Specialty India Pale Ales

Over the last twenty years IPAws have become the most popular craft beer style in North America. This trend has spread to other beer markets around the world, and in some areas “India Pale Ale” is synonymous with “craft beer”. As part of the spirit of experimentation of craft beer and to differentiate their products from others, brewers introduced new variations of IPA, and with that many IPA sub-styles have evolved. The most popular of these will be the focus of this article: Belgian IPA, Black IPA, Brown IPA, New England Style IPA, Red IPA, Rye IPA and White IPA.

Schwarzbier is one of the oldest beers of Central Europe. Like Munich dunkles and Düsseldorf altbier, it is a relic of the once virtually unbroken landscape of dark beer that spread across Europe north of the Alps.

The art of aging gracefully

Hopalong on the lupulin trail | In the wake of the gradual, millennium-long adoption of hops as the primary brewing herb in Europe and thus the world, modern brewers are often not aware that other herbs were used in beer production. In the article “Of Cones and Cauldrons, Hops and Gruit” (BRAUWELT International No. 1, 2019, pp. 20-23), alternative brewing herbs and their use by modern craft brewers were touched upon. In this issue, hops and a mostly long-forgotten practice associated with their usage will be discussed.

Of Cones and Cauldrons, Hops and Gruit

Magical, Edible, Medicinal | For the majority of its approximately 13 000-year history, beer has not been brewed with hops, but rather with a wide variety of herbs and other additives. And yet, beers brewed with other herbs have largely disappeared since hops have proven to be so well suited for flavoring and preserving beer. Recently, brewers with an inclination for experimentation have resurrected long-forgotten European beers prepared without hops – some of them from unboiled wort – and are once again exploring brewing herbs from past millennia.

Porter

Porter was recorded as a distinct beer style in the 1700s in London, England. The name of Porter is said to have come from its popularity with the porters handling produce in the various wholesale markets located in the city.

Vienna Lager

This amber lager dominated the beer market in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and beyond. People particularly appreciated its relatively light color and, thanks to a long cold maturation period, its high drinkability, which top-fermented beers couldn’t compete with.

Bacteria, Brueghel, Barrels, Blending and Brett (Part 5)

Puckering Pellicles | Words like complex, mysterious, ancient, wild and artisanal are used to evoke the enigmatic nature of lambic. Few, if any, beers instill such awe and reverence in enthusiasts and connoisseurs – one reason that lambic and its production process are safeguarded by the European Union under a quality scheme designed to protect traditional foods.

Belgian Tripel

Despite the image of a medieval and monastic heritage, Belgian Tripel (as we know it today) is quite a modern style. The Tripel family exemplifies the Belgian way of brewing very well: the rich, estery and phenolic aroma profile is paired with a dry body which gives these beers a very high drinkability considering the high alcohol content.

Bacteria, Brueghel, Barrels, Blending and Brett – Part 4

Coppers and Coolships | Since the authors first began visiting lambic breweries in the late 20th century, the popularity of this distinctive Belgian beer style has blossomed. Lambic now serves as an inspiration for creative brewers around the world with a thirst for exploring the enchanting realm of “wild” fermentation, a taste worth acquiring. In this installment, the discussion moves from mashing on to lautering, boiling and cooling the wort.

Bacteria, Brueghel, Barrels, Blending and Brett (Part 3)

Degradation and Digestion | Lambic is a fascinating beer style for many reasons, one of which is that unlike most other beers, a wide range of microbes ferment the wort. When one part of beer production is clearly out of the ordinary, then the brewing process tends to be unorthodox in its entirety. This is most certainly the case for lambic.

American Style Lager

Love it or hate it, there’s no disputing that corn and rice-based adjunct lager beer has long been America’s national beverage. Indeed, when viewed strictly based on sales, or the number of countries where brands representative of this style of beer are ranked first, one could argue American-style lager beer is planet earth’s preferred beverage when it comes to beer!