We can't blame local beer drinkers for getting a lil' dizzy when choosing craft beers. It's the kind of dizziness that makes them go 'I know a bit, but not so sure' while scanning the menu. 

IPA. Kolsch. Pale Ale. Pilsner. Stout. The list of craft beer styles grows each year, leaving many drinkers to scratch their heads or feign confidence. Craft beers are complex creatures, we must admit, but in sticky situations where you find it hard to choose (we’ve all been there before), summon these magical words: Ale and Lager. The two main beer styles are your keys to grasping a hundred others out there. 

Stroll quickly along with us to unlock a few fundamental ideas about craft beer styles and get to know the tiny brewing ingredient that makes the biggest difference. 

Under the microscope

Much like in cooking and baking, yeast plays a big role in brewing great beers. This living ingredient spurs the fermentation process wherein the liquid sugar extracted from malt turns into alcohol. In short: without yeast, there’s no alcohol, and without alcohol, there’s no beer. 

In this part, we can simply mention that Ale beers have top-fermenting yeast that ferments around 16 to 26° Celsius while Lager beers have bottom-fermenting yeast at a colder 9 to 14° Celsius. After that, we can go on with our day. Seriously, though, these are hard to commit to memory since many haven't seen yeast work silently at a brewery. 

Instead, we'd like you to remember this: Ale beers tend to have more vibrant flavor compounds than Lager beers due to how the yeast works. 

Lager, from the German word lagern ‘to store’, means the beer sits for a longer time in the fermentation tank for at least two weeks. Lager yeast also prefers it cold, causing a slower alcohol conversion. Now that doesn’t mean you won’t detect delightful aromas and flavors in lagers. It’s just that the result is typically a more subtle and more delicate beer than the wildly exciting ales that ferment warmer and around 10 to 14 days. 

Testing out the styles

Pour a glass of Live It Up Lager and you’ll easily grasp the ideas we’ve just mentioned. The beer’s crisp, smooth, and easy to drink character are quintessential to lagers. Its appearance is golden, clear, which looks simple at first until you realize the clarity leaves the brewer no room for error as far as impurities go. 

Place your glass of Live It Up next to a fresh pour of Green Lava Double IPA (spelled out is India Pale Ale) and the comparison is about to become clearer. This hoppy beer, bursting with aromas and flavors, is proof of its unique character. Anyone can also do an eye test and figure that Green Lava is brewed to be a little cloudy, which is an attribute of ales. 

Circling back to the big idea, lagers tend to have a cleaner profile than ales. So, if you’re thirsting for an uncomplicated beer to enjoy on a game day, chances are you can enjoy a few glasses of lager. However, if curiosity with your beer is what you want to satisfy, then opening up an ale beer will really get your attention. 

Trickier with the rules

In the world of craft beers, rules are always broken before you even know it. There are so many exceptions to consider with the beer styles crossing over, which is why we take an extra cautious step in mentioning tendencies. 

Ale beers tend to have more fruity and spicy notes, yes, but we’re not ruling out that lagers are falling short in character. A good rule of thumb, therefore, is to expect a lager to shine more with its malt character, and try to detect other flavors. As you’re now armed with this base knowledge, go on and choose your beer with confidence, and find what’s surprising your palate.