"Craft Beer Classification Guide", but there is the "BJCP World Beer Classification Guide" in front of it. Faced with more than 100 subdivided styles, I may have actually drank less than 10% of them, and I have never heard of many of them. So if you really call it that, it would be a bit like playing a word game in front of Guan Gong. What this push is talking about is more like "the common classification of beer in domestic beer houses", that is to say, what is mentioned here. Most of the beer styles can be found in beer houses (craft beer bars) in major cities. If you have friends who have just started to get into craft beer and don’t know what to order in front of dozens of beer heads at the bar, then this recommendation can be used as a reference A reference to help everyone get through the long period of confusion.

Next, I will give a simple classification introduction to various common styles, including style characteristics, brewing ingredients, flavors, etc. In the next few days, I will further teach you how to quickly select your favorite style and flavor when entering a beer house. .

There are actually many classification standards for beer. For example, according to color, it can be divided into yellow beer, white beer and dark beer that people often call; according to taste, it can be divided into sour, bitter, sweet, even spicy and salty; according to the degree of sterilization, it can be divided into draft beer. and mature beer; there are more classifications by region, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and the United States...

In addition to the above, if we click on any popular science article about beer classification, there will most likely be a classification method mentioned in it: according to the fermentation method (the location of yeast fermentation), beer is divided into "Ale" and "Ale". "Lager", the former yeast is at the top of the liquid during fermentation, and the fermentation temperature is higher; the latter yeast is at the bottom of the liquid during fermentation, and the fermentation temperature is lower. Theoretically, all beers can be divided into these two types. The definition of individual naturally fermented beers may be a bit vague, but this type of beer is not very common in China, so I won’t go into details here.

In addition, I would like to add a little knowledge about the raw materials of craft beer: there are only four raw materials for traditional beer brewing, malt, hops, yeast and water (if you see rice in the ingredient list in the supermarket, then this beer will basically not be good. drink). The selection of different raw materials and processes creates different styles and flavors of beer. However, it is difficult to describe the concepts of "malty aroma" and "hop aroma" with words alone. Therefore, if you want to truly experience it, you still have to drink it on the spot and drink a few kinds. Naturally, Just got a taste of it.

When it comes to classification, the classification standards adopted are different, and the classification of beer will be different. For example, Qingdao, Snow, Harbin, Budweiser, etc., which are common in supermarkets, are different brands according to brand, yellow beer according to color, and essentially belong to the same style according to style: American light lager. So if we want to identify a beer, we must first determine at least one criterion. We can ask "Is this ale or lager?" or "Is this wheat beer sweet or bitter?", but not Asking “Is this an IPA or a sour beer?”
(Boss: It’s sour IPA!)

After a brief understanding of the classification standards, the subsequent style introduction will also be based on the above method. But my description may be a bit confusing. For example, one time it is classified by fermentation method (ale and lager), another time it is classified by brewing raw materials (sider, fruit beer, etc.), and another time it is classified by taste (mainly sour beer) , not intentionally confusing, but I think this is actually more intuitive and can highlight the characteristics of different wines, so it is more conducive to helping friends who have just started to choose beer.
He said that he drank it blindly at first, only knowing that "IPA is bitter, wheat is slightly bitter, ciders are sweet, and lager is tasteless..."

In fact, each style has its own characteristics, which cannot be changed by adding flavor. After briefly understanding the characteristics of different styles of beer, you will not be blinded when faced with such awkward and difficult-to-remember nouns as "IPA", "Wheat", "Cousse", "Stout", etc., or even just look at the name of the wine/alcohol With the degree/bitterness value, you can roughly imagine the taste of the wine and order the wine according to your needs.

Without further ado, let me review before getting to the point: Beer is brewed from only four raw materials: malt, hops, yeast and water. Ale beer uses a top fermentation process and lager beer uses a bottom fermentation process.
OK, here is the formal introduction:

一. Wheat beer

Wheat beer is a beer brewed with wheat germ as the main raw material. When it comes to wheat, you may be a little unfamiliar, but many people should have heard of its other name: white beer.

Yes, we can simply understand wheat beer as what we usually call "white beer". The final color is slightly lighter than yellow beer (but still light yellow!), and it is a little turbid. If you are new to craft brewing and still find it difficult to accept the bitterness brought about by adding a large amount of hops like IPA, you might as well try wheat with a more prominent yeast and malt flavor. Wheat beer mainly uses top fermentation and can be divided into three categories: German wheat, Belgian wheat, and American wheat.

