When thinking of Stout most people think of Dry Stout, the black ale with a creamy head from Ireland. In actuality, there are several other members in the Stout family that are lesser known but definitely worth examining. In this article we will be looking at the most prominent ones as well as a few of the more obscure examples. All Stouts share a common history as well as their signature black color and roast malt character but there are notable differences that deserve exploration.

Dubbel Ales are mid-strength, dark, somewhat sweet, mildly hopped, top fermented beers of Belgian origin. Although they are very flavorful, they typically finish on the dry side due to the use of highly fermentable sugar in addition to specialty grains. They are typically high in carbonation (up to 8 g/l) resulting from bottle refermentation.

Pumpkin ale is probably the quintessential American beer style, having its roots in colonial times when the access to barley and wheat in North America was limited and pumpkin was used as a source of starch for brewing. As barley malt became more accessible, the production of pumpkin beer declined and eventually ceased. The beer made a comeback with the resurgence of US microbrewers in the eighties of the last century and is now a popular seasonal in the portfolio of many brewers...

Smoked Märzen is a regional lager beer specialty that is home to the Upper Franconian city of Bamberg, Germany and its surrounding area. The beer is characterized by a beechwood smoke aroma and flavor and a slightly sweet and malty finish.

India Pale Ale (IPA) is currently the most popular style of “craft” specialty beer in North America. It is a hop intensive ale whose origins are with beers brewed for long sea journeys to the British colonies. IPA has developed into several off-shoot styles including Red IPA, Session IPA, White IPA and Black IPA, but the standard IPA is the most popular and will be the focus of this article.

Though a popular style in its day, especially in the 19th century, witbier was virtually extinct by the 1950s. The style was, however, single-handedly resurrected in the 1960s and eventually made famous by Pierre Celis of the De Kluis Brewery in Hoegaarden, Belgium. This wheat beer is refreshing, spicy, pale and cloudy, can be slightly sour, has a dense head of white foam and is now brewed throughout Belgium and around the world.

Despite being one of the oldest German beer styles, Berliner Weisse is almost extinct from the German brewing landscape today. Thanks to its refreshing character, it has recently gained popularity among craft brewers around the world. It is often served “mit Schuss” – the addition of flavored syrups (raspberry and woodruff are traditional) – while purists prefer the beer to be served unadulterated.

Anyone enquiring about the specialties of the Czech Republic quickly receives this response: beer! “Czech” and “beer” are two words that simply seem made for each other, and it has been that way for centuries. And yet, in the shadow of these legendary beers, the Czechs have also discovered superb craft beers at significantly lower production volumes. Many of them will surely never achieve mythic status; however, the quality and the flavor nuances of these specialty beers are now beguiling beer connoisseurs.

A multiplicity of technological possibilities are available to selectively influence weizenbier flavour and its numerous nuances in a positive manner. They will be covered in this paper.

The flavour of Bavarian hefeweizenbier depends not only on the characteristics of the raw materials and on the equipment used in the particular brewery but also in large measure on the various details of the production process.

General - desirable and undesirable sensory characteristics

The various Bavarian-type "hefeweizenbiers" are becoming increasingly popular and contribute significantly to an enrichment of beer culture. In terms of produc-tion processes, there is an enormous diversity, more so than for any other beer type.
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