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Craft beers Updated: 03 Dec 2009

Beer styles

There are over 80 different styles of beer but they all fall into two broad categories: lagers and ales.

All beer contains the same four basic ingredients – water, malt, hops and yeast. But it’s the type of yeast, hops and malt, and the brewing process that determines the style.

Lagers are traditionally brewed with yeasts that sink to the bottom of fermentation vessels and work slowly, at low temperatures. Before packaging, the lagers are stored at cool temperatures to allow flavours to develop.

Many of the lagers we tasted were Pilsener-style, named after the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic where the style originates. What makes Pilseners distinct from other pale lagers is their characteristic hop flavour and aroma.
Ales are brewed with yeasts that rise to the top of the fermentation vessel. Ale yeasts work faster than lager yeasts because they ferment at warmer temperatures. Pale ales are brewed with ale yeasts and pale malts. They’re usually deep-golden to coppery in colour – and often have a degree of bitterness in their flavour.
Wheat beers are usually ales. Sometimes also called white beers, they’re brewed with a large proportion of wheat as well as barley malt. Belgian-style wheat beers often have spices such as coriander or bitter orange peel added, giving them a slightly fruity and spicy flavour. Wheat beers are often served unfiltered, in which case the sediment left behind produces a cloudy appearance.