All About Beer
By Mitch Biggar
Railcar Brewing Company
Bristol, NB
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”
Benjamin Franklin.
A quote that is near and dear to my heart! Beer is as complex or even more so than wine but until recent years has not been given its full recognition. Beer, like wine, can be paired with any type of dessert or main course and in some ways beer can often make the palate more receptive to food flavors.
Craft beer is near and dear to my heart, as is the local movement. There is no better way to show interest in local things than to consume a fine Maritime crafted beer.
In the coming issues we will review many Maritime beers and suggest food pairings. To better understand beer let’s take a look at the types and styles of beer. There are three types of beer: ales, lagers, and stouts.
ALES: Ales are generally robust and complex with a variety of fruit and malt aromas, ales come in many varieties. They could include Bitters, Milds, Abbey Ales, Pale Ales, Nut Browns, etc. Ales are top fermented while lagers are bottom fermented and temperature controlled. Most craft breweries in the Maritimes will brew ales as the start up cost are lower and ales prefer harder water.
LAGERS: Lagers are crisp and refreshing with a smooth finish from longer aging, lagers are the world’s most popular beer (this includes pilsners).
STOUTS: Stouts are dry or sweet, flavored with roasted malt barley, oats or certain sugars, stouts and porters are characterized by darkness in color and rich roasted malt flavor. Porter is an ale brewed with a special combination of malts to create a heavier flavor, aroma and color. To complement this heavier flavor, Porters generally have a fuller body and a slightly sweeter taste. Stouts often use a portion of unmalted roasted barley to develop a dark, slightly astringent, coffee-like character. Stout features a rich, creamy head and is similar to a dark Porter, but is usually less sweet-tasting and more heavily hopped.
Now let’s explore the styles of beer. This is where brewmasters flex their artistic flavors and explore deep and bold taste based on traditional types of beer. Often experimentation has lead to the development of these styles of beers.
AMBER: Ambers is a very versatile beer, they often have full bodied malt aromas with hints of caramel; these beers could be either lager or ale.
BLONDE: Blonde ales are very pale in color and tend to be clear, crisp, and dry, with low-to-medium bitterness and aroma from hops and some sweetness from malt.
BROWN: Brown ales are dark amber or brown in color, brown ale have evidence of caramel and chocolate flavors and may have a slight citrus accent or be strong, malty or nutty, depending on the area of brewing.
CREAM ALES: Cream ales have a very mild, sweetish, golden style of ale.
DARK ALES: Dark ale is a British type beer, combining hops, yeast and a blend of malts. It’s a medium chestnut brown color, with a delicate fruity smell and robust, malty character.
LIGHT ALES: Light ales are extremely light in color and mild in flavor. Light beer has fewer calories and/or lower alcohol content.
FRUIT ALES: Most fruit beers are ales however, they typically do not carry an ale character. In order to allow for the fruit flavor to come through nicely, the malt’s flavor is not dominant and there is a low bitterness level to the beer.
INDIA PALE ALES: These are a hoppier version of pale ale. Originally brewed in England with extra hops to survive the journey to British troops stationed in India.
PALE ALE: Pale ale has a fruity, copper-coloured styler. It originated from England. Pale ales are robust beers that can be enjoyed with strongly spiced foods.
PILSNER: Made with neutral and hard water. Tend to be golden in color with a dry, crisp, and somewhat bitter flavor. Pilsner stands out from other lagers due to its more distinctive hop taste.
SPECIALTY : Specialty beers include a wide variety of styles such as Strong beers, fruit beers, honey beers, bock beers. These beers range in alcohol content from 5.0% – 29%
WHEAT: Light and easy to drink with very little aftertaste. Wheat provides a soft character to beer and is sometimes hazy or cloudy with a touch of spice notes.
Now that have explored the types and styles of beer join us in the next edition as we start to sample some fine Maritime craft beers!
Mitch Biggar will be writing a new beer column for the Blackfly Gazette to introduce folks to the delicious microbrewery beers and ales artisans are crafting in the Maritime Provinces. Drink real beer and support our independent brewers!
