Introduction

Beer comes in a wide variety of styles, each with their own individual flavours, strengths and textures. An alcoholic beverage must contain malted barley, yeast and water in order for it to qualify as a beer.

Beer is the world's oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage. The moderate consumption of beer has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline. However, there is strong evidence that heavy and prolonged consumption of alcohol leads to liver disease including cirrhosis and malignancy. Heavy alcohol consumption has also been linked to pancreatitis and gout.

Beer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors such as colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.

Beers may be categorized based on a number of factors:

• Aroma
• Flavour
• Appearance
• Mouthfeel
• Strength
• Yeast
• Grains
• Hops
• Water
• Other Ingredients

Beer styles all fall into two broad types, determined by where the yeast sits during fermentation: ales and lagers.

Over the next few posts, I shall be touching in detail on all aspects related to beer.