How to Discover Your Favorite Craft Beer Styles

Craft beer is a dynamic and rapidly growing industry that has been flourishing over the last few decades. It has brought with it a vast array of beer styles, ingredients, and brewing techniques, making the world of craft beer both exciting and, at times, overwhelming. With so many styles to choose from, how can you discover your favorite craft beer style? This guide will take you through the essential steps to explore and identify the beers that suit your personal tastes and preferences.

The Beginnings of Craft Beer

Before diving into the exploration of beer styles, it's important to understand what makes craft beer so distinct from other types of beer. In short, craft beer refers to beer brewed by small, independent breweries that focus on quality, creativity, and experimentation. Unlike mass-produced beers, craft beers are often made with high-quality ingredients and brewed in smaller batches. Craft brewers typically emphasize taste, aroma, and the story behind each brew, often incorporating local ingredients and unique techniques.

The craft beer revolution began in the late 20th century, largely driven by brewers who were eager to break away from the conventional, generic beers produced by large corporations. Today, the craft beer industry offers an almost infinite variety of flavors and styles that cater to a wide range of preferences.

The Complexity of Craft Beer Styles

Craft beer is not a monolith. It is incredibly diverse, encompassing a broad spectrum of flavors, aromas, and mouthfeels. From dark, rich stouts to light, crisp lagers, each style of craft beer is distinct, and part of the fun of being a craft beer enthusiast is discovering which styles speak to your palate.

Some key factors that influence the flavor profile of a craft beer include:

• Ingredients: The choice of malt, hops, yeast, and water can dramatically affect the beer's taste.
• Fermentation: The way the yeast ferments the beer can influence everything from sweetness to alcohol content.
• Brewing Process: The brewing methods used, such as barrel aging or dry hopping, also contribute to a beer's complexity.

In the world of craft beer, there are dozens of core styles, each with its subcategories and variations. As such, finding your favorite craft beer style can be a journey of trial and error, discovery, and sometimes even surprise.

Step 1: Understanding the Key Beer Styles

The first step in discovering your favorite craft beer style is to familiarize yourself with the most common beer categories. Below, we'll take a look at some of the most popular beer styles that you may encounter during your exploration.

Ales

Ales are fermented at warmer temperatures than lagers, which tends to produce a beer with a fruitier, more complex flavor. There are numerous substyles within the ale category, including:

• Pale Ale: Often characterized by a hoppy, citrusy flavor. Pale ales can range from light to medium-bodied, with varying levels of bitterness.
• India Pale Ale (IPA): Known for its bold hop flavor, IPAs are typically more bitter than pale ales. Substyles include West Coast IPAs, New England IPAs, and Double IPAs, each offering a different twist on hop-forward flavors.
• Amber Ale: Amber ales are malt-forward, with a balance of sweet caramel flavors and moderate hop bitterness.
• Porter and Stout: Both of these dark beers are known for their roasted, malty flavors. Porters tend to be lighter and smoother, while stouts are richer, with notes of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruit.

Lagers

Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures, resulting in a cleaner, crisper flavor profile. The lager family includes:

• Pilsner: A pale, highly carbonated lager known for its dry, crisp finish. Pilsners often have a light malt character with a noticeable hop bitterness.
• Helles Lager: A maltier lager with a balance of sweet and bitter flavors. Helles lagers tend to be smoother and less hop-forward than pilsners.
• Bock: A strong, malty lager that can range from light amber to dark brown in color. Bocks often have caramel, toasty, or nutty flavors and can be quite warming due to their higher alcohol content.

Wheat Beers

Wheat beers are brewed with a significant proportion of wheat, which contributes to their characteristic light and refreshing taste. Popular wheat beer styles include:

• Hefeweizen: A German wheat beer that is cloudy and often has fruity, spicy flavors from the yeast.
• Witbier: A Belgian-style wheat beer that's brewed with coriander and orange peel, giving it a citrusy, herbal flavor.