1.German wheat
Thanks to the "Beer Purity Law", German beer does not add any fancy flavor substances (otherwise it would be illegal!). German wheat emphasizes clove flavor and fruity flavor. It is said that this fruity ester flavor is "banana flavor", but I really can't taste it. Maybe I didn't drink enough and I need to train again. In addition, German wheat is further subdivided into dark wheat beer, Bock, etc., so I won’t go into details.

2.Belgian wheat
There are no local legal restrictions on the brewing raw materials of Belgian wheat, so the biggest difference between it and German wheat is the use of spices. The sweetness of Belgian wheat is more obvious because fruits are added as auxiliary ingredients during brewing, the most common of which is orange peel. It also has a light citrus aroma when drinking it. In short, it is very friendly to newcomers. There are many other Belgian beer styles. Lambic and Saison will be introduced in other categories later.

3. American Wheat
The biggest feature of American-style wheat is that more hops are put in. Maybe it’s because the United States has a good geographical location and developed agriculture? In short, the local area can produce a variety of hops. There are many varieties of hops, so I like to use more hops when making wine. Ultimately, the aroma and bitterness of the beer increase as a whole, and you can feel more citrus, tropical fruit and other aromas.

二. Pale Ale

This may be the largest category in this push. Please be patient when reading. It is normal to not remember it at first. After drinking a few times, you will remember it...

Pale ale also uses a top fermentation process and can be divided into English bitter, American pale ale, Indian pale ale (the famous IPA), amber ale, red ale, golden ale, etc. Here we focus on the first three.
Here is the official introduction:

1.English bitter beer
English bitter beer does not seem to be very common in China, but considering that pale ale originated in the United Kingdom, let’s briefly introduce English bitter beer. This kind of beer has a low alcohol content and is brewed using native British hops. It is usually very bitter. It is currently available in some domestic beer houses.

2. American Pale Ale (APA)
American-style light ale is very common in domestic beer houses. It is characterized by a lighter malt flavor and a relatively obvious bitterness. American hops are used during brewing, and the aroma is very rich. If you are not satisfied with the aroma of wheat beer and find IPA too bitter, you may want to try American light ale.

3. India Pale Ale (IPA)
Here comes the point.

IPA is the most popular craft beer style in the world, and its popularity in the domestic craft beer circle can also be described as phenomenal. In the 18th century, in order to drink local beer in India, the British colonists invested a large amount of hops to preserve it during brewing (after all, the transportation time was long!). As a result, they created a beer style with a high alcohol content and a strong hop aroma. . IPA subdivision can also have more than a dozen branches, each with its own characteristics. Currently, most of the IPA wines commonly seen in beer houses are American IPAs. Here are a few:

West Coast IPA: There are few strange flavor enhancements. The sweetness of the wine is also reduced to highlight the status of hops, and relatively more emphasis is placed on hop aroma.

East Coast IPA: More like a British beer, pursuing a balance of various flavors, with a more pronounced malty aroma compared to the West Coast.

New England IPA: Also called hazy IPA, it originated from the New England region of the United States. The wine is very cloudy and looks like a glass of juice. Different from the "bitterness" of traditional IPA, the bitterness value of cloudy IPA is very low when adding a large amount of hops. The use of hops makes the wine have a rich tropical fruit flavor both in smell and taste. Some The winery also promotes its home-brewed hazy IPA by saying "exploding citrus aroma". In short, this is my favorite style and I recommend everyone to try it!

Social IPA: Also called free-drinking IPA, as the name suggests, you can socialize while drinking without getting drunk. To sum up, it has low alcohol content, low bitterness, and is refreshing and easy to drink.

Champagne IPA: It has the taste of champagne and the flavor of IPA. During the brewing process, an enzyme is added that can more fully hydrolyze sugar. When the sugar is consumed by the yeast, the taste of the wine will be very "dry". But, this kind of dry taste is a matter of opinion. I don’t really like it... Maybe I can drink it when I’m losing weight? After all, it contains really little sugar!

Imperial/Double/Triple/Quadruple IPA: Warning! warn! warn! If we see a wine named "xxx Imperial IPA" or "Double (or higher) IPA" in a beer house, then there is a high probability that the wine is very bitter. If you can't tolerate bitterness, then Be careful with this style. The so-called "imperial xxx" can be understood as adding strong ingredients during brewing. Double the amount of hops will also bring the aroma, bitterness and alcohol content of the beer to a higher level.
You know, everyone is equal before a double IPA.

