Beer Styles and Flavors Cheat Sheet

from Garrett Oliver’s: “The Brewmaster’s Table”

• Abbey – Strong, fruity, spicy, aromatic, complex
• Altbier – Bronze-colored, snappy bitterness, full malt flavor
• Amber – Color signals caramelized flavors in amber ales and lagers
• Barley Wine – very strong, dark, bittersweet, malty, complex – a sipping beer.
• Bière de Garde – Full-Bodied, herbal, flavors of anise and earth
• Bitter – Fruity and racy, subtle, low carbonation, robust hopping
• Bock – Dark (usually), strong, malty, toffeeish, full-bodied, restrained bitterness
• Brown Ale – Dark, caramelized, fruity, light chocolate, light coffee
• Doppelbock – Very strong, dark, toffeeish, with some sweetness
• Dortmunder Export – Golden, dry, bready, moderate bitterness
• Dubbel – Dark, fruity, complex, raisiny, spicy
• Dunkel – Dark, malty, bready, moderate bitterness
• ESB – “Extra Special Bitterness,” amber, fruity, slightly strong, hoppy
• Framboise – Beer made with raspberries, can be sweet or dry
• Gueuze – Pale, dry, funky, wildly complex, quite tart
• Hefeweizen – Wheat beer with yeast, light-bodied, spritzy, clovey, banana like.
• Helles – Golden, light-bodied, malty, bready, restrained bitterness
• Imperial Stout – Very strong, dark, roasty, coffeeish, chocolaty, robust
• IPA – “India Pale Ale,” amber, strong, dry, robust hop bitterness and aroma
• Kölsch – Very pale gold, bready, lightly fruity, restrained bitterness
• Kreik – Beer made with cherries; can be sweet or dry
• Lambic – Fermented by wild yeasts; tart base for gueuze and fruit beers; funky
• Märzenbier – Amber, bready, round, malty, caramelized, medium-bodied
• Mild – Dark, lightly hopped, caramelized, raisiny, light-bodied
• Oktoberfest – Should be the same as märzenbier but sometimes paler
• Old Ale – Somewhat strong, dark, caramelized, fruity, balanced bitterness
• Oud Bruin – “Old Brown,” dark, sweet and sour, fruity, juicy, raisiny, complex
• Pale Ale – Amber, snappy, dry, fruity, hoppy, with some caramel flavors
• Pilsner – If genuine – golden, dry, sharply bitter, flowery, bready, snappy
• Porter – Very dark, chocolaty, coffeeish, caramelized, hoppy
• Rauchbier – “Smoked beer”; smokey flavors and aromatics, juicy, caramelized
• Saison – Dry, sharp, spicy, complex, refreshing, hoppy, slightly strong
• Schwarzbier – “Black beer,” dark, bitter chocolate, dry, caramelized, bready
• Scotch Ale – Dark, sometimes strong, malty, full-bodied, restrained bitterness
• Stout – Black, coffeeish, chocolaty, can be dry or sweet, strong or modest
• Trappist – Made by monks; strong, fruity, spicy, complex
• Tripel - Pale, strong, dry, fruity, complex, spicy, rummy, spirituous
• Vienna-Style – Bronze, sweetish, malty, bready, caramelized, light bitterness
• Witbier – Belgian wheat beer; hazy yellow, light-bodied, citric, spritzy, slightly tangy

 

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