Without digging a hole, I’d like to present a handful of terms & definitions that I come across everyday when pouring beer to thirsty patrons.
ABV: This means “Alcohol By Volume”, it’s the standard measurement of alcohol in America. The ‘average’ beer has somewhere around 4.5-5.5% ABV, whereas the average wine in America weighs in around 12% ABV. The average beer poured in bars is served in a 16-ounce glass (pint), whereas the average glass of wine is shy of 10-ounces. With that understood, one glass of average strength beer is typically equivalent to one glass of wine – as far as alcohol by volume goes.
Beer Geeks: this is where we need to be careful. Many of the beers poured today in craft beer bars are 8% ABV or more. Having a few of these will impact you differently than having a few 4.5% ABV beers. Responsible bars will pour high octane beers in smaller glasses. This is a good thing.
IBU: This means International Bitterness Unit and is meant to give consumers an idea of how bitter the beer will be. Sadly, this number is wildly exaggerated by many brewers for reasons I won’t bore you with. Budweiser is said to have 8 IBUs, Sierra Nevada (Pale Ale) has around 35 – the upper-end threshold that humans can detect is 70. This is a pretty useless measurement.
Wheat Beer: Know that wheat is an ingredient used in many types of beer. If you’re a fan of “wheat beer”, you may enjoy a glass of hefeweizen (what most people mean when they ask for a wheat beer), Belgian Wit (or white, or witbier) like Allagash White or a Saison (like Ommegang). These beers tend to be less bitter and more palatable for people adverse to hops.
Belgian Beer: This term means absolutely nothing, except of course to refer to the region of origin. Beers of Belgium tend (I say this loosely) to be perceived as sweet. In my experience, I believe we mean to say “fruity” – as many beer’s in the Belgian brewing tradition have some sort of a fruit note, no matter how dry/sweet they are. I believe when someone says they like “Belgian beer” they are looking for something with a pear fruit flavor and spicy peppery yeast character. Yes, this is about as generic as I can possibly be. Hell, even ardent beer geeks seem to have little grasp on the beers of Belgium.
Pale Ale: This is a hoppy beer, tends to be more bitter than most ‘lagers’. For many “Pale Ale” is synonymous with Sierra Nevada. The commercial example of what a Pale Ale is varies wildly – from fairly dark amber to very pale golden, with a wide range of sweetness vs bitterness.
Lager: For bar-goers this tends to mean something incredibly easy to drink, often in large gulps. A good ‘lager’ should be very clean, brilliantly clear and with fairly low bitterness.
I.P.A.: Stands for India Pale Ale, but has little (if anything) to do with India. These beers tend to be incredibly bitter with varying degrees of hoppiness. Look for them to be amber in color with a big initial sweetness, followed by a gripping bitterness that will linger well into the aftertaste. Ignore the IBU measure on these, too – they tell you nothing.
Stout & Porter: While historically different, it seems today they’re just ‘dark beers’ with a big roasty flavor that is often described as ‘chocolate’ or ‘coffee’. Be sure to check out the ABV on these styles – commercial examples in America start at 3.5% ABV and go far north of 10% ABV. Know what you’re drinking.
“Bottle Conditioned“: These beers tend to be effervescent with a creamy body. This is a good term to look for when shopping for examples of “Belgian beer” – as many examples in this family of beers greatly benefits from the higher volume of CO2.
Other than terms, there are a few basics I think will benefit the average drinker’s enjoyment of a good beer. These points are mainly for bar managers & owners.
Stop using chilled or frozen glasses. The ice build up on glasses only destroys the carbonation in your drink and makes it more difficult to actually taste the liquid it holds. IF you insist on freezing your glasses, freeze them standing upright only after they are thoroughly dried. If you store them upside down, you will encourage ice formation every time you open the cooler door.
Rinse your glasses before using them. Nothing kills the aroma of a beer more than sanitizer. If you don’t have an actual glass rinser, you can use a bowl of ice water.
Beer should be poured with a nice frothy head! Stop obsessing about that 0.5 ounce of beer you think you’re being cheated out of – head keeps carbonation in and oxygen out of your beer. Besides, there’s nothing less appealing than a glass filled to the brim of a yellow-ish liquid, it just looks like a urine sample.
Use a coaster.
Bartenders & Owners: Stop putting fruit in my beer without my permission! I can always add fruit to my beer if I want, I cannot take that aroma & head-killing aspect out of my beer once you’ve added it. I don’t begrudge anyone that wants an orange or lemon in his/her beer, just don’t ruin my beer with your insistence that every wheat beer be served with a wedge of fruit added.
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