Understanding Beer Styles

With so many beer styles available today, it can be difficult to know what actually separates one from another. This page breaks down the main categories so you can better understand what you are drinking, whether it comes from a large commercial brewery or a small independent one.

Lager Styles

Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures using bottom fermenting yeast, which produces a cleaner, crisper flavour profile with fewer fruity notes than ales.

Pale lager: Light in colour and body, this is the most widely consumed beer style globally and forms the backbone of many mainstream beer markets, including South Africa.
Pilsner: A more hop forward lager style originating in the Czech lands, known for a noticeable bitterness and golden colour.
Dark lager: Made using darker roasted malts, giving a richer colour and slightly toasted or caramel character while still maintaining a clean lager finish.

Ale Styles

Ales are fermented with top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures, which tends to produce more complex and fruitier flavours in a shorter time than lagers.

Pale ale: A balanced style with moderate hop bitterness and a light to medium malt backbone, often used as an approachable entry point into craft beer.
India Pale Ale (IPA): A hop forward style known for strong bitterness and aromatic hop character, ranging from citrus and pine notes to more tropical fruit profiles depending on the hops used.
Stout and porter: Dark, roasted styles made with heavily roasted malts or barley, often featuring coffee, chocolate or caramel flavours.
Wheat beer: Brewed with a significant proportion of wheat alongside barley, producing a lighter, often hazy beer with a smooth mouthfeel and sometimes fruity or spicy yeast character.

Specialty and Mixed Styles

Beyond the main categories, many breweries produce specialty beers that blend techniques or ingredients in less conventional ways.

Sour beer: Intentionally fermented with wild yeast or bacteria to produce a tart, acidic flavour profile.
Seasonal and fruit beers: Brewed with added spices, fruit or other flavourings, often released around particular times of year.
Session beer: A lower alcohol beer, regardless of style, designed to be enjoyable to drink over a longer period without strong intoxicating effects.

Reading a Beer Label

When trying to understand a beer before buying it, a few details on the label can tell you a lot:

ABV (alcohol by volume) indicates strength, with most beers ranging roughly between three and eight percent, though some specialty styles go higher.
IBU (International Bitterness Units) gives an indication of hop bitterness, though perceived bitterness also depends on malt sweetness.
Style name can hint at expected flavour, colour and mouthfeel, though individual breweries may interpret styles differently.

Learning these basics makes it far easier to explore new beers with confidence, whether you are sampling a classic pale lager or trying an experimental craft release.