| Class |
Description |
|
| Old Ale |
Old Ale recalls the type of beer brewed before the Industrial Revolution, stored for months or even years in unlined wooden vessels known as tuns. The beer would pick up some lactic sourness as a result of wild yeasts, lactobacilli and tannins in the wood. The result was a beer dubbed ‘stale' by drinkers: it was one of the components of the early, blended Porters.
The style has re-emerged in recent years, due primarily to the fame of Theakston's Old Peculier, Gale's Prize Old Ale and Thomas Hardy's Ale, the last saved from oblivion by O'Hanlon's Brewery in Devon. Old Ales, contrary to expectation, do not have to be especially strong: they can be no more than 4% alcohol, though the Gale's and O'Hanlon's versions are considerably stronger. Neither do they have to be dark: Old Ale can be pale and burst with lush sappy malt, tart fruit and spicy hop notes. Darker versions will have a more profound malt character with powerful hints of roasted grain, dark fruit, polished leather and fresh tobacco.
The hallmark of the style remains a lengthy period of maturation, often in bottle rather than bulk vessels. Old Ales typically range from 4% to 6.5%. |
| Pale Ale or IPA |
India Pale Ale changed the face of brewing early in the 19th century. The new technologies of the Industrial Revolution enabled brewers to use pale malts to fashion beers that were genuinely golden or pale bronze in colour.
First brewed in London and Burton-on-Trent for the colonial market, IPAs were strong in alcohol and high in hops: the preservative character of the hops helped keep the beers in good condition during long sea journeys. Beers with less alcohol and hops were developed for the domestic market and were known as Pale Ale.
Today Pale Ale is usually a bottled version of Bitter, though historically the styles are different. Marston's Pedigree is an example of Burton Pale Ale, not Bitter, while the same brewery's Old Empire is a fascinating interpretation of a Victorian IPA. So-called IPAs with strengths of around 3.5% are not true to style. Look for juicy malt, citrus fruit and a big spicy, peppery bitter hop character, with strengths of 4% upwards. |
| Perry - Dry |
Perry - Dry |
| Perry - Sweet |
Made using specific perry pear varieties, grown for centuries, for the sole purpose of making perry, they are differentiated from dessert pears by the presence of tannin, providing a varying degree of boldness and astringency. Depending upon the variety, there will also be varying degrees of fresh acidity and rich fruitiness. Generally lighter in weight than tannic ciders, florality, fruitiness and texture exemplify these drinks. The presence of citric acid ensures floral characters, as well as tropical fruitiness. Pears contain sorbitol, an unfermentable sugar, ensuring perry retains, to a greater or lesser degree, a natural sweetness. |
| Porter & Stout |
Porter was a London style that turned the brewing industry upside down early in the 18th century. It was a dark brown beer - 19th-century versions became jet black - that was originally a blend of brown ale, pale ale and ‘stale' or well-matured ale. It acquired the name Porter as a result of its popularity among London's street-market workers. At the time, a generic term for the strongest or stoutest beer in a brewery was stout.
The strongest versions of Porter were known as Stout Porter, reduced over the years to simply Stout. Such vast quantities of Porter and Stout flooded into Ireland from London and Bristol that a Dublin brewer named Arthur Guinness decided to fashion his own interpretation of the style. The beers were strong - 6% for Porter, 7% or 8% for Stout. Guinness in Dublin blended some unmalted roasted barley and in so doing produced a style known as Dry Irish Stout. Restrictions on making roasted malts in Britain during World War One led to the demise of Porter and Stout and left the market to the Irish.
In recent years, smaller craft brewers in Britain have rekindled an interest in the style, though in keeping with modern drinking habits, strengths have been reduced. Look for profound dark and roasted malt character with raisin and sultana fruit, espresso or cappuccino coffee, liquorice and molasses, all underscored by hefty hop bitterness.
Porters are complex in flavour, range from 4% to 6.5% and are typically black or dark brown; the darkness comes from the use of dark malts unlike stouts which use roasted malted barley. Stouts can be dry or sweet and range from 4% to 8% ABV. |
| Pyder - Medium Dry |
A medium dry blend of perry and cider |
| Pyder - Medium Sweet |
A medium sweet mix of a cider and perry |
| Red Ale |
Colour: Light brown to black. Flavour: As with Brown Ales and American Brown Ales, malt is to the fore, often with roast and nutty flavours. Rye may be present, creating a tartness, but should be balanced and not dominate. American Red Ales are fruitier and hoppier. |
| Scottish Beer |
Historically, Scottish beers tend to be darker, sweeter and less heavily hopped than English and Welsh ales: a cold climate demands warming beers. But many of the new craft breweries produce beers lighter in colour and with generous hop rates.
The traditional, classic styles are Light, low in strength and so-called even when dark in colour, also known as 60/-, Heavy or 70/-, Export or 80/- and a strong Wee Heavy, similar to a barley wine, and also labelled 90/-.
In the 19th century, beers were invoiced according to strength, using the now defunct currency of the shilling. |
| Session IPA |
Session IPAs are India pale ales with lower alcohol content than a traditional IPA. However, when it comes to session vs. IPA beers, session IPAs have higher ABVs than regular session brews |
| Session Pale |
It fills in the middle of a hoppy Venn diagram of IPA, Pale Ale and Session Ale. It is made by reducing the strength of an IPA so that it has both less alcohol and hoppy bitterness, then adding more malty notes. Tada, you have a session IPA! |
| Sour |
Sour beer is beer which has an intentionally acidic, tart, or sour taste. Sour beer styles include Belgian lambics and Flanders red ale and German Gose and Berliner Weisse. |
| TBA |
TBA |
| Wheat Beer |
Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German Weizenbier and Belgian witbier; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a cloudy, sour beer), and Gose (a sour, salty beer). |
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