Ales are a rich beer variant offering a wide array of flavors and colors: from bitters to milds, pales to ambers, there are also abbey…

Lagers are bottom-fermented, and it generally takes several months at near-freezing temperatures to finish a brew.

Stouts and porters are the darkest beers on the market.

Malt beers are darker, thicker, and sweeter than lagers or ales.

Amber is used to refer to the color and full-bodiedness of a beer.

Blondes are usually ales which are a paler yellow color.

With Newcastle Brown Ale as perhaps the best known example, brown beers are darker in color with strong hints of caramel or chocolate in…

A golden ale with a crisp, mild, and sweet flavor.

Dark beers are typically either ales, stouts, or porters, though dark lagers have emerged recently and are gaining popularity.

Fruit beers are brewed like ales, but the malts are held back in order to allow fruity characteristics to come through more fully.

Golden beers, such as Becks or Samuel Adams Golden Ale, were first produced in the UK.

Goldilocks beers are "just right" for a broad range of tastes, making them excellent choices for those who prefer an easy-drinking,…

Creamy, full-bodied, and slightly sweet, these beers are usually fuller-bodied than, say, a Golden or a Cream.

The original IPA.

Light beers are generally simple lagers with a lower alcohol content and milder flavor.

These are a relatively recent addition to the light beer collection, with Bud Light Lime being the foremost example.

The pale ale, an English invention, is a mild but enjoyable beer with a hint of fruity flavor and a clear, yellow or copper color.

Pilsners are lagers made in a particular style with hard water.

Reds, such as Rickards Red, are ales that range from red to brown in color and have a heavier flavor than an amber.

The definition of a “strong” beer may vary geographically, but in general it refers to the broad category of beers with an alcohol…

Wheat beers can be either filtered or unfiltered.

Hops are perhaps the best-known ingredient in beer, providing flavor and aroma in a variety of differing degrees. The plant itself is a flowering vine (latin name: Humulus lupulus). In addition to bitterness, hops provide stability, citrus notes, zest, and spice to a brew.

There are many grains that can be used in beer -- wheat, oats, rye, barley, and more. Malt, or malted barley, however, is generally the most-used grain in the fermentation process. Malting is the process where partial germination is used to convert starch from barley seeds into natural sugars. A rich variety of flavors and colors can be yielded from the malts chosen in the brewing process. Malts are also used for whisky making.

Germination is the process that seeds undergo when they first sprout into plants. In the malting process, barley seeds are allowed to partially germinate so that their resources and starch reserves are made available. During the early stage of germination, enzymes are created which convert the starch from the seeds into sugar. At this point in the malting process, germination is halted and the sugars are used for fermentation. If germination were to continue, plants would grow from the seeds and they would consume the sugar as energy for growth.

Fermentation is the process by which alcohol is developed from the ingredients in a brew. It is the same process that produces wine and spirits, with sugar being converted by living organisms (e.g., yeast, enzymes, etc.) into ethyl alcohol through their digestion process.

A beer’s full-bodiedness is its weight and thickness in the mouth. The texture of a beer while drinking can be light, heavy, or anywhere in between, with fuller-bodied referring to richer, more complex flavor profiles.

Craft beer is beer produced by small, independent breweries that prioritize quality, traditional brewing methods, and innovation. It’s often made in smaller batches with unique flavors and may incorporate non-traditional ingredients. Craft beer distinguishes itself from mass-produced "macro" beers by focusing on quality, flavor, and often, community involvement.