What are the classifications of beer and how do they taste?

You would think that after 12 years of intense beer drinking that I would "know" the type of beer that I am drinking! To the contrary, I am fairly limited to the likes of bud "light" or "heavy." I have started to enjoy the IPAs and Lagers of the world, but I still don't know the classification of the beer caste system. I read a book on wine, and they laid out simplistic terminology the difference between a "heavy" wine like beourdouex compare to a "light" wine like pinot noir. The best answer would be similar to that wine comparision...





Thanks!|||Two classes of beer collectively make up thousands of different varieties of beer.





The two different categories of beer differ in the type of yeast used to brew them and the temperature at which they are brewed. Beer that is classified as lager uses special yeast that ferments best at cooler temperatures. Beer classified as ale uses another type of yeast that ferments best at warmer temperatures. Both lagers and ales contain hops, malted barley, yeast and water.





There are basically four types of beer that fall under the lager category: American style pale lager, pilsner, light lager and dark lager. Pale lager usually contains more carbonation than the other types of beer. It tends to be light in colour as well as in body. The most popular brands of beer in the United States, such as Coors and Budweiser, are examples of a pale lager.





Pilsner is another type of lager that is pale in colour. However, pilsners tend to have more distinct flavours and are often more bitter than American style pale lager. In the U.S., light lager beer contains less hops and barleys, which reduces the caloric content of the beer. Light beer also has a slightly lower alcohol concentration than regular beers. In Europe, a light lager is a beer that is light in colour rather than calories. Dark lagers are made with roasted barley and hops, and therefore have richer flavour, a very dark colour and a full-bodied taste.





The main types of beer that are referred to as ales include brown ale, porter and stout. Brown ale is usually red or copper coloured rather than brown. It has a milder flavour than the other types of ale beer.





Porters are darker and more full bodied. Porters usually have a more noticeable barley flavour that is reminiscent of chocolate, along with a mild hop flavour. Stouts are the darkest type of beer, almost black in colour. They are thick and taste strongly of the barley and hops that they are made from.





Although there are generally only two types of beer, several thousand unique types of beer are created through different combinations of ingredients and added flavours. Fruit, vegetables, spices and so on are added to both lagers and ales to create beer with flavours like cherry wheat and pumpkin spice, for example.|||Beer types


Beer styles all fall into two broad types, determined by where the yeast sits during fermentation: ales and lagers. As the terminology of brewing arose before the advent of the science of microbiology, "yeast" in this context may refer not only to fungi but to some bacteria, for example Lactobacillus in Berliner Weisse.





Ale


Ale is beer that is brewed using only top-fermenting yeasts, and is typically fermented at higher temperatures than lager beer (15鈥?3掳C, 60鈥?5掳F). Ale yeasts at these temperatures produce significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result is a flavourful beer with a slightly "flowery" or "fruity" aroma resembling but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, grass, hay, banana, plum or prune.





Principal styles of ale include Barley Wine, Belgian Trippel, Belgian Dubbel, Bitter, Amber Ale, Brown Ale, Pale Ale, Porter, Stout, and Wheat beer.





Lambic


Beers of spontaneous fermentation are ales which use wild yeasts, rather than cultivated ones. All beer was once brewed this way, but by the Middle Ages brewers had learned to crop the yeast from one brew and use it in the next. Only in a few isolated regions were wild yeasts still used. The best-known region where spontaneous fermentation is still the Senne Valley in Belgium, where lambic is produced.





Lager


Lagers are the most commonly consumed type of beer in the world. Lagers are of Central European origin, taking their name from the German lagern ("to store"). Lager yeast is a bottom-fermenting yeast, and typically begins fermentation at 7-12掳C (45-55掳F) (the "fermentation phase"), and then stored at 0-4掳C (30-40掳F) (the "lagering phase"). During the secondary stage, the lager clears and mellows. The cooler conditions also inhibit the natural production of esters and other byproducts, resulting in a "crisper" tasting beer.





Modern methods of producing lager were pioneered by Gabriel Sedlmayr the Younger, who perfected dark brown lagers at the Spaten Brewery in Bavaria, and Anton Dreher, who began brewing a lager, probably of amber-red color, in Vienna, Austria, in 1840鈥?841. With modern improved fermentation control, most lager breweries use only short periods of cold storage, typically 1鈥? weeks.





Most of today's lager is based on the Pilsner style, pioneered in 1842 in the town of Pilsen (Plze艌), in an area of the Austrian monarchy now located in the Czech Republic. The modern Pilsner lager is light in colour and high in carbonation, with a strong hop flavour and an alcohol content of 3鈥?% by volume. The Pilsner Urquell or Heineken brands of beer are typical examples of pilsner beer.





Principal styles of lager include American-style lager, Bock, Dunkel, Helles, M盲rzen, Oktoberfest, Pilsner, Schwarzbier and Vienna lager.





Hybrid beers


Hybrid or mixed style beers use modern techniques and materials instead of, or in addition to, traditional aspects of brewing. Although there is some variation among sources, mixed beers generally fall into the following categories:





Steam beers were invented by German immigrants living in California and are made with bottom-fermenting (lager) yeasts, but fermented at warmer (ale) temperatures. The name "steam beer" is a trademark of the Anchor Brewing Company, though other brewers brew this beer under the designation "California common".





Fruit and vegetable beers are mixed with some kind of fermentable fruit or vegetable adjunct during the fermentation process, providing obvious yet harmonious qualities.


Herb and spiced beers add herbs or spices derived from roots, seeds, fruits, vegetables or flowers instead of, or in addition to hops.





Wood-aged beers are any traditional or experimental beer that has been aged in a wooden barrel or have been in contact with wood (in the form of chips, cubes or "beans") for a period of time (Oak is the most common). Often, the barrel or wood will be treated first with some variety of spirit or other alcoholic beverage--bourbon, scotch and sherry are common.





Smoked beers are any beer whose malt has been smoked. A smoky aroma and flavour is usually present. The most traditional examples of this style are the Rauchbiers of Bamberg, Germany. However, many brewers outside of Germany--most notably American craft brewers--have been adding smoked malt to porters, Scotch ale and a variety of other styles.