As a New Year’s resolution, my mom (who has brewed beer ever since I was a wee lad) decided it was time to brew again after 5 years of beer silence. I was also a part of this resolution because my mom can’t lift those heavy instruments any more (but mostly because I want free beer ^ ^). Not only that, but the experience of brewing itself is a magical thing. Turning all of these hops and sugars and wurt into a delicious alcoholic drink is pretty incredible. A month or so back my mom went to the local homebrew market and got ourselves an Auburn Amber brew-kit. According to this map, our Auburn brew is a type of American Ale which is a type of Pale Ale which is a type of Ale. At any rate, I’m excited to try my first home-brewed beer!
As you can see from this map, beer comes in many subtle varieties including one big divide – Lagers and Ales. I believe that what separates the lagers from the ales aside from taste alone is in the temperature at which it is fermented and conditioned. With Lagers you get your Bocks and Pilsners and Light beers. Ales are brewed at room temperature and produce your IPA’s, Stouts, and Lambic beers. Although I still haven’t tried my brew yet (I just added the sugar/alcohol content about a week ago so it’s needs to carbonate), I’m ecstatic about getting that stuff in my belly. mmmm. Next up on the brew list is an Oatmeal Stout.
[via] <– visit here to get yourself a badass print of this infographic!