| Class |
Description |
|
| Amber Ale |
Amber Ale |
| Barley Wine |
Barley Wine is a style that dates from the 18th and 19th centuries when England was often at war with France and it was the duty of patriots, usually from the upper classes, to drink ale rather than Claret.
Barley Wine had to be strong - often between 10% and 12% -- and was stored for prodigious periods of as long at 18 months or two years. When country houses had their own small breweries, it was often the task of the butler to brew ale that was drunk from cut-glass goblets at the dining table. The biggest-selling Barley Wine for years was Whitbread's 10.9% Gold Label, now available only in cans. Bass's No 1 Barley Wine (10.5%) is occasionally brewed in Burton-on-Trent, stored in cask for 12 months and made available to CAMRA beer festivals. Fuller's Vintage Ale (8.5%) is a bottle-conditioned version of its Golden Pride and is brewed with different varieties of malts and hops every year. Many micro-brewers now produce their interpretations of the style. Expect massive sweet malt and ripe fruit of the pear drop, orange and lemon type, with darker fruits, chocolate and coffee if darker malts are used. Hop rates are generous and produce bitterness and peppery, grassy and floral notes. |
| Barrel Aged Beer |
Unknown |
| Bitter |
Bitters developed towards the end of the 19th century as brewers began to produce beers that could be served in pubs after only a few days storage in cellars. Bitters grew out of pale ale but were usually deep bronze to copper in colour due to the use of slightly darker crystal malts. Towards the end of the 19th century, brewers built large estates of tied pubs. They moved away from vatted beers stored for many months and developed ‘running beers' that could be served after a few days' storage in pub cellars. Draught Mild was a ‘running beer' along with a new type that was dubbed Bitter by drinkers. Bitter grew out of Pale Ale but was generally deep bronze to copper in colour due to the use of slightly darker malts such as crystal that give the beer fullness of palate. Best is a stronger version of Bitter but there is considerable crossover. Bitter falls into the 3.4% to 3.9% band, with Best Bitter 4% upwards but a number of brewers label their ordinary Bitters ‘Best'. A further development of Bitter comes in the shape of Extra or Special Strong Bitters of 5% or more: familiar examples of this style include Fuller's ESB and Greene King Abbot. With ordinary Bitter, look for a spicy, peppery and grassy hop character, a powerful bitterness, tangy fruit and juicy and nutty malt. With Best and Strong Bitters, malt and fruit character will tend to dominate but hop aroma and bitterness are still crucial to the style, often achieved by ‘late hopping' in the brewery or adding hops to casks as they leave for pubs. |
| Cider - Dry |
Dry Cider |
| Cider - Medium |
Cider Medium |
| Cider - Medium (caffeinated) |
Cide combined with caffeine and dextrose for enta energy |
| Cider - Medium Dry |
Cider Medium Dry |
| Cider - Medium Sweet |
Cider Medium Sweet |
| Cider - Sweet |
Cider Sweet |
| Fruit Cider - Dry |
Fruit Cider - Dry |
| Fruit Cider - Medium |
Fruit Cider - Medium |
| Fruit Cider - Medium Dry |
Fruit Cider - Medium Dry |
| Fruit Cider - Medium Sweet |
Fruit Cider - Medium Sweet |
| Fruit Cider - Sweet |
Fruit Cider - Sweet |
| Golden Ale |
This new style of pale, well-hopped and quenching beer developed in the 1980s as independent brewers attempted to win younger drinkers from heavily-promoted lager brands. The first in the field were Exmoor Gold and Hop Back Summer Lightning, though many micros and regionals now make their versions of the style. Strengths will range from 3.5% to 5.3%. The hallmark will be the biscuity and juicy malt character derived from pale malts, underscored by tart citrus fruit and peppery hops, often with the addition of hints of vanilla and cornflour. Golden ales are pale amber, gold, yellow or straw coloured and above all, such beers are quenching and served cool. |
| Lager |
Lager Beer |
| Light Bitter |
We define light bitters as any bitter with an ABV of 3.4% or lower or an original gravity (OG) of 1034 or lower. By light bitters, we generally mean low gravity or low strength, but they do also tend to be lighter in colour than stronger bitters.
Originally these beers were most prevalent in the West Country where they were colloquially known as Boy's Bitters. Other names that have been used over the years are Family Ales or Luncheon Ales.
Recent years have seen a reduction in the number of traditional West Country light bitters, most notably the tragic demise of Palmer's Bridport Bitter, although St Austell IPA and Arkells 2B still fly the flag. Other parts of the country have seen the reintroduction of lower strength family ales such as Weltons Pride and Joy, mainly from small independent brewers. |
| Mild |
Mild is one of the most traditional beer styles which is enjoying a revival in today's real ale market. Usually dark brown in colour, due to the use of well-roasted malts or barley it is less hopped than bitters and often has a chocolatety character with nutty and burnt flavours.
Cask conditioned Mild is a rarity in a lot of parts of the country, which is a crying shame, because Mild is a distinctive and tasty beer. Mild is one of, if not the, oldest beer styles in the country. Until the 15th century, ale and mead were the major British brews, both made without hops. Hops were introduced from Holland, France and Germany after this time. This also started the trend on reducing the gravity of ale, as the Hop is also a preservative, and beers had to be brewed very strongly to try to help preserve them. The hop also started the rapid decline of mead, which is only made in a very few places today.
So what is Mild? It is a beer which has tastes and textures all it's own. Basically it is a beer that is less hopped than bitter, etc. The darkness of Dark Milds, such as Greene King XX Mild, comes from the use of darker malts and/or roasted barley which are used to compensate for the loss of Hop character. "Chocolate ", "fruity", "nutty" and "burnt" are all tastes to be found in the complexity of Milds. However, not all milds are dark. Yorkshire brewed Timothy Taylors Golden Best is one of the best examples of a light coloured mild, as is Bank's Original, the name changed from Mild to try to give it a more modern image. In Scotland, 60/- ale is similar to mild (Belhaven's being a good example).
Milds today tend to have an ABV in the 3% to 3.5% range, with of course some notable exceptions. In fact, a lot of the Microbreweries who try their hand at mild are bringing the alcohol content back up somewhat! Mild wasn't always weaker though. In the latter half of the 19th Century, milds were brewed to about the same strength as bitters as a response to the demand for a sweeter beer from the working classes and in those days most bitters were around 6 to 7% ABV.
During the First World War, malt rationing and pressure from the temperance movement led to brewers rapidly reduced the strength. Following the Second World War, as prosperity returned, mild's popularity as a cheap ale began to fade, not being helped by being kept badly in run down pubs as the Big Brewers began to heavily promote their keg lager brands. Coupled to this was a gradual, but steady decline in heavy industry in the North and Midlands of Britain, mild's great marketplace.
By the 1970s, the keg lager boom had seen mild's share of the market fall to around 13% and it was a shame to see a bland gassy and overpriced product, which was generally weaker than the mild it was trying to oust, succeed in many cases. |
| New England IPA |
A New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA) is a style of IPA characterised by big juicy hoppiness (without bitterness), refreshing fruity flavours (without any actual fruit), and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. |
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