Craft Beer Styles - Types Of Craft Beer | The Original Craft Beer Club

Altbier

Altbier are ales first brewed in Cologne and Düsseldorf Germany. The name alt means “old” - suggesting that this brew had an older style to it, highlighting da ...

Amber Ale

Amber ales were first brewed in the style of English bitters. The emphasis was on balance with a bit maltier and sweeter taste than the early pale ales. Approa ...

American Amber / Red Ale

This an umbrella term that is often used to described beer that is lighter than a Dark ale, with colors ranging from amber to red tones. These beers have a sty ...

American Amber / Red Lager

American amber / red lager is a variation on the Vienna-style lagers but drier and less hop centered. It is a popular craft beer style that highlights both hop ...

American Blonde Ale

American Blonde Ale is sometimes also called Golden Ale. The history of American ales is pretty short going back to the mid 1970’s, but the roots can be traced ...

American Dark Wheat Ale

This is considered an American version of the German dunkelweizen, where brewers traditionally added dark malts to their hefeweizen recipe. The color of the br ...

American Golden Ale

American Golden Ale is sometimes also called Blond Ale. The history of American ales is pretty short going back to the mid 1970’s, but the roots can be traced ...

American India Pale Ale

IPAs are hop focused beers with fragrant aromas ranging from citrus, to pine and flowers. These beers tend to have a sharp bitter finish. With hop front and ce ...

American Pale Ale (APA)

Pale ales are have a hop forward scent and flavor with a strong foundation of malt sweetness. They are light and flavorful often with hints of citrus, pine or ...

American Pale Wheat Ale

This beer is the American version of a German Hefeweizen. It is distinguished by a pale to golden color, a long lasting head and a light to medium body. A big ...

Bavarian Dark Lager

Bavarian Dark Lagers are often referred to as Dunkels (doonn-kel), meaning “dark”, and were the original style beers of the Bavarian villages and countryside i ...

Bavarian Style Lager

Bavarian brewers in 16th century Germany were required by law to only brew beers during the cooler months of the year. In order to have beer available during t ...

Belgian Witbier

Belgian Witbier, meaning “white beer” in Flemish, is pale and cloudy in appearance due to being unfiltered and the high amounts of wheat or oats used in the br ...

Berliner Weissbier

Berliner Weissbier (Bear-leeh-nuh Vice-beer), is German for “Berlin White Beer” and is a regional variation originating from Northern Germany. These beers can ...

Bière de Garde

The Bière de Garde, meaning “ beer for keeping”, is a French-style Strong Pale Ale which is traditionally brewed in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Th ...

English Brown Ale

Evolving from early ‘mild ales’, the English Brown Ale can be categorized into three different sub-styles: Mild English Brown Ale, Southern English Brown Ale, ...

German Pilsner

The German Pilsner, also known as Pilsener, Pilsen, or Pils, is among the most popular kind of pale lager in Germany. Originally brewed in Pilsen, Bohemia - a ...

Hefeweizen

A Hefeweizen (“hay-fuh-veyt-sssenn”) is some what of an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of style names. Since “Hefe” means “with yeast" and “weizen” m ...

Imperial Porter

An Imperial Porter is an Extra-Strong Porter similar to and often referred to as a Baltic Porter. Although the beer falls somewhere between a Traditional Porte ...

India Pale Ale (IPA)

Commonly referred to as an IPA, the India Pale Ale is actually an English brewed beer which was exported to British troops in India during the 1700’s. Initiall ...

Kölsch

The Kölsch ( “cœll - shh” ) brew is an obscure style that originates from Köln (“Cologne”), Germany. This region gained Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) ...

Munich Helles Lager

A Munich Helles Lager (“Myoo-nik Hell-us”), often referred to as simply a “Helles”, is a vibrant golden lager first brewed in Munich, Germany in 1895 at Spaten ...

Oatmeal Stout

Oatmeal Stouts are dark ale brews that have made their claim somewhere in between a typical Sweet and Dry Stout and could even be called a less sweet version o ...

Porter

Porter beers have a long history dating back to England in the 1700’s. At the time this brew was called an ‘Entire’ and was actually a single beer based off of ...

Red Ale

Red Ales originate from Europe and refers to styles of beer that are dark red or are reddish in appearance. This brew style is still, to some extent, waiting f ...

Robust Porter

Originating from England in the 1700’s, the classic Porter brew style earned its name as a ‘Porter’ due to its popularity amid dock workers who, in the 18th ce ...

Saison / Farmhouse Ale

A Saison beer, also known as a Farmhouse Ale, emerged from the small town of Wallonia in the French-speaking area of Belgium. ‘Saison’, meaning ‘season’ in Fre ...

Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy

The Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy brew style has a long history, emerging in Scotland roughly 5,000 years ago. Temperatures in this region were cool enough to where e ...

Scottish Ale

Initially, dating back 5,000 years or so, Scottish Ales were brewed across Northern Europe where temperatures remained cool. With the lack of hops in this regi ...