Sour IPA: I struggled for a long time whether to put the sour IPA here or in the sour beer. After much thought, I decided to put it here. Sour IPA is neither bitter nor alcoholic, and tastes sweet and sour. Some are sour (turbid sours) that are very pleasant to drink and have a good sense of balance; some are so sour that they make your teeth hurt and you can’t drink them. Let’s analyze the specific situation in detail.

三. Sour beer

Strictly speaking, "sour beer" is just a description of the taste, not a style. Sour wheat, sour stout, and the just-mentioned sour IPA can be considered styles. But considering that the taste characteristics of sour beer are too obvious, I singled it out to make a small summary. After all, people who like sour beer can probably accept no matter what kind of acid it is.

If divided by place of origin, sour beers from Germany, Belgium and the United States have more obvious characteristics. Here is a brief introduction to the following styles, which are also common in domestic beer houses:

1. Berliner Sour Wheat
A wheat beer with a prominent sourness, in which the sourness mainly comes from lactic acid. This style is relatively easy to drink, and even people like me who don’t like sour drinks can accept it. I can hardly taste the bitterness of the hops, which is the balance between the taste of lactic acid and malt.

2. Gus
Cousse can be simply understood as a flavor-enhanced version of Berliner Sour Wheat. Some flavor-enhancing substances are added during brewing, such as common sea salt, coriander seeds, etc. But don’t worry, there won’t be any coriander flavor. In comparison, it will taste salty. It's a bit prominent and has almost no bitterness. In short, it's a very unique style.

3. Lambic
Lambic originates from Belgium. No cultured yeast is added during the brewing process, but is exposed to the air for natural fermentation. It can be further subdivided into fruit lambic and Guize. The overall taste is sweet and sour, which is very distinctive. At the same time, fresh hops are not used in the selection of hops, but aged hops are used almost exclusively for antisepsis rather than flavor.

4. Wild Mushroom Ale
This is an American-style beer. Other bacteria other than Saccharomyces cerevisiae are added during brewing. They can be added artificially or mixed naturally. This also makes it impossible to classify it as a traditional beer style. It can be regarded as a new sour beer. Wild Mushroom Ale also has a unique fruity aroma and very high acidity. If you like sour drinks, you can try it.

5. Saison
First of all, it needs to be clarified that saison is not necessarily sour, it can be completely not sour at all. It’s just that the sour taste of saison is too classic, so I classified it among sour beers. Saison is characterized by a dry finish, strong taste, and less use of flavor-enhancing substances. Its spiciness comes from the joint action of hops, malt, and yeast. As for the alcohol content, it can range from low to high, depending on the winemaker.

四. Stout

Stout is also called strong beer, stout, etc. It can be seen that most of the liquor is black. But it should be noted that stout is dark beer, but dark beer is not necessarily stout. Don’t get confused~

The brewing of stout usually uses a top fermentation process, and the raw material is usually roasted malt. The difference in baking temperature and baking time will also affect the final wine, making it end up with nuts, toast, caramel, chocolate, and coffee. etc. Flavor. Stout has a relatively high alcohol content, so be careful when drinking it!
Here are some common stouts:

1.Milk Stout
It is also called sweet stout and cream stout. Its characteristic is that lactose is added during brewing, so the wine will be sweeter and the calories will be very high. But IMHO, even if it is a sweet stout, I still feel that not many people can accept it, so if it is your first time to drink craft beer, it is recommended to take a small sip before ordering. If you just go straight to a large glass, it may be Was directly persuaded to leave.

2. Oatmeal Stout
The characteristic is that a certain proportion of oats is added during brewing, which makes the finished wine taste smooth. If you want to say it is bitter, it must still be bitter.

3. Irish Stout
Also called dry stout, the aroma is mainly coffee and the bitterness is obvious.

4. Chocolate Stout
Add chocolate malt or cocoa powder when brewing, and the chocolate and coffee flavors are very rich.

5. Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout is also called Russian Imperial Stout. In fact, it uses stronger ingredients and has a thicker taste. So now, different styles of wine are pursuing "imperialization", such as the Imperial IPA mentioned earlier.

五. Lager beer

Finally, let’s talk about raga.

If lager beer is at the bottom of the craft beer contempt chain (although this view is not correct, there are indeed a considerable number of people who prefer ale to lager), then American light lager is at the bottom of the bottom. Do you still remember the American light lager? As mentioned at the beginning, Qingdao, Snowflake, and Harbin Beer are all American light lagers.

In fact, lager beer also has many excellent representatives, such as Pilsner, Bock