsners picked up steam because of advances in malting techniques.  Grains were now more evenly cooked, and this led to lighter colors in the grains and, therefore, in the beer.  Two: The mass usage and availability in glassware allowed these new phenomenal beers to be seen in a different light, so to speak.  Before this time, glassware was not able to be mass produced.  In addition, there was not a great deal of continuity in glass size (in that they were blown by mouth).  Three: Advances in refrigeration allowed these Lager beers to be clean and crisp in the mouth.  Prior to the advances in refrigeration, there was not the ability to ship and spread these beers around the world.  These three really led to the almost hegemonic dominance of ...

I thought a good starting place for the series would be to talk about the two major lines of demarcation when speaking of beers.  As far as beers go, there are Lagers and Ales.  Here is a basic breakdown that will help us to be clear about how the terms are being used. Lager stems from a German word that means "to store."  This comes from the fact that at certain times of the year the weather was too warm to brew the types of beer that were desirable to Germans.  In order to ensure that they had the necessary provisions to drink, they would store their beers in icy caves.  This cold aging first stemmed from necessity.  However, they soon discovered that the aging and cold conditioning of these beers produced a clean and less fruity taste.  It wasn't until modern refrigeration that the spread of these beer was possible.  In terms of modern definitions, a Lager is fermented and stored from 32 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.  Furthermore, a yeast strain that is specific to Lagers is also utilized in the brewing process.  Beyond this, the yeast is also bottom fermenting (i.e., the yeast rests on the bottom of fermentation vessel).  For ...

Now that we are getting some people who really seem to be interested in our site, I thought I would write a series on various beer styles.  We will try to address topics like what is the difference between a Lager and an Ale?  Beyond this, we will also address categories within this types of beer.  We will talk about a Porters, Stouts, Marzens, Bocks, Lagers, Pilsners, Scotch Ales, Irish Ales, English Ales, Belgian Ales and far beyond this.  Beer styles are a veritable color spectrum of variety.  I'm expecting this to be about 20 or so articles that are informative yet concise.  The main thing that I'm hoping to accomplish is a building of knowledge without an inundation or too much info.  I'm also hoping that when we post a beer these articles can be used as a reference point to understand a particular beer better.  The more that we know about the characteristics and even history of a beer, the better we can understand a beer's particular characteristics.  So, buckle up for a beer thrill ride (this should be read in a quasi suspense movie voice-over inflection).  My dream for this series (and the site in general) is to make you a knowledgeable beer lover.  Cheers!