The IBS Guide to Beer and Brewing Styles: Specialties

The IBS Guide to Beer Styles:
Specialties
by the Institute for Brewing Studies
Last updated 08/00

Overview | Ales | Lagers | Specialties | One-Page Chart

Style	Color	Malt Character	Hop Character	Body/Other Characteristics	Alc./vol.	What Makes It Unique
Fruit beers
Fruit Beer	Pale with hints of fruit or berry color	Very light, often with high wheat content	Very light	Light body; fruit flavors ranging from subtle to assertive, depending on the type and amount of fruit used	4.0-5.0%	Dozens of different fruit beers are brewed in small breweries around the United States today.
Chili beers
Chili Beer	Pale golden	Light malt sweetness to balance heat of chilies	Hop bitterness and flavor; hop aroma low	Light to medium body	4.0-5.0%	Technically a fruit, chili peppers chili peppers have found their way into a number of commercial beers.
Honey beers
Honey Beer	Pale straw to golden	Light, depending on the percentage of honey used.	Light	Light to medium body; sweetness is generally removed during fermentation, but honey character can often be detected in both the aroma and the flavor of the beer	4.0-7.5%	Honey may be added to any beer to add a subtle, but distinctive, character, and brewers often add it to an American-style wheat ale. When honey accounts for more than half the sugar in beer, the resulting beverage is called "mead".
Spiced ales
Herb/Spice Beer	Pale to brown	Light to medium	Low	May contain one or more of the following spices: ginger, coriander, spruce	4-8%	(n/a)
Holiday Beer	Amber to brown	Rich, often complex	Hop flavor and aroma often subdued, but may be assertive	Medium to full body	5.0-8.0%	This style typically combines several different "pumpkin pie" spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice to create a unique and complex flavor profile.
Smoke-flavored beers
Rauchbier	Amber to brown	Malty with smoked flavor that can be mild and elusive or assertive and nearly overwhelming.	Little hop bitterness; no hop flavor or aroma	Medium to full body	4.3-4.8%	This is a classic German beer made with malt that has been smoked over a hardwood fire.
Smoked Porter	Brown to black	Rich malt profile with a complex combination of toasted, chocolatelike and smoked flavors	Bitterness moderate; hop flavor and aroma low to medium	Medium body	4.5-6.5%	This beer has become increasingly popular among American craft brewers. Some brewers use a peat-smoked malt instead of a hardwood-smoked malt.
Peat-smoked Scottish Ale	Amber to dark brown	Rich malt profile with earthy peat-smoked flavor similar to flavor of Lowland or Islay single-malt scotch	Bitterness moderate; hop flavor and aroma low to medium	Medium to full body	5.0-6.0%	Peat-smoked malt, which is used in the production of Scotch whiskeys, has found favor with many craft brewers.
Stone beers
Stone Beer	Amber to brown	Malty with caramel flavors	Light hop bitterness, flavor and aroma	Light to medium body; although not made with smoked malts, stone beer has a faintly smoky flavor profile.	4.5-5.5%	During brewing, large stones are heated in a wood fire and added directly to boiling beer. Afterwards, the stones are put in the aging tank with the beer.

The material on this page is Copyright ©2000 The Institute for Brewing Studies, reprinted by permission. To the best of my knowledge, print copies of this guide are available on request to members of the IBS.