Types

There are two major types of beer

Ales and Lagers.

The big difference is the temperature at which it is fermented. Note that: Ales are fermented at hotter temperatures 65-75°F while Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures ranging 46-55°F.


The other difference is the form of yeast applied in the fermentation method. Ales typically makes use of top fermenting yeast which floats to the beer surface for the initial couple of days and then settles at the base while lagers make use of bottom fermenting yeast which settles without necessarily floating to the surface.

ingredients drawing

Lambic is another major type of beer although it is far less popular than Ales or Lagers. Lambic uses wild yeast for fermentation.


(some research was collected from, classyboozer.com)

Types of Ales

Ales are sweet, tasty beers. They come in different color shades ranging from pale gold to shady, rich brown color based on the grains applied in the brewing procedure.

Amber Ale

Belongs under the Belgian Ale. They are sweeter due to their excess malt. Additionally, they are dark in color thus their first name ‘amber’. Popular types of amber ales include Fat Tire Amber Ale and Budweiser American Ale.
Pale Ale

It is a light-colored alcoholic drink that is full of malt and hops. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a popular example of pale Ale.
Bitter

Falls under Pale Ales. It contains hops that give it a pleasant aroma. A good example is Foster’s Special Bitter.
India Pale Ale (IPA)

Falls under the branch of Pale Ale. This hoppy flavor comes across as golden or darker in color and has a bitter scent and taste.
Irish Ale

It is deeply red in color and has a sweet, malty taste. A popular example of Irish Ale is Killian’s Irish Red.
Barley Wine

It ranges amber to darker shades of black. It is a very fruity and flavorful beer but with a high alcoholic content.

Stouts

These beers fall under the branch of Dark Ale. They are set apart from the rest with the use of malt-free, dark-roasted barley, minimal hops, and sweet, chocolate scents.

Stouts come in various types including chocolate, coffee, dry, oatmeal, milk, oyster and Imperial stouts. The most renowned dry stout is Guinness with a minimal sweet taste.

Porter

This is a type of extremely Dark Ale, brewed from heavy-roasted malt. It is medium-bodied and has a crisp taste. Jack Porter is a famous example of Porter.
Wheat Beer

Also known by names like weissbier or hefeweizen, is a refreshing beer, pale-colored and very carbonated.

Types of Lagers

Larger is well-known for its crisp, filtered taste due to its fermentation process where yeast settles at the bottom without necessarily floating to the surface.

Lagers under a low-temperature fermenting process that result in the beer having a smoother flavor.

Bock

It is a tasty, dark lager with origins in Germany. Bocks do vary from malty-flavored lagers to darker, hoppy-flavored bocks, popularly referred to as Helles bocks. Two common examples of bocks are Shiner Bock and Michelob Amber Bock.
Dunkel Lager

Is the premier variety of German lager beer. It is dark in color with a modest alcoholic strength and tastes often suggestive of chocolate, coffee and licorice.
Marzen

Also known as Oktoberfest beer, traces its roots in Munich. It is full-bodied and dark brown in color. A popular type of Marzen beer is Samuel Adams Octoberfest.
Pale Lager

They are popular types of alcoholic drinks worldwide. They are straw-colored; contain a malty taste besides being filtered and crisp. They are very carbonated though lacking high alcohol content. Pilsner lagers are prime examples of pale lager.
Munich Dark Pale

Traces its origins in Munich. It is a dark lager with fiery blend of malt and coffee taste.
Dopple Bock

A stronger version compared to Bock. It is full-bodied and malty. It is typically dark with increased caramel as well as chocolate malts. Although there are basically two different types of beer, numerous other special varieties are produced using different blends of ingredients and additional flavors. Fruits, spices and vegetables among others are added to both ales and lagers to produce beverages with great tastes.

Types of Dark Beer

Beer is one of the most popularly accepted alcoholic beverages. Beer has 4% to 6% alcohol content in them and is the third most popular drink after water and tea.

Beers are of different types and can be categorized according to the color, ingredients and alcohol content. These altogether is known as beer styles which keeps varying and depends mainly on the places or the shops the beers are being bought from and also on the weather and climate of these particular places.

There are several types of beers which can again be sub-divided into sub-types. Following are some of the different types of dark beers.

Stout

This is one of the very famous dark beers which are made of roasted malt. It also contains water and yeast. The stouts are not necessarily dark in color. These beers are also available as brown blonde colored beers. These beers were primarily very popular during the 17th century period. There are several types of stout beers as well. The dry or Irish stout is the darkest of them all. These are characterized to be the light beers because of the alcohol content being low. There are various types of porters other than this as well. All of them are characterized with the darkness of the beer.
English Porter

This is also another dark styled beer which originated in London during the 18th century. The name porter was settled to be the name of these beers because if these beers being too much popular in the streets surrounding the river Porters. These beers have been highly in demand since ages and are stilled preferred to be one of the best dark beers. These beers have been popular in several parts of Europe and outside of Europe. The popularity has increased with years and lately has been seen to be accepted by the people of this era as well.
Munich Dunkel

This is considered to be the richest among the other beers because of the content of the beer being so rich itself. These beers are smooth to have and are too tasty. This is one of the very popular dark beers. The brewing process involved in making these beers makes it one of the very tasty beverages to have at any time of the day. Even the bitterness of these beers is not that much compared to the other beers of this kind.
Schwarzbier

This is another very popular dark beer. The color of these beers is entirely black. The alcohol content never exceeds 5% for these beers. There are even flavored beers under this name which has the flavor of coffees and chocolates as well. The black color of these beers comes due to roasting the ingredients while preparing the beers. xxx Thus, these were some of the very popular types of dark beers that are in demand these days. There are certain places where the beers are mixed with several other ingredients to make it popular and special. Beer, being one of the most popular beverages should be considered to be well approved anywhere and anytime.