English, Irish & Scottish Ales
These ales from the Isles tend to emphasize malt sweetness over hop bitterness. Hops are difficult to grow in the north of Scotland and Ireland, so the alternative was to use a variety of roasted malts to enhance flavor. The exceptions are the well-hopped English bitters and pale ales of the south of England. The ale yeast used in these beers produces spicy and fruity characteristics.
Pale Ale Family
Pale is a relative term. When these beers emerged long ago, they were pale relative to the black beers then widely consumed at the time. Hops play an important role in these beers, although malt is important for balance. Pale ales range from mildly grassy and fruity to massively hoppy. All pale ales have a crisp finish and are typically low-alcohol session ales originally intended for an evening of drinking with the mates at the pub. India pale ales were brewed with copious amounts of hops as a preservative to survive the long voyage from Britain to India.
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Brown and Black Ales
Brown beers are the descendants of ancient English unhopped ales. Porter and stout achieved fame starting in the mid-eighteenth century. While nearly dying out in England, they are still thriving in Ireland. All feature toasted and/or roasted malts and light to medium hop bitterness. Brown ales have a sweet, nutty flavor and light to medium body. Porters are dark, lightly hopped, and mildly roasty with a dry finish. Roasted malts always dominate the with the aromas of a stout. They are full-bodied, and can be creamy, sweet or dry. Russian Imperial Stouts were the favorite beer of Catherine the Great. The British exported the strong, dark stout to Russia to appease the enlightened despot's thirst. Imperial stouts were brewed with enormous quantities of malt and hops to survive the long journey from London to St. Petersburg. Russian Imperials are sipping beers with an intense hoppy and roasted nose, full body and intense flavor.
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Strong British-Style Ales
Varying in strength, bitterness and color, these beers are rich, full-bodied and especially enjoyable in the cold weather months. These are the most ancient style of English ales and hearken back to the time of William the Conqueror. Strong ales, like the name suggests, have a high alcohol content. They have notes of caramel with hints of leather and toast. Old ales are often strong ales that have been aged in wood then blended with fresh beer. The result is an earthy, barnyard flavor imparted by the wood. Barleywines are the most burley of this group, often topping out around 14% alcohol by volume. They have a strong caramel taste with hints of leather, nuts and toast, with ample hops added for balance. Scotch ales have very little bitter hop character. Rather, they possess a round malt sweetness and mild roastiness to balance the flavors. Scotch ales tend to be fermented slowly at low temperatures to create a smooth finish.
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Beer COLOR
The range is shown by graduated color in glasses.
HOPS
The size of the green dot indicates the intensity of hop bitterness and/or aroma.
BODY
The size of the gray dot indicates fullness and/or sweetness.