When you stand in front of a wall full of craft beers, maybe it confuses you. The claims of complexity are made by labels, yet all the words sound like gibberish. If you don’t have a framework, then maybe you choose one based off the font type or its color. That’s normal, it takes a while for anyone to get there bearings with so many option.
But craft beer isn’t just random confusion. It’s a structured universe ruled by tradition and the laws of fermentation science. Once you know the simple categories of beer, what was intimidating becomes curious. What used to confuse you now look patterned.
A Simple Guide to Choosing Craft Beer
Lagers vs. Ales… This categorization represent the most basic separation in beer making. It also determines what kind of beer you’re about to experience. Lagers employ a bottom-fermenting yeast at cooler temps over the course of weeks (and sometimes months) which produces beers with very clean, crisp flavor profile such as pilsners.
Ales, on the other hand, use a top fermenting yeast at higher temps, developing more complex and fruitier flavors in short order. Examples of these ales includes IPAs or rich Stouts. Bottom line: both are great, each just serves its own purpose. How they’re made make all the difference.
And then, once you understand your choice, the styles split off into their own characters. Looking for hops? Hop aroma and bitterness comes from the IPA family. If it’s an IPA, do you like it pinewood sharp or more cloudy and juicy? That’s where variations come in. The difference between a New England IPA and a West Coast IPA is in the DNA, but it also comes down to taste and how it feels on your tongue.
On the other hand, dark beers serve up comfort. Roasted chocolate and coffee notes comes from stouts, which tend to deliver plenty of warmth to pair with chilly temperatures of winter. Similar than stouts, porters lean toward stouts, but they’re typically lighter in nature and not quite as heavy-handed. This understanding will help guide your decision making when picking out a beer based on your mood instead of what happens to be discounted at the liquor store.
There’s also serving temperature, which no one thinks about, but they should of. An ice cold pour numbs flavor in a complex ale, leaving it either bitter or watery. In general, ales is best served around 50 degrees, which is called “cellar” temperature. Lagers can takes it even chillier.
Then there’s glassware. You might want to use a simple pint for your American Pale Ale, but a tulip glass will do wonders for capturing smells of a Belgian Tripel. Again, it’s a little thing, but it makes a difference when you sip on them. This chart shows how to serve each beer in simple terms. It helps you avoid embarrassing mistakes during dinner party.
Knowing these flavor profiles makes food pairing intuitive. A light Wheat Beer paired with a hunk of barbecued ribs doesn’t make sense; it’s a clash of flavors. The richness of grilled meat/aged cheese and the heat in an IPA goes together perfectly. An Oyster or a chocolate dessert pair beautifully with a Stout. Acidity cuts through fatty dishes like a fresh squeeze of lemon, sours do this well. It either compliments what is being eaten or gives your mouth a refreshing contrast to cleanse it out.
Good options are also seasonal. Want some hydration? Drink a refreshing light beer; have yourself a Gose and a Hefeweizen during summer. Craving some warmth on those cold winter nights? Have yourself a Barleywine and a Doppelbock. It’s this change that makes your rotation interesting while keeping it relevant to the season.
Don’t feel like you has to memorize all the details laid out in these guides. Get to know the main families and understand how fermentation process works, and let your palate be your guide. If you’re just getting started, try a Pale Ale and expand from there; perhaps go hoppier or go darker. There’s a lot of craft beer to explore and once you get the map, it’s not as daunting as you might think. After years of confusion, that first taste of clarity is like finding directions.