The beverage of the people- beer! Whether you’re out celebrating a special event, grabbing a pint after work with a coworker, or simply cracking a cold one at home, there’s never a wrong time to enjoy a beer. We all have a favourite, go-to beer we’ve come to know and love that always satisfies and never disappoints. But with more and more to choose from you may be missing out on the beer of your dreams! You may never find it, but improving your beer knowledge can give you a fighting chance at finding that everlasting love! Here’s some information to get you started.

Ales and Lagers

Every beer falls under two categories of beers that are differentiated by the way the yeast is fermented. Ales use top-fermenting yeast in warmer temperatures, while lagers use bottom-fermenting yeast at lower temperatures. Because of this difference, ales typically contain brighter, spicier, and fruitier flavours while lagers have a more subtle smooth finish. Stouts, porters, wheat beers, brown ales, pale ales, and IPA’s are all ales. The most common lagers include pale lagers, pilsners, dark lagers, and dunkels to name a few. Which type do you normally go for, ales or lagers?

Other ingredients

If you know anything about beer then you probably already know the four main ingredients that go into making each and every one; grain, yeast, hops, and water. But most restaurants and bars often carry beers that have a citrus, fruit, nut, or chocolatey finish. This is due to what are called adjuncts which are added in the fermentation process to either build up or tone down the flavour profile of the beer. Wheat, corn, rice, oats and sugars are regularly added to adjust the amount of fermentable sugars, and other ingredients like honey, chocolate, milk, coriander and sage are used later on to add complexity to the beer, and have a more direct effect on the finished product. 

Beer colour and alcohol content 

Beer colour and alcohol content have no real correlation. The root of this common misconception could be due to what people believe to be a “light beer”, but in reality the colour of a beer is mainly a result of the malts used and their ratios within the recipe. A popular belgium ale like the Duvel is pale in colour but is considered a strong beer at 8.5% whereas the famously rich, deep, dark Guinness stout only contains a 4% ABV. 

We have a variety of beers on tap and available to bring home, stop by the brewery to see if you can find your favourite! Take a look at our menu to see what we have available at the moment.