Imagine that you tell a winemaker that there’s red wine and there’s white wine and that’s it. This is blasphemy! This is madness! You poor soul! You will be mercifully mocked and ridiculed forever by the whole wine making community.
The sacred world of wine is an immense and diverse universe one cannot even begin to think that is capable of fully grasp or understand. Well, what if I tell you that there are probably more styles of beer out there than types of wine? First, beers can be classified in three different categories depending on the type of fermentation used for making the beer. Bottom fermentation beers (Lagers), Top fermentation beers (Ales) and Spontaneous or wild fermentation beers.
Then each one of these categories has countless varieties and styles that can be distinguished, depending on the different materials used: Beers are commonly made of one or a few types of grain. Like barley, wheat, rye and oats. But beer can be made of essentially anything that contains starch. So there are beers made of corn, rice, potatoes and the gluten-free sorghum for example. A beer recipe may include not just one but lots of different combinations of materials. On top of that there are quite a lot of different types of barley.
And there is the malting process. Some grains are being malted before using them in brewing. A long and complicated process that however is not required for all styles of beers. And on top of all that there are the hops. Hundreds of types of different hops. I know, it gets a bit confusing. What the heck are the hops for? The hops can be added into the brew for a few reasons: they give the bitterness of the beer, they give the desired aromas that are different for each beer style, and the oils in the hops have preserving properties that give a longer shelf life and prevent bacteria from developing and spoiling the beer. But hops can be used after the brewing as well. During the fermentation process some beers can be dry hopped in order to achieve a richer and stronger aromas. But hops are not even necessary for making beer. Wait, what? Actually beer brewing exists like since the dawn of humanity (okay, maybe not the dawn, but for tens of thousands of years), and yet the first documented use of hops in beer is from the 9th century.
Before that folks used different types of herbs in the brew making process. It even has its own name: gruit beer. So, we’ve just entered the mystical and enigmatic world of the herbs! Even today one can make beer with herbs that have anti-septic and preserving properties, herbs that give bitterness or aromatic herbs and all that in all sorts of crazy combinations. Commonly used herbs in craft beers are: lavender, heather, chamomile, sweet gale, pine twigs, myrtle, mugwort, young stika spruce, juniper, rosemary, wormwood, sage, yarrow and so many others. But that’s not all. Other ingredients are also commonly used like: black tea, green tea; lemon or orange peel and lots of spices like: coriander, black pepper, white pepper, cardamon, cinnamon, cummins and what not. And did I mention the fruits? Yes all sorts of fruits as well are added in different stages of the brewing and fermentation process. Cherries, sour cherries, apples, melons, pumpkins, bananas are just a few of the fruits that are commonly being used in craft breweries all over the world. So imagine just how many different combinations can be used, giving birth to countless different styles of beers, and that’s just based on the ingredients.
We can also distinguish different types of beers depending on their colours: white beers, blondes, light lagers and ales, light pilsners, ambers, brown ales, dunkels, bocks and double bocks, porters, stouts, extra stouts. So many different types of beers depending on their alcohol content, bitterness, aging and so on. Not to mention the Trappist beers, made by monks in abbeys for hundreds of year. It’s a jungle. Si it turns out that the world of beer is probably as complex and interesting as that of the wine, if not more. Saying that with a great respect and admiration for the wine making and the wine, a truly magnificent beverage. We are constantly collecting information on brewing different styles and beer, acquiring new knowledge and putting what we’ve learned into practice. So you can taste some of the beers that have been produced in the countless millennia humanity has seen.
Pale Ale
Irish Stout
Russian Imperial Stout
Smoked Porter
Red Irish Ale
Amber Ale
Gose
Saison
Witbier
Trappist Dubbel