Beer styles: Origin and classification - part 1

Beer styles are a reflection of cultural
heritage. Photos by Michael Lichter courtesy
of Brewers Association

Beer is an expression of the human spirit.  Technical science is a tool to create it, psychology markets and helps sell it, but its essence will always be a form of art.  Stylizing beer is the art of combining hundreds of factors to create a consistent combination of beer characters.  Beer’s complexity and all of the diversity it offers expresses the variety of the world's lifestyles.

There are an estimated 5,000 commercial breweries in the world today.  We can arguably estimate each brewery may on an average produce 8 different kinds of beer.  That gives us 40,000 different beers available for sale around the world.  While many beers may be similar in style, their individual creation and the culture surrounding its enjoyment and celebration help define each beer’s individual uniqueness. 

Knowledge of the factors influencing beer style and  diversity is useful in beer formulation, brewery management, beer evaluation, beer competitions, helping government regulate intelligently, understanding the economical and cultural heritage of beer and most importantly – enhancing the responsible enjoyment of beer..

The word style is defined as "a particular manner or technique by which something is done, created or performed resulting in a distinctive quality, form of or type of something."  This is applicable to all art forms, beer being one of them.  Over 100 different beer styles of British, German, Czech, French, Belgian, American, Irish and Japanese origin have been defined and catalogued by the Brewers Association.  Most of these types of beers are available in the contemporary American beer market.

The American beer market is a world beer market offering the most diversity.   There are indeed dozens of other styles popular in various regions of the world that remain to be “cataloged.”.  With the expansion of international trade and the increase in intercultural experiences, there will be more opportunities to access, enjoy and introduce new varieties of beer to the world's marketplaces.

Next: Beer styles: How different beer styles are created – part 2
Guide to entire 27-part Beer Style Series - table of contents