I have been in the wine trade for over twenty years. I’ve visited numerous wineries, attended countless lectures, and most importantly have tasted many wines over the years. I have dealt with a limited amount of distilled products and know the ABC’s of spirit items, but not like I understand wine. As for beer, I drank a few in college, at the beach, and at crawfish boils. It’s cold, goes down easy and is refreshing when you’re hot. But that’s the extent of my experience - end of story.
I recently started a new career venture that involves beer – not just big name domestic beer, but hand-crafted, artisan-style beers from around the world. The only thing is I don’t know much about beer, the terminology, styles, tastes, etc. I felt the same way at the beginning of my wine journey and it’s all pretty intimidating. Just as there are know-it-all wine geeks out there, there are beer geeks trying to stump you all the time.
Micro-brews and international beers are part of the trendy scene these days. Grocery stores and wine shops carry a better selection of these items now. Restaurants and bars are beefing up their beer selection by the bottle and on tap. The Barley Oak in Mandeville is a playground for beer enthusiasts wanting to try a large variety of these new brews.
So, how does a novice like me for a novice like me begin to master the mysteries of an increasingly complex product line? First, you have to learn the terminology. I gathered a group of friends and sampled several different beer styles. As we tasted, we read the labels and from this information tried to understand exactly what we were drinking. Some of the terms were foreign to me but I found one needs to know them at a minimum to begin understanding beer. Following is a very basic list of definitions that the beer geek in training needs to know.
ALE
The English language term for a beer made in a cask or bottle with top-fermenting yeast (the same way Champagne is carbonated), that generally gives the beer fruitiness. Because of the living yeast, real ales are sometimes cloudy. Ales are produced in a wide variety of colors, palates and strengths: Bitter, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, Light Ale, Red Ale, etc. Interestingly, the term ale, once used to indicate a beer made without hops, now generally indicates a dark amber, strongly hopped malt beverage. Serve ales with mortadella, salami and lightly smoked sausages.
BOCK or BOCKBIER
Bock is the German word for a strong beer brewed from barley malt. It is a dark, sweet, heavy beer originally drunk to celebrate the end of the brewing season. Bock beer is traditionally served in autumn, late winter and spring. It was originally brewed by top fermentation in the town of Einbeck and was once a heavy, dark beer brewed in winter for consumption in spring. German bock beers are now brewed by bottom fermentation and are usually dark brown. Pale bocks are increasing in popularity and a distinction is sometimes made between light bock beer and dark bock beer. Because the word bock also means billy goat in German, a goat is often found on the labels of bockbier brands. Pair it with Bockwurst sausage and smoked cheese.
HEFEWEIZEN or HEFE-WEIZEN
A wheat beer that is not filtered before bottling. Thus, the yeast continues to act (known as bottle conditioning), and there may be sediment in the bottle. The body is crisp and effervescent.
HOPS
A climbing plant like a grape vine. Its cone-like blossoms are the tannins that help preserve and clarify beer and are the essential ingredients that impart aroma, dryness and the characteristic bitter flavors to beers.
INDIA PALE ALE or IPA
In the 19th century, Britain’s Indian Empire was supplied with ale from England because the local water caused health problems. The original IPA was high in density and hops to help it travel well. Today, the term implies a super-premium pale ale.
LAGER
Any beer made by bottom-fermentation. It is usually golden in color but can be dark. Lager requires a longer, colder fermentation than ale and uses a species of yeast that tolerates cold temperatures well. The result of the cold fermentation is a lighter, crisper, smoother beer. Ale was the beer of England and its American colonies. Lager beer was introduced to the U.S. during the German immigration of the early 1800s. America quickly adopted it and switched from being an ale-drinking country to a lager-drinking country. Since brewing lager requires a cooler environment of 30°F to 40°F, brewers manufactured it in caves or burrows in the sides of mountains. Lager is the German word for storage place.
MALT
Beer-making starts with the grain. Barley is malted (soaked in water until it is partially germinated, then dried) to release starches, which in turn become fermentable sugars.
PILSENER or PILS
A general name for a crisp, golden-hued, highly-hopped, bottom-fermented lager; Pilsners are a fairly dry style of beer with a strong malt flavor. Pilsner is the most popular lager in the world today. The original Pilsner was first brewed in the Bohemian town of Plzen (meaning green meadow), Czechoslovakia in 1842, using special yeast smuggled from Germany by a Czech monk. Until then, all beers were dark and cloudy. The new Czech Pilsner was the first beer to be brewed clear and golden, the palest beer to date (and soon to be copied worldwide). Pilsners are medium to medium-full bodied lagers characterized by a dense, white head, high carbonation, floral aroma and a bitter finish. Pilsners pair well with mild grilled sausages and mild to moderate cheeses.
PORTER
A London style of beer, porter is a strong, dark ale, fermented with the addition of roasted malt to give flavor and color. Porter originally was a blend of stout and pale ale, they are higher in alcohol and more roasted-tasting than ale, lighter-bodied than stout, full-bodied, but not overpowering. Today most porters are reddish in color, slightly sweet, very malty, but not bitter. Porter can be paired with a hearty cheese and a spicy Italian or Andouille sausage.
STOUT
The darkest and heartiest of beers, stout is differentiated from regular ale by its brown-black color, chocolate-coffee flavors and fuller body. This is achieved by brewing with barley that has been dark-roasted to the point of charring (think of espresso compared to medium-roast coffee). It is darker and maltier than porter, has a more pronounced hop aroma, and may reach an alcoholic content of 6% to 7%. Stout originated in Ireland, where most traditional stouts are very rich, sharp and slightly bitter. Stout is well-paired with strong cheese and a spicy sausage such as Andouille.
My suggestion is to gather friends and taste some different beers. Many stores sell them by the bottle so it’s not a huge investment. It’s certainly not necessary to understand the entire brewing process to enjoy a pint or two, but a little knowledge enhances the experience. It helps explain the flavors and aromas in your glass and helps you distinguish between different styles of beer. It also helps you understand why you enjoy some beers more than others and offers you an opportunity to impress your friends. Cheers!