Beer 101

Beer 101

Browsing the beer aisle at the local supermarket can be an overwhelming experience when a dizzying array of microbrew styles and brands beckons from the shelves. Brew pubs, too, offer an increasingly diverse selection of beers on tap. The Northwest is, after all, dubbed the Microbrew Capital of America. Don't know a bock from a doppelbock? Here's a primer that should help clear the haze.

Ales
Some of the Northwest's most popular beers are pale ales, golden ales and amber ales. These styles offer slightly bitter flavors from hops. The varying reddish, amber and golden shades come from the use of different types of malt. BridgePort's flagship Blue Heron Ale and Hammerhead Ale from McMenamins are typically hoppy Northwest ambers, while Portland Brewing's MacTarnahan's is a slightly milder rendition.

India pale ale, or IPA, is hoppier in both flavor and aroma and also slightly higher in alcohol. IPAs were developed in England to withstand the long sea journey to India and the far reaches of the British Empire, since the high hops and alcohol provided preservative qualities. Portland's IPAs reflect that high hoppy character.

Brown ale is a slightly darker version of the pale ales. Because of their nutty flavors, brown ales are often called nut browns. McMenamins' Nutbrown Ale usually makes its way to the taps in the fall. The darkest, richest ales are porters and stouts. Porter is a dry, dark-brown to black, usually opaque ale. It has the sharp, bitter tastes of dark malts. Bend's Deschutes Brewery offers an excellent example in its Black Butte Porter.

Stouts are the darker, heavier cousins of porter. The traditional stout made famous by Guinness is known as dry or Irish stout. The dry, roasted flavor and opaque black color are classic stout traits. Russian Imperial stout is stronger than dry stout and has a bitter-burnt overtone. Rogue Ales in Newport offers one of each, with its Shakespeare Stout and Imperial Stout. A sweeter, less bitter version is oatmeal stout, which uses oats in addition to barley malt. So-called espresso stouts, such as Pyramid Espresso Stout, have a strong coffeeish flavor from the malt; Red Hook actually adds crushed coffee beans to its Doubleblack Stout.

Barley wine--which is not wine at all--is simply beer with a high alcohol content (about as high as wine). It is also one of the few beers that benefits from "cellaring." This heavy, powerful ale has a finish that warms the throat, making it a popular winter brew. Look for BridgePort Brewing's Old Knucklehead when the cold, rainy weather arrives.

Lagers
Most Pacific Northwest brewers focus on English-inspired ales--but lagers have long been the standard product of American breweries, and several excellent examples are brewed here in Oregon. The main difference between lagers and ales is the type of yeast that is used. Lagers are also fermented and stored for longer periods and at cooler temperatures. In general, lagers tend to have a cleaner, drier taste than ales.

The most common lager is probably pilsner, named for the Czech town of Plzen (Pilsen) that originated the style. It offers flowery hop aromas and bitter flavors. Saxer Brewing Company produces some classic lagers, including Saxer Pilsner.

Bocks are strong but smooth all-malt lagers. A stronger, chocolately version is known as doppelbock, or double bock--though it's not actually twice as strong as a normal bock. Mercator Doppelbock from Full Sail is available for a limited time each winter.

In the fall, many breweries offer an Oktoberfest (also known as marzen) specialty beer. This amber- or copper-colored lager is similar to a bock, but with less chocolatey or toasty flavor.

Wheats
In many ways, wheat beer can be considered a style unto itself. The best-known wheat beer in the Pacific Northwest--and one of the best-selling among all beers in Portland--is Widmer's Hefeweizen. Hefeweizens are unfiltered wheat beers that are conditioned with yeast in the bottle or keg, which gives them a cloudy appearance and yeasty sediment. Highly carbonated and refreshing, hefeweizen may reveal a slight tang or sourness; it's often served with a slice of lemon.

Frou-frou Brew In addition to the traditional basic styles of beer, a variety of specialty beers includes fruit and other additives that make for a distinctive taste. Common flavor additives include honey, chocolate and maple syrup, or a number of herbs and spices, such as allspice, clove, juniper or nutmeg. Apricot, blueberry, lemon, orange and raspberry are just some of the fruit flavors that may be incorporated in a standard ale or lager. Rogue Ales has several interesting options, including its Cran-N-Cherry brew, the marionberry-flavored Rogue-N-Berry and Mexicali Rogue--spiced with chipotle chile peppers.

Many people mistakenly believe beer should be consumed icy cold (cold temperatures dull the flavors of your beer) and that the British drink their ales warm. In fact, the ideal drinking temperature for ales is generally between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with the warmer end best for darker and stronger ales like porter, stout or barley wine. Lagers are consumed at cooler temperatures than ales (about 45 F or 50 F). You may want to let your unopened beer sit out of the refrigerator for a few minutes before you drink it. To fully enjoy a beer, always drink it from a glass. This allows you to taste the beer's aromas and bouquets better than you can when drinking from the bottle or can.

Many terms are used to describe a beer's flavors, and they mean different things to different people. Hop flavors and aromas can be described as bitter, sour or tart, as well as grassy, spicy, piney, floral, perfumey and an array of other expressions. Nutty, buttery, chocolate, caramel, grainy, coffee, roasty and toasty are the terms most often associated with malt.

There is rarely a "right" way to describe a taste. Go with your instincts. Let the beer sit in your mouth for a moment and swish it around. What do the flavors remind you of? You may experience different taste sensations when the beer first touches your tongue than you do after you swallow. Most important, of course, is that when you're done with each sip, your mouth is calling for more.

Josh Leventhal is the author of "Beer Lover's Companion," a guide to producing, brewing, tasting, rating and drinking around the world.