Beer style

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.

The modern theory of beer style is largely based on the work done by the late Michael Jackson in his 1977 book The World Guide To Beer in which Jackson categorised a variety of beers from around the world in local style groups suggested by local customs and names. Fred Eckhardt furthered Jackson's work publishing The Essentials of Beer Style in 1989.

However, there has been differentiation of beer since around 2000 BCE, which has continued throughout history and within many different cultures. While the systematic study of beer styles is a modern phenomenon, the act of beer differentiation itself is ancient and widespread.

The study of what constitutes a beer's style can be broken down into various elements. These may include the amount of bitterness imparted to a beer from bittering agents such as hops, roasted barley, or herbs; the amount of sweetness from the sugar present in the beer; the strength of the beer from the amount of fermentable material converted into alcohol; the smoothness or viscosity of the beer in the mouth, commonly described as mouthfeel; and the appearance of the beer, including the colour.