Find Your Perfect Beer Style

Beer can be a lot. There are over 100 recognized styles and beer’s myriad of flavors can be anything from tropical to coffee. Beer can be non-alcoholic to 20% ABV and up! They can be yellow, black or even pink. Almost no beverage on Earth has this sort of range.

Where to begin though? I recommend thinking about beverages you like and then find those same flavors/aromas in beer. Do you like spices and bananas? There’s a beer for that. Like lemonade? There’s a beer for that. Love a plate of decadent brownies? Yep–-there’s even a beer for that.

The beer styles/beers I have suggested are mainly easy to find but the thing you need to know when you are learning about beer is that beer is very regional, meaning that one state may have a brand while another state may not. I suggest going to your local brewery or shop. Quality can also vary widely and everyone’s palate is different so if there’s a beer everyone loves but you don’t enjoy, don’t worry, it’s not you! You enjoy the beers you like.

Here are some flavor profiles to steer towards:

If you like coriander: Allagash White

The beer that got me into beer was a white ale also known as a witbier. It is a Belgian style made with wheat and an expressive yeast strain that creates flavors of clove and banana. It’s a unique flavor that gave me pause and I find it’s a great starter for people looking to get into beer because its flavor is wholly unique. Maine based Allagash White is an American classic of the style. Hoegaarden is the gold standard brewed in Belgium and is owned by the brewing giant ABInBev so it’s available almost everywhere.

If you like lemonade: Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose or Dogfish SeaQuench Ale

Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose & Dogfish Head SeaQuench Ale

Fruited sours are a huge up-and-coming style genre in beer and they’ll have a tartness reminiscent of lemonade or limeade with perhaps the addition of added fruit flavors. Look for local breweries making beer styles called berliner weisses or goses. These German ale styles are made with lactobacillus, adding that tartness through the use of bacteria (the same such bacteria that makes yogurt!). The best of these are usually local so stop by your brewery and see what styles they are pouring. I love passionfruit goses myself, as goses are brewed with the addition of salt and coriander which mingles with the passionfruit super well. Dogfish Head Seaquench or Anderson Valley Briny Melon Gose are both good picks.

If you like brownies/chocolate: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Beer can be dessert! Many dark beer styles like porters and stouts have flavors of coffee and chocolate thanks to the use of rich malts. Add in the use of barrel aging for an extended period of time and the oak of the wood will add an addition of vanilla to the beer. These beers are also some of the only beers that you can age for years if stored properly. Beers like Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout, the first barrel-aged beer in the U.S., is one of the best examples of this beer and is usually easy to find in most beer shops in early December as it makes a great addition to holiday desserts! Prairie Bomb or North Coast Old Rasputin are also easy to find imperial stouts that are worth seeking out.

The beer you remember from college but actually good: Von Trapp Helles

Many people are turned off by beer based on a warm keg of macro lager at a college party and then swear they hate beer. But if that beer had been fresh and served correctly, you may have thought differently. Golden lagers are the most popular beer style on Earth and are ubiquitous but many breweries nowadays are making these with the patience they need to become world class. Von Trapp (yes, of “The Sound of Music” fame) makes a delicious helles (hell is the German word for “light”), a cracker and floral tasting beer that’s easy drinking and refreshing. Give Von Trapp Helles a try.

How to decide

Now that you know what to look for, visit a good bottle shop or brewery. You can start by getting single beers or small pours at a brewery that can help you decide what beer styles you like. After you drink these beers, then you can do an online search for beers that are similar in style and then go to local breweries or shops that can open the vast world of beer for you. Also, when you also go out to eat or are at a bar, ask for a sample before you buy a pint. Why drink a pint you don’t like?

Another idea is hosting a beer tasting with friends. Everyone brings some beers to someone’s home and then starts trying! Provide everyone with notepads so they can choose the one they like best. The jovial evening with pals and beers will be an enlightening evening and may surprise beer novices and connoisseurs alike.

Cheers to getting into beer and enjoying the exploration!