How to choose your favourite beer
Breweries from across the province were invited to showcase their favourite concoctions at the Brass Taps for its annual Craft Beer Show on March 31.
With long lineups that wrapped around the University Centre throughout the duration of the event, it was clear that Guelph loves its beer.Local Guelph breweries like Royal City Brewing Company and Wellington Brewery showcased their creations. Thirteen other breweries joined the Guelph natives, including Four Fathers Brewing Company, Collective Arts Brewing, and Side Launch Brewing Company.
Brewing
While the beer brewing process is generally the same for most companies, each brewer is able to put its own unique spin on the finished product.
The first step in the brewing process is malting. Grains are harvested, heated, and cracked for the enzymes needed to make beer. The next step is mashing, in which the grains are soaked in hot water. This allows the enzymes to break down the grains and release sugar.
The water is then drained and the sweet, sticky liquid that is left is called wort. Wort is then boiled and hops can be added to balance out the sugar and act as a preservative. Hops are herbs that add the main flavour and aroma to beers. Many beers can either be single-hopped to have one primary flavour, or double-hopped to combine and complement certain flavours.
The wort is then strained and put into a fermenting vessel, where yeast is added to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide from the sugars. The beer can be stored in cold temperatures to make lagers, or warmer temperatures to produce ales. After the beer has been fermented, they can be artificially carbonated or left to age to allow for natural carbonation.Every day, there are more and more types of beers showing up on store shelves. With the recent decision to sell beer in some grocery stores, it is now easier than ever to try new flavours. From lagers, ales, stouts, and malts, there are so many different types and styles of beer available. But how do you choose which beer to try?
The two most popular types of beer that dominate the market are ales and lagers.
Ales
Ales are made from top-fermenting yeast at room temperatures. They have a golden and darker amber colour to them and generally have a lot of hops and malts. This gives them an acidic, bitter taste. Ales are fuller-bodied, meaning their taste is more distinct.
There are many different styles of ales. The most common, and probably the most recognizable, is the India pale ale (IPA). Pale ales are hoppy beers that are filled with flavour. They can be distinguished by their bitterness. Many pale ales on the market have fruity flavours, and are light and refreshing. Collective Arts Brewing featured their Ransack the Universe hemisphere IPA, which combined two hops to create a fruity, mango, and citrus flavour that wasn’t overwhelmingly bitter.
Other ales include sours, which are tart due to either letting the beer be exposed for a long period of time, or adding new strains of yeast to the mix. Creating sours allows brewing companies to play with different flavours, often resulting in unique blends.
Porter ales are darker in colour and usually have a roasty flavour to them.Royal City featured their seasonal Polar Vortex, a vanilla bean porter with roasted chocolate and vanilla notes. Stouts are another style of ales that are dark and heavy. Guinness is the most well-known stout.
Lagers
Lagers are created with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures for long periods of time. With a lighter, crisper flavour and higher carbonation, lagers make great cold summer drinks. Lagers generally aren’t as hoppy as ales are. The flavours in lagers are less distinguishable, which gives way to a cleaner, easier drinking experience.Styles of lagers include pilsners, amber lagers, bocks, dark lagers, and many others.
There are so many different types of beers that can be made. Not all ales are hoppy and bitter, and lagers can range from light to dark in colour. The best way to find your favourite type is to try it for yourself. With craft breweries on the rise, there is no shortage of flavours to try.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.