WHAT IS A LAGER?

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A beer can qualify as either a lager or an ale, depending on the fermenting process. Lagers are a typical entry point into beer for new drinkers. Yeast used to make lager tends to settle at the bottom of the beer and has a has a lower tolerance to alcohol. The fermenting process is longer and takes place under cooler temperatures. Lagers can taste light and a little malty. Classic lagers in America include Miller High Life, Coors, Budweiser and Yuengling. And according to Jim Koch, the co-founder of Boston Beer Co., which makes Sam Adams beer, lagers are a great launching pad for newcomers to beer!

Try this Wisconsin lager: Two Women from New Glarus Brewing Co.

The collaboration of two Craft companies both led by women,
New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting, is unique. You
hold the result “Two Women” a Classic Country Lager brewed
with Weyermann’s floor malted Bohemian malt and Hallertau
Mittelfrueh hops. A tempting and graceful classic lager
found… Only in Wisconsin!

WHAT IS AN ALE?

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The major difference between types of beer comes down to the type of yeast used to ferment it. A beer can qualify as either a lager or an ale, depending on the fermenting process. Ales are created through top fermentation, a process in which yeast ferments at warmer temperatures and settles at the top of the beer. The yeast in ales has a higher tolerance for alcohol than the yeast used in lagers.

Under the broad ale category, there are numerous types of beer, including pale ales, India pale ales (IPA), porters, stouts, and wheat and Belgian styles.

Try this Wisconsin Ale: DOWNTOWN APPLEY FROM KARBEN4

Apple ales offer a range of sweet to sour
characteristics, often reflecting the type
of apples used. A common method is to add
apple juice to the wort and ferment it
together with brewer’s yeast. The base beer
of Downton Appley is a medium-bodied
amber ale. Generally, when fruit is added to
a beer like this, the brewer is attempting to
influence the flavor profile with an obvious
blend of fruit qualities that should not
overwhelm the underlying style of beer.

WHAT IS A PILSNER?

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Pilsners, which originate from the Czech Republic, fall under the lager category. German pilsners give off a pale gold color and crisp flavor, while Czech pilsners are a little darker with higher bitterness.

Try this Wisconsin Pilsner: CLAWHAMMER FROM DOOR COUNTY BREWING CO.

Clawhammer is a classic German-style Pilsner brewed
with an American point of view. Dry, crisp, and refreshing.
This beer is as delicious as it is simple. We used newer age
German hops to add that slight bit of bitterness that is
common for the style.

WHAT IS WHEAT BEER?

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Wheat beers rely on wheat for the malt ingredient, which gives the beverage a light color and alcohol level that makes it perfect for kicking back with during the summer and for combining it with fruit, like a slice of lemon or orange. Some wheat beers, with their funky and tangy flavors, fall under Belgian-style brews while the ones made in the U.S. have a light flavor that recalls bread.

Similarly a Hefeweizen is a type of German wheat beer from Bavaria, Germany. Hefe is a German term for “yeast” while weizen means “wheat”, so basically, a Hefeweizen is an unfiltered wheat beer with yeast in it. The yeast gives the ale a very hazy and cloudy look. 

Try this Wisconsin Hefeweizen: SUNCRUSHED FROM FULL MILE BEER COMPANY

Suncrushed is brewed in the spirit of a
traditional hefeweizen. Full Mile makes
it with a recipe based on 50 percent malted
wheat and 50 percent German Pilsner malt.
It’s fermented with the same German yeast
strain used by Weihenstephaner, the world’s
oldest working brewery, known for its weizens.
“It’s our attempt to capture the classic Bavarian
hefeweizen,” says Full Mile co-owner C.J. Hall.
And his hefeweizen does that, with hints of
floral yeastiness, banana, cloves and bubblegum.

WHAT IS A BELGIAN?

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Belgium’s rich beer culture has poured into the U.S. over the years, giving enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic a deep appreciation for the wide variety of Belgian-style flavors. Belgian beers span pale ales, dark ales, fruity beers and sour ales. WebstaruantStore, which provides equipment and information for restaurants, bars and other establishments, generally defines Belgian-style beers as carrying fruity, spicy and sweet flavors with a high alcohol content and low bitterness.
Popular Belgian beers also include Trappist ales, which are produced only at Trappist monasteries that brew their own beer. Trappist ales encompass beers like Belgian Dubbel, which is somewhat strong and complex, and Belgian Tripel, which is pale, spicy and dry. Blond ales like Delirium Tremens further add to the strong flavor profile of Belgian beers.

Try this Wisconsin Belgian: WISCONSIN BELGIAN RED FROM NEW GLARUS BREWING CO.

Dan Carey says Wisconsin Belgian Red was
inspired by his travels in Belgium and his
enjoyment of lambics and sour beers. Its
base beer is a sour brown ale to which Door
County Montmorency cherries are added.
The sour brown is an amber to copper reddish
beer, bottle conditioned, and often cloudy or
hazy when served. It has very little hoppiness,
even a low degree of malty sweetness. The
flavor can be sour, acidic, or fruity, even
before fruit is added. They commonly range
in strength from 4.5% to 6.5% ABV.

WHAT IS A SOUR?

