BeerShelf guides
Beer styles explained
There are dozens of types of beer, and a style name on the label tells you roughly what's in the glass. Learn a dozen of them and you can guess how an unfamiliar beer will taste before you open it.
The short version
Almost every beer is a lager or an ale. Lagers such as pilsner and helles taste clean and crisp; ales such as pale ale, IPA and stout are fruitier and fuller. Wheat beers are hazy and soft, and the Belgian ones taste strongly of their yeast. Dark beers get their colour, and their coffee and chocolate flavours, from roasted malt rather than from extra alcohol.
Lager or ale?
The yeast decides. Lager yeast works slowly in the cold and leaves a clean taste, so the malt and hops come through. Ale yeast works faster and warmer and adds fruity or spicy flavours of its own. That's why you'll find black lagers and very pale ales: the split has nothing to do with colour.
Beer styles at a glance: strength and glass
| Style | Typical ABV | Glass |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner | 4.4% to 5.2% (German), up to 5.8% (Czech) | Tall, narrow pilsner glass |
| Helles | 4.7% to 5.4% | Mug or willibecher |
| Weissbier (hefeweizen) | 4.3% to 5.6% | Tall curved weizen glass |
| Witbier | 4.5% to 5.5% | Tumbler |
| Pale ale | 4.5% to 6.2% (American) | Pint or tulip |
| IPA | 5.5% to 7.5% (American) | Tulip or IPA glass |
| Hazy IPA (New England IPA) | 6% to 9% | Tulip or teku |
| Double IPA | 7.5% to 10% | Tulip |
| Saison | usually 5% to 7%, from 3.5% to 9.5% | Tulip |
| Belgian dubbel | 6% to 7.6% | Chalice |
| Belgian tripel | 7.5% to 9.5% | Chalice or tulip |
| Porter | 4% to 5.4% (English) | Pint |
| Stout | 4% to 4.5% (Irish dry stout) | Pint |
| Imperial stout | 8% to 12% | Snifter |
| Sour beer (Berliner weisse, gose) | 2.8% to 3.8% (Berliner weisse), 4.2% to 4.8% (gose) | Tulip or stange |
| Cider | usually 5% to 8% | Pint or wine glass |
Strength ranges follow the Beer Judge Certification Program's 2021 style guidelines, and its cider guidelines for cider. Brewers often go outside them, so the label has the final word.
What each type of beer tastes like
Pilsner
Pale gold and clear. Crisp, with bready malt and a clean, often floral or spicy, hop bitterness.
Helles
Munich's softer, slightly maltier pale lager, with less bitterness than a pilsner.
Weissbier (hefeweizen)
Hazy wheat beer with banana and clove from the yeast, a big fluffy head and very little bitterness.
Witbier
Pale, cloudy Belgian wheat beer, usually spiced with orange peel and coriander. Light and refreshing.
Pale ale
Amber to gold, with malt and citrus or pine hops in balance. The easy-drinking middle ground of craft beer.
IPA
Stronger and more bitter than pale ale, with plenty of citrus, pine, resin or tropical hop flavour.
Hazy IPA (New England IPA)
Opaque and juicy, with soft bitterness, a smooth body and big tropical and stone-fruit hop aroma. Drink it fresh.
Double IPA
An IPA turned up, with more hops, more malt and more alcohol. Often smoother than its strength suggests.
Saison
Dry, fizzy Belgian farmhouse ale with peppery, fruity yeast character.
Belgian dubbel
Brown Belgian ale tasting of dark fruit and caramel, with a dry finish.
Belgian tripel
Golden, strong and dry. The spicy, fruity yeast and warming finish hide how strong it is.
Porter
Brown to black, with chocolate, toffee and a little roast. Usually softer than stout.
Stout
Black, dry and roasty with coffee notes, often poured on nitrogen for a creamy head.
Imperial stout
Big, dark and rich: chocolate, coffee and dark fruit, and vanilla or bourbon when barrel-aged.
Sour beer (Berliner weisse, gose)
Tart and light. Berliner weisse tastes lemony, and gose adds salt and coriander. Plenty of modern sours add fruit.
Cider
Made from fermented apples rather than grain. Anything from dry and sharp to sweet, still or sparkling.
How to find the styles you like
Try two beers of the same style side by side, then two from neighbouring styles, such as a pale ale against an IPA, and jot down what you liked in a beer journal. After a dozen or so, your scores usually point to a favourite family. The stronger styles also carry more alcohol per glass, which our units calculator shows.
Questions people ask
What are the main types of beer?
Lagers (such as pilsner and helles), ales (pale ale, IPA, porter, stout), wheat beers (weissbier, witbier), Belgian ales (saison, dubbel, tripel) and sour beers (Berliner weisse, gose).
What is the difference between lager and ale?
The yeast. Lager is fermented cold and slowly for a clean, crisp taste; ale is fermented warmer, and the yeast adds fruity or spicy flavours.
What is the difference between a pale ale and an IPA?
An IPA is a stronger, hoppier pale ale. American pale ales usually sit between 4.5% and 6.2%, American IPAs between 5.5% and 7.5%.
What is the difference between stout and porter?
They overlap a lot. Porters tend to be softer, with chocolate and toffee, while stouts are often drier and roastier, with coffee notes.
Related guides
- How to keep a beer journalWhat to note for each beer, a copyable template and how to rate consistently.
- Alcohol units calculator for beer and ciderUK units, US standard drinks and grams of alcohol in any beer or cider.
- The best beer tracker apps in 2026Eight iPhone beer trackers compared on catalogue, privacy, sync and price.
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