Beer 101

Have you ever bought a beer only to drudgingly choke it down?

It's a diverse and confusing world out there in Beerland. Ales range from Amber to Wheat through the Tripel, and lagers and pilsners from America to Vienna through the Munich Dunkel.

This primer will guide you through the basics of beer, the myriad varieties, and some combinations with foods so you can drink what you want to drink when you want to drink it.

Although beer styles are very different -- there are dozens and dozens of styles of ales and lagers -- overriding commonalities anchor the experience. Beer is typically made with four ingredients: water, malted barley, yeast, and hops. Some brews include adjuncts such as fruits, spices, liquors and other grains.

Malted barley -- two-row or six-row, named for how it flowers on the stalk -- provides the sugar that the yeast ultimately converts to alcohol. Roasting, toasting and caramelizing the malt adds color, sweetness and body to the finished product. Other grains such as wheat and rye impart other properties. Steeped in warm water, the cracked grist (mash) is then rinsed (lautered) and the sugary liquid (wort) set to boil.

Hops are added to the boiling wort, different varieties at different times for different durations for different effect. After boiling, the wort is quickly cooled and transferred to a sterile fermentation system.

Yeast is 'pitched' into the chilled wort-and-hops mixture and lightly aerated. Ale yeasts are traditionally known as top fermenting yeasts; lager yeasts are bottom fermenting. Each variety of yeast enjoys a particular environment in which it thrives best, producing esters that enhance the aroma of the beer

The yeast and wort combination is almost magical as single-celled little-wee-beasties eat up sugars and give off alcohol and carbon dioxide in the process.

Serving the brew is the final key to a great beer experience. Ales benefit from being served at room temperature in thicker pint glasses; lagers should be served cold in a tall open glass. Belgian ales with floral esters take advantage of fluted glassware, accentuating their flavors and esters.

For a clean, crisp, hoppy experience try a Pale Ale: the American (APA) has a grapefruity twang; the India (IPA) has a nose full of fresh mown grass. A sweeter finish can come in a Brown Ale or an Imperial Stout. On the lighter side are traditional American lagers and pilsners, wheats, and the Light Scotch Ale. Dive into the deep and dark end with an Oatmeal Stout, Dopplebock, or a Scotch Heavy Ale. Weiss beer uses yeast that produces a banana and clove ester. Big beers, like some Extra Special Bitters (ESB's), Ambers and Barleywines, can pack a kick like a mule. Fruitier overtones are found in Belgian Ales like the Tripel and Dubbel, plus, of course, those made with cherries, melon, berries or other adjuncts. Seasonal brews like Bocks and the Oktoberfest are special treats.

Match red meats with an amber or a brown ale. Try fish with an India Pale Ale. Curries and other spicy foods are subdued by a cold lager or pale ale. Beer and cheese work well together with hard, aromatic varieties such as aged cheddar or parmesan matching scotch ales and creamy chevres benefiting from a wheat beer. Pair a porter or a malty seasonal beer with chocolate. Belgians, barleywines and fruit ales go with other desserts.

Humans have documented beer making for nine thousand years. Brew masters who have learned to control ingredient quality and mix, time, temperature, pH, and cleanliness make the best beer possible. Beer brewing is a craft and an art that incorporates chemistry, physics, and biology into unique and delicious brews for us all to enjoy.