Beer styles: where do we start?
Hello! Today, I'll try to explain the rationale used to begin studying the beer styles. As I mentioned, the BJCP has the guidelines for each style. However, they acknowledge that the guide's format isn't ideal for studying the styles. The style guide is more suited as a quick reference, organized and concise, for use in specific situations, such as clarifying a characteristic of a style during a beer competition. So, how should we study the beer styles?
We can group beers in various ways for study purposes. In the course I mentioned in this post, WSET chose to group beers based on their ingredients. This way, we had malt-forward styles, hop-forward styles, and yeast-forward styles. What's interesting about this approach is that when we sample different groups of beers side by side, we can begin to notice the different characteristics associated with each of the beer's ingredients. However, this approach can be a bit simplistic if we want to delve a little deeper, as it groups many styles within the same category. BJCP, on the other hand, developed a study guide for exams. In this guide, they describe/suggest creating a study group, which is a great approach for those aspiring to become BJCP judges. It involves discussing 10 technical topics over 10 sessions, as well as tasting beers in each session. I made a summary of the BJCP study group structure, and I will leave hidded below for the curious minds. The study group can be a dynamic way of studying the beer styles, though it relies on having a BJCP certified judge as a reference for the beer tasting sessions. Still, imagine gathering a group of friends, once a week, to discuss and taste beers… sounds like fun!
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Session 1: PALE LAGERS (American Lager, Cream Ale, International Pale Lager, Czech Pale Lager, Premium Czech Pale Lager, German Pils, German Helles, Exportbier, Munich Helles, Festbier and Helles Bock). The subject to be discussed in this session must be the malt. The process of malting, the types of malt and other adjuncts used in beer, kilning and the distinct styles associated to malt.
Session 2: AMBER & DARK LAGERS (International Amber Lager, International Dark Lager, Czech Amber Lager, Czech Dark Lager, Vienna Lager, Kellerbier, Märzen, Munich Dunkel, Schwarbier, Dunkles Bock, Doppelbock and Eisbock). Here, the subject must the water. Minerals, pH, and hardness. The effects of water on the develpoment of distinct historic styles and how can we adjust it.
Session 3: BRITISH BITTERs, PALE ALEs, and IPAs (Ordinary Bitter, Best Bitter, Strong Bitter, British Golden Ale, Australian Sparkling Ale, Blonde Ale, American Pale Ale, American Amber Ale, English IPA, American IPA, and Speciality IPA). For this session, mashing must be discussed. Types used for brewing different styles, mash schedules and enzymes.
Session 4: BROWN, RED & SCOTTISH ALEs (Dark Mild, British Brown Ale, Scottish Light, Scottish Export, Scottish Heave, Wee Heavy, American Brown Ale, Irish Red Ale, and California Common). Hops are the topic here. Varieties, IBUs, and hopping schedules.
Session 5: STOUTs & PORTERs (Irish Stout, Irish Extra Stout, Sweet Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Tropical Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, American Stout, Imperial Stout, English Porter, American Porter, and Baltic Porter). Yeast and fermentation must be in the spotlight for this session. Different strains, characteristics, bacteria, subproducts and relationships with world classic styles.
Session 6: BARLEYWINEs & STRONG ALEs (British Strong Ale, Old Ale, English Barleywine, Double IPA, American Strong Ale, and American Barleywine). Brewing procedures should be discussed in this session. As I did not presented them yet, let´s leave this for a next Brewventure.
Session 7: GERMAN ALESe & WHEAT BEERs (American Wheat Beer, Kölsch, Altbier, Weissbier, Dunkles Weissbier, Weizenbock, and Wheatwine). Here they suggest the start discussing beer characteristics. On the BJCP Study Guide, they have a list of 25 beer characteristics considered important to be detected during a beer evaluation. They are the most important flavors and flaws. They suggest dividing this list in two, and making two session of beer characteristics discussion.
Session 8: STRONG BELGIANs & TRAPPIST ALEs (Belgian Blond Ale, Saison, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Trappist Single, Belgian Dubbel, Belgian Tripel, and Belgian Strong Dark Ale). This would be the second session for discussion of the beer characteristics mentioned above.
Session 9: EUROPEAN SOURs & BELGIAN ALEs (Witbier, Belgian Pale, Bière de Garde, Berliner Weiss, Oud Bruin, Flanders Red, Lambic, Geuze). Here is time to discuss beer recipes. The selection of ingredients and production process leading to different styles.
Session 10: DOCTORED BEER SEMINAR. This must be one of the most interesting sessions. They recommend the selection of a traditional Lager. On that beer, we should add substances that will mimic beer characteristics or flaws that frequently appear in beers. For instance, adding almond extract to perceive a nuttiness profile. Or adding 2/3 spoons of vodka to get the warming sensation associated with alcoholic styles.
IMPORTANT: The amount of beers to be sampled per session must take in account the amount of participants and the alcohol content, always promoting responsible drinking. Moreover, these groups should be able to persuade certified BJCP judges. The beers should not only be tasted but evaluated using the BJCP scoresheet. The 15 minutes evaluation time should be respected for each beer. Lastly, the evaluation of the aspiring judges should be compared and discussed with the one from the certified BJCP judge.
For those not as interested, let's move on. Since the goal here is to become a BJCP judge, tasting and evaluating beers is an important part of the learning. This became even clearer for me after starting the course I mentioned above; tasting really enhances the learning experience. So, we need to have samples of the styles we’re studying available. Here in Greece, I've found Czech and German brands fairly easily, some of them listed as classic BJCP style examples. This way, I could start studying these styles while looking for ways to find the other samples I need. Going through the BJCP guide, towards the end, they describe a range of alternative classifications for beer styles. My favorite is the one that classifies styles by history, because it also gives us insight into the stories and events that shaped the characteristics of each of the beer styles.
With that in mind, I’ll try to follow this historical classification to study the styles. Another aspect that drew me to this historical approach was understanding how today’s styles (Pilsner, Stout, IPA) are closely tied to the availability of ingredients in the era and region where they were developed. Nowadays, we can buy a variety of malts, hops, and yeasts, and even add minerals to the water if the specific style we are brewing calls for it. But, in the past, brewers were limited to local malts, native hop varieties, and the water of a nearby rivers and springs, which ultimately defined many classic style characteristics. This limitation was also a catalyst for the growth of homebrewers and craft breweries in the United States. People get tired of expending good money on imported beers that lost much of their character during transport and storage, so they began brewing fresh samples of the styles they loved.
In conclusion, as I’ll be using the BJCP's historical classification, we can see that the first two style groups are “Pilsners” and “Mass Market Pale Lager”. This makes the classification interesting because, by analyzing and tasting the styles and studying a bit of history, we can draw parallels from the creation of Czech Pilsners to the mass-produced Lagers sold today. I’ll dive deeper into these stories in upcoming posts, so stay tuned! Therefore, we’ll begin with the Pilsner style, which historically includes Czech Pale Lager, Czech Premium Pale Lager, German Pils, Pre-Prohibition Lager, and German Leichtbier. If you want to follow along, find samples of these styles there, and I’ll do the same here! If you’re unsure which beers to try, send me a message! See you next time! Cheers! 🍻