Sours

Sour beers have a unique tangy taste, which is achieved by using wild yeast strains or bacteria to ferment the beer. These beers can range from mildly tart to intensely sour. Common sour styles include:

• Berliner Weisse: A light, tart wheat beer with a subtle sourness, often served with fruit syrup.
• Gose: A salty, sour beer that often features citrus, coriander, and sea salt.
• Lambic: A Belgian-style sour that is spontaneously fermented with wild yeast and bacteria, often aged with fruit like cherries or raspberries.

Specialty and Hybrid Styles

Craft brewers are constantly experimenting with new techniques, ingredients, and flavors, which has led to the creation of many hybrid and specialty beer styles, including:

• Barrel-Aged Beers: Beers that are aged in wooden barrels to impart additional flavors like vanilla, oak, or smokiness.
• Fruit Beers: Beers brewed with fruit, either added during the brewing process or as an adjunct in fermentation. These beers often have a refreshing, sweet-tart character.
• Spiced Beers: Beers that incorporate spices, herbs, and other botanicals to add complexity and aroma. Popular additions include cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Step 2: Identify Your Preferences

Now that you have a general understanding of the various beer styles, it's time to start thinking about what kinds of flavors and aromas you enjoy. Here are some questions to help guide your exploration:

1. Do You Prefer Sweet or Bitter Flavors?

• Sweet: If you gravitate toward sweeter beverages, you might enjoy beers with a strong malt presence, such as ambers, bocks, or porters.
• Bitter: If you enjoy more bitterness, try exploring IPAs, pilsners, or other hop-forward ales that offer a zesty, bitter finish.

2. How Do You Feel About Strong or Mild Beers?

• Mild: Lighter beers like pilsners, wheat beers, and light pale ales offer a refreshing, easy-drinking experience.
• Strong: If you prefer bold flavors and high alcohol content, seek out stronger beers like double IPAs, imperial stouts, or barleywines.

3. Are You Open to Sour or Tart Flavors?

Sour beers have a polarizing taste. If you're intrigued by the idea of a tart or funky flavor, start with mild sours like Berliner Weisse or Gose. If you find you enjoy the sourness, you can venture into more complex options like Lambics.

4. Do You Enjoy the Complexity of Dark Beers?

Dark beers like stouts and porters are perfect for those who enjoy rich, roasted flavors with notes of chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit. If you find these flavors appealing, you may find yourself exploring other dark beer options as well.

Step 3: Sampling and Exploring Different Breweries

One of the best ways to discover your favorite craft beer style is by simply tasting as many different beers as you can. Visiting local craft breweries, attending beer festivals, or joining a beer tasting club can help you explore the range of flavors available.

1. Try Flights

Many breweries offer beer flights, which allow you to sample a selection of beers in smaller portions. Flights are a great way to compare different styles and learn more about what you like.

2. Pay Attention to the Details

As you sample different beers, take notes on the following:

• Aroma: Does the beer have a strong scent? What kind of aromas do you detect---fruity, floral, spicy, or malty?
• Taste: How does the beer taste? Is it sweet, bitter, sour, or a combination?
• Mouthfeel: How does the beer feel in your mouth? Is it light, creamy, crisp, or heavy?
• Appearance: What color is the beer? Is it clear, cloudy, or frothy?

By paying attention to these factors, you can start to identify which characteristics appeal to you the most.

Step 4: Experiment with Food Pairings

Food pairing is another fun way to discover your favorite beer styles. The right combination of beer and food can elevate both the beer and the dish. For example:

• IPA pairs well with spicy foods, such as Indian or Mexican dishes, because the bitterness helps balance the heat.
• Stouts complement rich, chocolate desserts like brownies or dark chocolate cake.
• Wheat Beers are refreshing with seafood, light salads, or sushi.

Experimenting with food pairings can help you appreciate the complexities of different beer styles while discovering new favorites.

Conclusion

Discovering your favorite craft beer style is a personal journey. The variety of beers available means there's something for everyone, and the process of exploration can be both fun and rewarding. By familiarizing yourself with different beer styles, identifying your preferences, sampling a variety of beers, and experimenting with food pairings, you'll be well on your way to finding the craft beer styles that you enjoy the most. So, raise your glass and begin your journey into the exciting world of craft beer!

View Product