I feel like I've said this before, but you know that list of "all the beer styles" I made based on what I read in Tasting Beer? I've come to find that it's probably incomplete and a little wrong too. This has a little to do with the fact that classifying different types of beer is sticky work, but it also has to do with the fact that on May 1st I didn't know anything about beer styles, and yet tasked myself with composing a list of beer styles anyway.
If I could do it again, I'd steal the list from Beer Advocate, which seems to be a bit more comprehensive, and doesn't bother with some of the murky distinctions that Tasting Beer makes. But could've, should've, would've... I'm still drinking all kinds of beers I wouldn't normally, so it's not that big of a deal.
Still, I thought today might be a good day to talk about some of the forgotten beer styles over at Beer Advocate, since I drank a beer whose style is not on the list I made. This will not be a comprehensive discussion, just a few examples of the weirder-sounding beers that I would've put on my list in the first place.
This is today's beer, the Cherry & Berry Ale. Happoshu is a light beer, low in malt ratio (less malt means less for the yeast to turn into alcohol, and thus a lower ABV%). Also, per Japanese law, to be called a "Happoshu," you must include an ingredient other than the standard malts, hops, or adjuncts. I guess this usually means fruit. The reason for all this isn't just a purposeful turning of the back on the Reinheitsgebot (though I do appreciate any and all gleeful pissing on "tradition" in this context). Rather, the malt is purposefully kept low because Japan taxes based on malt, so Happoshus are cheaper (indeed, it was one of the cheapest beers in the international fridge).
This beer style is a blend of beer and mead, the goal of which is to achieve a nice balance of malt flavors, hop flavors, and honey flavors. This beer style is an old one, dating back to the 1100s, but there looks to be some modern renditions sold (most of them have "honey" in the name of the beer).
Pretty much what it sounds like—this is a beer that has an added ingredient of peppers. Spiciness varies, but personally, I can't ever imagine enjoying one of these. It's the same complaint I have about sour beers—you want a beer because you want refreshment, and things like spicy and sour and overly sweet do not achieve that goal.
These are apparently popular in Eastern Europe. They are made typically with a dark rye grain, but also include berry ingredients. Contrary to what you'd think, they are low in alcohol. Looking at Beer Advocate's list, there don't appear to be too many brewed in the U.S.
I've been wondering about this one, because by chance I had a smoked beer very, very early on during this project—January 6th's Norwegian Wood. Because I had it so early, I assumed that these beers were a bit more ubiquitous than they actually are; I haven't had one since. Not that I liked it enough to seek them out, but so be it. The smokiness is achieved by allowing the smoke from roasting the kiln to infiltrate the beer itself.
Some beer styles sound really tasting because of the specific ingredients it calls for, but a consequence of the specificities is that they are not very widely sold. I would love to drink an unfiltered beer that's brewed with wild yeast (which makes it tart) and juniper (which, I assume, would make it taste like a tree), but I can't imagine ever coming across one of these beers by chance.
And many of these beer styles are just variation of already known beer styles, as we've seen with the weizen family. We've already compared dunkelweizens with hefeweizens, but what of kristallweizens? The latter are basically hefeweizens that have been filtered, so it's gonna be cleaner on the palate, and the banana and clove flavors are more subtle. Hey, whatever floats your alcoholic boat.
Eventually, I'll do the opposite of this post, and go through all the beers that are already on my list, but that I'll probably not get to this year.
NOTES
BEER: Cherry & Berry Ale
BEER: Cherry & Berry Ale
STYLE: Happoshu
ABV: 5.0%
BREWED BY: Hokkaido Brewing
ABV: 5.0%
BREWED BY: Hokkaido Brewing
LOCATION: Hokkaido Otaru-shi, Japan
PURCHASED AT: IGA
PAIRED WITH: breakfast for dinner
GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5
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