Beer Ale Styles - Ales From Around the World

Beer Styles –The Ale Styles

Have you ever come across the term "beer styles"? It is a term to distinguish beers by way of it's color, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin. You will know that this differentiation of beer has been going around since 2000 BC and it was prevalent in varied cultures. As regards the methodical study of beer styles, it is nothing but a modern phenomenon.

Ale is beer that is made from top-fermenting yeasts. In fact, it is fermented at temperatures much higher than lager beer. Barley Wine, Belgian Trippel, Belgian Dubbel, Bitter, Brown Ale, Pale Ale, Porter, Stout, and Wheat beer are some of the major styles of ale.

Let's find out the different varieties of ale.

Belgian Ales

Belgian ales are known for high alcoholic content. On the other hand it is light in body due to the presence of large amount of sucrose that gives an alcohol boost with a neutral flavor.

Belgium produces an ample variety of specialty ales. You shouldn't be surprised to find that some of the specialty beers thrive on monastic brewing recipes. And the most popular amongst them are the Trappist beers. However, commercial breweries have also come up with the same styled ales in the name of Abbey beer.

Witbier is a popular Belgian and French Ale style. Hoegaarden Wit, Vuuve 5, Blanche de Bruges and White Ale are some admired commercial variety.

Among Belgian Pale Ale De Koninck, Speciale Palm, Dobble Palm and Vieux-Temp are some popular commercial examples.

German Ales

When it comes to German ales, the beer is fermented at a fairly lower temperature. Unlike British or Belgian ales, they tend to have more body. Many people stick to a German ale after trying it for the first time. It is the customary German decoction mash that produces oligosaccharides and this helps to put up the body of the beer. Speaking of the popular varieties of beer, here are some of them – Köln's Kölsch, a very pale ale and altbier; wheat beers such as hefeweizen and Berliner Weisse. Grolsch Amber, Alaskan Amber and Schmaltz' Alt are some popular commercial examples of Northern German Altbier. Some of the popular commercial exemplar of Düsseldorf Altbier are Schumacher, Schlössel and Zum Uerige of Altstadt brewpubs.

American Ales

As far as the American Ales are concerned, these brews are golden to light copper in color. What's more, they also have a lighter body. This is primarily because they are brewed domestically. It also has a subtler overall character. Most importantly, it's Made in America!

Some popular American Pale Ale commercial varieties are Full Sail Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pyramid Pale Ale and Poleeko Gold Pale Ale.

Bell's Amber, North Coast Red Seal Ale, Mendocino Red Tail Ale and Hoptown Paint the Town Red are some good commercial American Amber Ale.

The trendy commercial names of American Brown Ale include Great Lakes Cleveland Brown Ale, Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale, Bell's Best Brown and Brooklyn Brown Ale.

English Ales

English ales are medium-bodied reddish-brown beers. And what's more, this beer boast of malt accent with a nutty character, a mild fruitiness, and low bitterness. The alcohol content of English ales is reasonable, at the most 5% ABV.

And if you come down to Southern English style, the beer is much darker in color and to a lot sweeter.

Irish Ales

Irish ales are well known for their reddish color, malt accents, slightly sweet palate, and low hopping, Irish ales are quite popular and these brews are not bitter. When in Ireland...go for the Irish Ale!

Some popular commercial examples of Irish Red Ale are Caffrey's Irish Ale, Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale, Harpoon Hibernian Ale and Moling's Irish Red Ale.

Scottish Ales

These are normally full-bodied and malty, while some are dark brown in color. Unlike the English counterparts, these are lowly hopped with a somewhat thick and sweet caramel malt character because of incomplete fermentation. You will find that the Scottish style ales are popular in most parts of the world. However, the export versions made by the Scottish brewers, are much stronger and maltier than the usual standard.

Here are some admired Scottish ale styles and their commercial examples

Scottish Light 60/-

McEwan's 60/- and Maclay 60/- Light are two popular commercial examples of Scottish ale. These are cask only products and are not exported to the US.

Scottish Heavy 70/-

Some well-liked commercial examples are Orkney Raven Ale, Belhaven 70/- and Caledonian 70/- known as Caledonian Amber Ale in the US.

Scottish Export 80/-

Broughton Merlin's Ale, Orkney Dark Island and Belhaven 80/- known as Belhaven Scottish Ale in the US are some in trend commercial examples.

Strong Scotch Ale

Orkney Skull Splitter, Broughton Old Jock and Founders Dirty Bastard are names of a few commercial examples.

Thus ends the story of different ale styles of beer. Try them all...and decide for yourself which country makes the best Ale.