For non-beer drinkers, exploring the world of hops and barley can seem especially daunting with the varied types of beer on offer globally. You have heavy lagers, dark stouts, and fruity IPAs, yet, a whole shelf’s worth of varieties and types remain undiscovered to the average drinker.
To beef up your knowledge for the next time you find yourself stuck on a drinks menu and don’t know what to order, follow our guide through each section to explore what types of beer you can find at almost any beer, pub, or drinkery across the globe.
The 12 types of beer you can taste in the world
What is a lager?
The most popular style of beer found worldwide, the lager typically comes in the pale form due to its light complexion. It is a German-origin beer, where e term ‘lager’ translates to ‘storage’ in German, pointing to its cold storage and fermentation in barrels that age the beer for a long time. What results is a golden-coloured beer that is light, crisp on the palate, and easy to sip.
What is an ale?
An ale beer is different to most beers due to its fermentation process, where the yeast of the beer is created during fermentation which brings flavourful fruity notes. Ales are brewed at warmer temperatures and this in turn creates more depth and bitterness to your sipping. They have been brewed by humans since 2000 B.C!
What is an IPA?
An IPA is short for Indian pale ale, a type of golden pale ale with a history dating back to British beer brewing in the 1820s. To survive long trips to then-British India, colonial British traders brewed their pale ale with a lot of hops to protect the flavour and aroma for the beer, lending to a malty and earthy flavour. The increased hops in an IPA mean more citrusy and herbal notes on the palate.
What is a stout?
A stout beer is a classic dark brown-black beer that takes on a beefy texture with added nitrogen and carbon dioxide with its infusion of beer gas when poured. The warm fermentation of stout beers brings about flavours similar to chocolate, barley, coffee, and oatmeal. A classic stout is very yeasty to smell and smooth to drink.
What is a pilsner?
Pilsner beer is a light hoppy lager beer originally brewed at the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Prague, Czech Republic starting 1842. The Bohemia-based beer is a popular style worldwide, notable for its refreshing taste and golden-amber colour. The aroma of a pilsner is familiar to most drinkers due to its ‘classic’ beer smell.
What is a porter?
Porter beer is a dark beer style which found its popularity during the mid-1700s with brewers in England. Similar to a stout with appearance and taste, a porter is more hearty with more dark and chocolate-y flavours. Porter beers do not use roasted barley, where stouts do, thus, a porter beer is your lighter brother to a stout pour.
What is a wheat beer?
The wheat beer is a Bavarian-origin beer from the hills of Germany, fermented in cool temperatures that imparts low alcohol content, light colour, and lack of a bitterness. Brewed only using wheat, where lager’s can be brewed with any farm grain, wheat beer is bubbly and very drinkable.
What is a brown ale beer?
Brown ale beer is an English style of beer created with a heavy portion of hop to increase malty flavours, touching upon caramel, chocolate, peanut butter, and coffee notes. Brown ales are similar to stouts and porters, yet grade lighter in colour compared to the two other varieties. Brown ale is a relatively lesser known beer found in the craft beer space.
What is a German bock?
Bock beer is a type of lager that has seen worldwide love for the sippable German beer. The bock is a dark beer with a malty base, developed from the Einbecker brewery in the northeast of Germany, one of the world’s oldest operating breweries. The alcohol percentage of bocks can rise to 10%, owing to a strong and creamy flavour.
What is a lambic beer?
Lambic beer is one of very few types of beer that is brewed using spontaneous fermentation, harnessing an age-old practice to naturally ferment and brew beer for a more sugary and funky flavour. Most lambic beers are tart and have fruity and herby notes.
What is a sour beer?
A sour beer is naturally a sour drink that is tart and refreshing. The beer type is very diverse and encompasses ales and lagers, made sour from an acid-producing organism that is used in the fermentation process to engender a tart taste to the beers. Sour beers are best enjoyed during hotter months due to their low alcohol content.
What is a fruit beer?
A fruit beer comprises ales, lagers, and lambic products, made fruity with the addition of whole or juiced fruit during the fermentation process to add a strong fruit flavour to the beer, including mango, apple, raspberry, banana, and more. The fruit added, alongside its natural bacteria, helps create depth to each sip.
