Beginners Guide To Craft Beer

Confused by the world of craft beer, or just the beer world in general? We were all in that situation once, sitting around the pub with a group of people who seemed to speak a different language to us.

Well, we're here to unravel some of the mysteries that surround craft beer and maybe make it a bit easier when deciding which beer to buy for yourself or your mates.

What Is A Craft Beer?

This open-ended question has been hotly debated amongst beer experts since the term first emerged around the 1970s, with many people claiming their definition is correct. We'll outline the gist and you can decide on your own stance for the next round of debates.

Basically, a craft brewery or microbrewery is a brewery that produces small batches of beer. However the term "small batch" is very ambiguous, with definitions varying wildly around the world and over time.

Some insist on the brewery being independently owned. But as we've seen, big beer names are buying up craft breweries. The point that most people can agree on is that the beer generally has an emphasis on quality, flavour and brewing techniques.

Unlike typical large-scale, fully-automated breweries, people feel craft beer should be a labour of love, with all stages of production handled by the craft brewer, rather than machines.

There are two terms that you will hear a lot: "malt" and "hops". The basic ingredients of beer are water, starch (such as malted barley), yeast, and flavouring (such as hops).

Although wheat is sometimes used as the starch in beer production, barley is the preferred grain. However, barley isn't able to ferment on its own, so it's converted to malted barley or malt. The process involves soaking the barley and allowing it to germinate, then stopping germination with a heating process. The hops that are added are the flowers from the hop plant. They produce bitterness as well as citrusy and floral aromas. So, in short, more hops means more bitter yet fruity beers.

Now with some basic discussion points under your belt, let's help you order a beer. Take away all the cool names and labels and there are your basic styles, or tastes, of beer. Start with finding which type of beer you or your mate likes and take it from there!

Types Of Craft Beer

The most popular style of beer is ale. Originating back to 800BC in Germany, this nutritious form of hydration was enjoyed by all ages and was often safer to drink than water. Fast-forward a few thousand years and the modern ale builds the backbone for many craft beers, now boasting a range of sub-styles thanks to its diverse range of flavours.

Pale Ale

Pale ale is the most consumed craft beer style by Australian beer enthusiasts, gaining its name from its pale colour. Originally the pale colour was due to the barley roasting technique, or malting, whereby coke (a form of coal) was used instead of wood, resulting in a less scorched roast and golden colour. Now, lightly roasted barley malt will result in a light beer, whereas heavily roasted barley malt will result in your dark or black beers. Pale ales are usually lightly hopped and are not bitter.

Amber Ale

Amber ale gets its name from its colour and clever combination of ingredients, it's not a dark ale, nor a pale ale, so it must be amber ale. Amber ales are produced by adding amber or crystal malts to the pale ale, resulting in a caramel toffee flavour.

IPA

Another label you come across increasingly often is IPA, or India Pale Ale. Originally an 18th century English export to India, the beer had extra hops and alcohol added to help preserve it on the long journey. This resulted in a unique bitter flavour with citrus and floral undertones, making it the perfect refreshment in hotter climates, just like Australia. The term double IPA literally refers to double the amount of hops, resulting in a strong ale with a very hoppy flavour as well as higher alcohol content, usually upwards of 7%.

Brown Ale

Brown ales are the original ale, as all beer gained a dark colour from the wood-fired malting process. As pale ales began to emerge, dark ales became the drink of the working class while pale ales were a status symbol enjoyed by British high society. Modern day brown ales are produced by adding a variety of dark specialty malts to create a rich, nutty flavour. US style brown ales are the most common style in Australia, with most breweries offering at least one variety.

Wheat Ale

Wheat ales, wheat beers or weiss (white) beers, date back to the origins of beer, brewed in Germany by substituting barley with wheat. Wheat beers are typically light coloured but cloudy, higher in protein and have a mild tartness to them.

Porters And Stouts

Porters and stouts originated in Britain around the late 17th or early 18th century. A common story is that porters originated in London, using a mixture of ales to offer a robust, affordable beverage to local hard-working porters. Modern porters are a dark, malt assertive and well-hopped beer offering complex, rich flavours of chocolate, nuts, caramel and sometimes a soft smokiness, while usually offering lower alcohol content. Double porter or stout porter refers to a stronger porter blend. Commonly referred to simply as stout, this beer was made famous around the world by Guinness, an Irish stout. You then move into your double stout or Russian imperial stout, which was brewed in London in the 18th century for export to the Royals of Russia, an extra strong dark beer.

What About The Lagers?

Moving onto another style of beer altogether, lager comprises most commercial beer. Ales and lagers differ in two fundamental ways: lager is brewed using lager yeast, which prefers cold temperatures and ferments at the bottom of a tank, while ales use ale yeast, which prefers warm temperatures and sits at the top of the tank. The word lager originates from the German word lagerbier, which refers to the southern German style of brewing that produces a light, crisp tasting beer. Like ales, lagers have a variety of sub-styles.

Pale Lager Or Pilsner

A pale lager or pilsner was developed after the techniques used to produce pale ale back in England were brought to Germany in the 19th century. Pilsners tend to be dryer with hoppy scents.

Dark Lager

Dark lagers include dunkel and schwarzbiers, and are produced using special Munich malts that give the beer its dark to black appearance and chocolatey and liquorice flavours.

American Lager

The popularity of pale lagers carried over to the US in the 19th century, along with its many beer drinking German migrants. Now the most commonly brewed beer style, it's typically light and crisp with a neutral taste.

Now you're a master of beer styles and the craft beer world is your oyster! Why not kick off your journey with one of our mixed craft beer packs, like our Top 10 Tinnies, or join our Craft Beer Subscription and get unique craft beers delivered to you regularly.