Ale in Comparison

Beer is made of just four simple ingredients but can result in a dizzying number of different types of beers for a variety of preferences and palates.

Beer used to be easy. At McSorley’s Ale House, one of the great taverns in New York City and founded way back in 1854, there were — and still are — only two types of beer: light and dark. Makes it simple, right? That’s a far cry from wandering the beer aisle in your local supermarket where it feels like every week there’s some new brewer or style you’ve never heard about. The world of beer has never been more exciting — and more confusing. If you don’t know your hops from your Hefeweizens but are curious about learning more or want a quick refresher on modern essential beer styles, read on.

First things first: let’s get some basics out of the way. At its most simple, beer is made of four main ingredients: water, grains, hops and yeast. The grains are usually some combination of barley, wheat, oats, or rice. Hops, a flower that grows on a vine, are what make beer bitter (in a good way) when boiled or fermented with the grains. Afraid of bitter? Don’t be. There are different types of hops that brewers use to get certain effects, like floral or pine aromas. And if you’re looking for (or to avoid) bitter some brewers include an IBU (International Bitter Unit) on their labels, so you can get comfy with the number threshold you like. And the yeast — though a tiny component volume wise — can play a surprisingly big flavor role in beers.

Want to start experimenting at your local beer tap room or at your local liquor store? Here are some basic styles to ask for, roughly in order from lightest to darkest:

PILSNER

Light and crisp, this style of lager (a beer fermented in cold temperatures) originated from the Czech Republic. Pale in color, with light to moderate bitterness, this is the perfect pick if you’re looking for something super drinkable and refreshing — or something not too high in alcohol.

HEFEWEIZEN

Brewed from a wheat base, this light German ale is hazy, unfiltered and gets its banana- and clove-like aroma from a special strain of yeast. Adding a squeeze of fresh lemon is a common American quirk.

PALE ALE

One of the oldest styles of beer, the pale ale is a catchall category for beers brewed with lighter colored malts (as opposed to the dark stouts and porters). Easy-drinking and totally crushable, they can sometimes have a mild malty sweetness or even fruity notes from the hops.

INDIA PALE ALE

When the British began traveling to India in the 18th century, they needed a beer that wouldn’t spoil on the long journey. Hops turned out to be the preservative they wanted, so this style comes copiously loaded with the bitter flower. Three hundred years later, the IPA, as it’s known colloquially, became one of the staples of the American craft beer scene, with offshoots in style popping up across the country. Hazy IPAs tend to be lighter in alcohol and fruity. Double IPAs are super bitter and high in alcohol. West Coast IPAs are assertive and straightforwardly bitter.

SOUR

If you like Kombucha or cocktails made with vinegary shrubs, this beer’s for you. Often made with wild yeasts, which can create an unpredictable fermentation, these sour ales are tart and acidic, which can be a lot for sipping on their own but they’re absolutely killer with food.

PORTER

This dark brown ale gets it color from malted grains that have been deeply toasted — and with that comes notes of chocolate and malty sweetness. Counterintuitively, dark ales tend to be slightly lower in alcohol than their pale counterparts.

STOUT

Like porters, stout are made from darkly toasted grain. The big difference? The grain isn’t malted, so the flavor ends up being more bitter and roasted (in a good, refreshing way).