Beer styling has come a long way from the original Sumerian beer recipe
formulations which used a kind of bread as the main ingredient in the earliest
beers from Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago. Illustration by Steve Lawing
from the book, Homebrewers Companion by Charlie Papazian
The annually updated Brewers Association’s Beer Style Guidelines have recently been posted on craftbeer.com and brewersassociation.org. Each year comments and suggestions from international beer experts are submitted, reviewed and considered for the annual updating of now, 140 styles of beer. Since 1979 these guidelines have been carefully developed and maintained to reflect the maintenance of historically traditional beers as well as frame and define new styles which are emerging in today’s dynamic beer world.
American-style Imperial Porter, American-Style India Black Ale, Belgian-style Quadrupel and Fruit Wheat Ale or Lager categories were added and defined, reflecting the emergence of these styles as popularly available in the U.S. and other beer drinking countries.
American-style Imperial Porters unlike imperial stouts are absent of roast barley character and have less hop bitterness. Generally speaking it is a smoother and less aggressive strong black ale than Imperial stouts. Baltic Porters are distinctly brewed and different in character.
American-style Black Ales have been brewed by homebrewers for over a decade. Taking it’s theme from hop enhanced pale colored India pale ales, American-style black ales are equally medium-high to high in bitterness but distinct from IPA’s with medium to strong dark roasted malt flavors and aromas. It is not indigenous to any particular area of the U.S., though it has gained significant initial popularity in the northwest and often called Cascadian dark or black ale by some beer enthusiasts.
Belgian-style Quadrupel, sometimes nicknamed “Quads” by those not wanting to expend valuable beer drinking energy by pronouncing all three syllables has been a traditional Belgian beer style for decades. Growing popularity in the U.S. and brewed by American craft brewers, enjoyed by beer enthusiasts, this rich, full bodied high alcohol content is certainly meant to be slowly savored.
Fruit Wheat Ales and Lagers is a reconfiguring of fruited wheat beers that were lumped into the fruit beer category. Expanded and recognized due to its growing popularity.
The style revisions and additional styles will be used as the basis for the 2010 Great American Beer Festival competition.
View the Brewers Association 2010 Beer Style Guidelines
More on beer styles: See The Table of Contents for the 27-part Beer Style Series
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