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Sour beer has shot up in popularity in the U.S. over the last few years, becoming an enticing beverage to people looking to branch out their beer palates or to those wanting to try something new. Highly tart, sour beers can take on many forms, including Belgian-style Lambic beer, fruity Flanders ale and lemony Berliner Weisse beer. With the addition of fruits like cherry, raspberry or peach, sour beers marry sweet and sour to make beer flavors completely unlike the lagers and IPAs of yore.

Try this Wisconsin sour: RHUBARBARELLA FROM O'SO BREWING

Nothing says Country in Wisconsin like fresh
cut Rhubarb. Considered the first "fruit" of the
season, rhubarb grows along weed lines and
homesteads throughout the state. Our goofy
cosmic spin on the crisp, fresh cut sour reminds
us to stay playful because beer should be fun.
Taste the tart on tart crispness that will bring you
back to childhood memories in the country. No
exaltation transference pellet needed to fall in
love with this intergalactic time machine.

WHAT IS A PALE ALE?

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Pale ales are usually hoppy but carry a lower alcohol content than IPAs. Most types of pale ale, which can include American amber ale, American pale ale, blonde ale and English pale ale, are malty, medium-bodied and easy to drink.

Try this Wisconsin pale ale: WI PALE ALE FROM SOUTH SHORE

Quencing Bitterness. Hop Forward Aroma. Balance.
Cheers to you, Wisconsin! Wisconsin-grown base
malts and hops mixed with fresh water from Lake
Superior makes this an all Wisconsin Pale Ale. As for
the flavor, less citrusy Wisconsin grown varieties of
Nuggets, Cascades, and Centennial hops complement
our base malt with intricate, spicy flavors and
fruity-sweet aromatic overtones.

WHAT IS AN IPA?

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India Pale Ales (IPAs), which encompass numerous styles of beer, get their characteristics largely from hops and herbal, citrus or fruity flavors. They can be bitter and contain high alcohol levels, though the final product depends on the variety of hops used. Some IPAs can taste like pure citrus, while others are strong and bitter. Prominent IPA styles include West Coast IPA, British IPA and New England Style IPA.

According to Bon Appétit, New England IPAs carry a fruity flavor with low bitterness, while the British style is maltier and bitter. West Coast IPAs appear to stand somewhere in the middle, with a balance between the fruitiness and bitterness. The best way to figure out your preference would be to figure out which IPA style goes best with your tastebuds.

Try this Wisconsin IPA: LINALOOL FROM PEARL STREET BREWERY

Linalool IPA is made with this rare species of
hops, indigenous to Wisconsin, was discovered
growing wild in 2007. The craft beer scene has
been buzzing about it ever since. With a unique
genetic fingerprint and 2.5 times more linalool
(an aromatic compound that gives hops their
essence) than any commercial variety, Northern
Discovery hops are produced by a single
Wisconsin grower — and for the next two years,
Pearl Street Brewery has the exclusive rights to
their use in beer.

WHAT IS AN AMBER?

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Many North American brewers are now producing ales and lagers that are identified by the term “amber.” This is a more modern, non-traditional style, and many of these beers borrow heavily from the characteristics associated with more classical styles such as pale ales or bitters. Amber ales are light- to medium-bodied and can be anywhere from light copper to light brown in hue.

Flavorwise they can vary from generic and quaffable to serious craft brewed styles with extravagant hoppy aromas and full malt character. Typically amber ales are quite malty but not heavily caramelized in flavor. For our purposes amber ales will also include ales commonly identified as “red ales,” and “American ales” as, from the consumer’s viewpoint, the dividing line between these styles can often be a more a marketing concern than a consistently observed brewing convention.

Try this Wisconsin amber: WISCONSIN AMBER BY CAPITAL BREWERY

 

This rich amber lager is the perfect balance of
roasted caramel malts and clean hops flavors,
making it a perfect choice for any occasion.
HOPS: Mt. Hood, Cascade
MALTS:  Brewers, Caramel, Aromatic, Special

WHAT IS A PORTER?

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Traditional porters, which can trace their roots to the United Kingdom, are dark in color like stouts due to common ingredients like chocolate or other dark-roasted malts. Porters tend to taste less like coffee than stouts, with more of a chocolatey feel.

Try this Wisconsin porter: CHOCOLATE LAB BROWN PORTER FROM WISCONSIN BREWING CO.

This American porter from Wisconsin
Brewing Co. offers roasted chocolate and
caramel notes in a smooth, full bodied
beer that's surprising light on the palate
and finishes clean.

WHAT IS A STOUT?

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A dark beer, the flavor of stouts depend on where they come from. Sweet stouts largely originate from Ireland and England and are known for their low bitterness. In fact, Ireland’s Guinness brand produces some of the world’s most recognizable stout beer.

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), which ranks and evaluates all styles of beer, stouts are a “sweet, full-bodied, slightly roasty ale that can suggest coffee-and-cream, or sweetened espresso.” While the darker color of the beer gives the impression it’s tough to drink, these stouts carry sweetness from unfermented sugars that offset any bitterness.

Stouts produced in the U.S. combine the typical dark body and creamy notes with the hoppy bitter flavors characterized by American beers. American stouts are strong, highly roasted, bitter and hoppy, with high malt flavors that give them the taste of coffee or dark chocolate, according to the BJCP.

Try this Wisconsin stout: FUEL CAFE FROM LAKEFRONT BREWERY

Roasted malts and Milwaukee’s renowned Fuel Cafe
coffee meet in this this espresso-brown Stout to dole
out substantial toffee and chocolate flavor with a
mild coffee brightness.