It is difficult to say what the best tasting beer is simply because it is a matter of, in fact, personal taste. Everyone appreciates flavor differently, but in terms of classification it is probably safe to say that there are some beers that are “cleaner,” “smoother,” “hoppier,” and “more flavorful.” However, in order to identify these things you first need to understand the different kinds of beers.

There are really only two kinds of beer: lagers and ales. The only difference between them is how long they are brewed to allow the yeast to ferment. Lagers are bottom-fermenting brews which have less “flavor” because the yeast never rises to the top. These should be clean, smooth, and crisp (think Budweiser, Heineken, Stella Artois, and Pilsner Urquell, in order of lowest quality to highest). Ales, then, are brewed long enough for the yeast to rise, which adds depth of flavor to the brew.

That said the best tasting beer is always among those that have either a clean finish or a distinctly flavorful palate. It is also important to remember that the different kinds of beers should each be served at certain temperatures to maximize the flavors and the experience.

The lightest beers, like pale lagers and cream ales, should be served at near freezing temperatures. These are brews that are not intended to have much flavor, but some of the most popular brands are Budweiser, Heineken, and Carlsberg. The best tasting beer in this category is probably one that has little flavor, but for some reason goes very well with deep-fried, starchy, heavy bar foods.

Standard Pilsners and premium lagers, like Stella Artois, should be served at a slightly warmer temperature than pale lagers for maximum taste. This temperature is also ideal for Belgian White Ales (like Blue Moon) and dark lagers (like Dark Cloud from Mother Earth Brewing).

Pale ales (like Sierra Nevada, one of the most popular), lighter Amber Ales (like Full Sail), Porters (like those from Founders and Anchor brewing companies) and Bohemian Pilsners (like Pilsner Urquell, one of the most well-known brands in the world) are among the best tasting beer types to be served around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Fruit lambics (like 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekske Kriek from Belgium) also taste best at this temperature.

“Cellar” beers are best served just below room temperature and are called this because you usually store them in a cellar, which is underground and thus slightly cooler than the surface temperature. Scottish ales, or Scotch-style ales (like Old Chub from Oskar Blues Brewery) and Brown ales (like Newcastle, one of the most popular) fit nicely in this category. So do India Pale Ales (like Dogfish Head’s 90-Minute IPA) and Premium Bitter Ales (like England’s Bitter Brewer).

Finally, “warm” beers are served at room temperature. This category includes stouts, the darkest beers, like Murphy’s and Guinness. The best tasting beers in this category usually serve up a complexity of flavors that many of the cooler beers cannot deliver. Guinness, for example, is quite aromatic and when you drink it you might taste a hint of chocolate!

There is a beer on the market that many purists would consider a “non-beer.” Non-alcoholic beer has been available for years, though it lacks one of the key components that many believe makes it a beer – the alcohol. It has therefore been given the nickname “near beer.” It’s been given a bad rap over the years because there are some non-alcoholic (NA) beers that simply taste really bad.

If you’ve had a bad experience with a near beer and you don’t like the beer, you owe it to yourself to try another kind. There are many on the market and not all of them leave a horrible after taste in your mouth.

Common Non-Alcoholic Beer

There are quite a few non-alcoholic beers on the market and you can usually find them in a liquor store or specialty shop that sells beer (World Market is one). It is harder to find a good non-alcoholic beer in a restaurant because it’s a tough market. If you’re lucky, they’ll have one beer available. The most common beers you can find around are:

• O’Douls (they also have an Amber)
• Bucker (Heineken’s brand)
• Kaliber (Guinness’ brand)
• Sharp’s

Alcohol or Not?

Non-alcoholic beer still contains a little alcohol. If you are a recovering alcoholic, it’s got enough alcohol in it that you should avoid it at all costs. It is talked about at AA meetings as a tease and can be just enough to set an addict over the edge. When you’re pregnant, it’s enough alcohol to make a doctor advise against drinking it.

A standard beer has about 5% ABV or alcohol by volume. The non-alcoholic content typically is about 0.5% ABV. Light beers which are also lower in calories have about 4.2% ABV. So while it is a significant decrease in alcohol, there is still alcohol present. Since there is still alcohol present, the US requires that a person be 21 years of age or more, with the exception of a few states.

Why Drink It?

So if non-alcoholic beer doesn’t have a lot of alcohol but still has enough to count, why drink it? There are a few reasons. If you find a good tasting non-alcoholic beer, it will take the place of regular beer when you’ve had enough to drink but your friends want to keep partying. If you are in the military, it’s the closest to beer that you’ll most likely get. Being on high blood pressure medication, it cannot mix with alcohol; however the non-alcoholic version is approved.

Non-alcoholic beer can be your savior at a party when you need to be “good” and not drink but still want to have the taste. It’s all a matter of what beer you select and why it is that you’re choosing a non-alcoholic beer. There are many kinds of beer in general and not everyone likes them all. So if you didn’t like the first kind you had, go in search of another one and you may find that you like the non-alcoholic version just as much as the real thing.

Bavaria Beer was founded in 1719 by Laurentius Moorees in Lieshout, North Brabant in the Netherlands. At the time it was founded, the village brewery produced just shy of 90 barrels of beer. Of course, this is not very much beer. Two generations later, the great-grandson of the Moorees, Jan Swinkels was able to increase operations and distribution. By 1910 he constructed a malting plant and they were producing tens of thousands of liters of beer every year. Within the next fifteen years the operation had become so big that they had to vacate their small buildings and move into a larger brewery in Lieshout, a brewery that produced over 2,000 bottles of beer per hour, at the time.

The brewery

Bavaria beer, as a brewery, concentrated their efforts on the Dutch market for the majority of their existence. It was not until the 1970s that they expanded internationally, now servicing around 100 countries across the globe. They have even adapted their beverages to suit individual markets with sales subsidiaries in South Africa, America, Spain, France, Italy, England, and other smaller countries. An example of one of their adaptations is a non-alcoholic version, which they export to the Middle East.

The brewery now produces a wide range of standard and low alcohol pale lagers. This variety is bottled under several different names, which include “Bavaria” and “Hollandia.” Around the world, the best known brand of Bavaria beer is “Bavaria Premium Pils Lager.” They also make malts available in apple, caramel, lemon, and karkade flavors, as well as several different supermarket-owned-brand Dutch lagers in Europe. As you can see, they have greatly expanded their operations since their inception nearly 300 hundred years ago.

Different varieties

There are several kinds of specialty Bavaria beer varieties as well. In France, for example, they make two specialty brews called “Bavaria 8.6” and “Bavaria 8.6 Red.” They also make La Trappe and Moreeke, which is a tribute to Laurentius Moorees, the company’s founder. In Australia there is a chain of bottle shops (alcohol stores), called Liquorland, that distributes both Bavaria and Hollandia brands as “premium imported” Dutch beers. In Ireland you will find “Bavaria Crown,” and since the 1990’s you could also find many exported Bavaria brands in several Soviet Union countries.

Of late, however, you might recognize the Bavaria beer brand because of its placement in international news headlines. In 2006, for example, they ran a promotion where they gave away 1,000 Leeuwenhosen (orange overalls) with their logo on them to the Dutch national football team fans who bought associated Bavaria Brewery products. Unfortunately, this was viewed as ambush marketing by FIFA. Similarly, in 2007, the Bavaria was also in the news for price-fixing, as determined by the European commission. Bavaria was one of three breweries (the other two were Heineken and Grolsch) charged and fined for participating and operating the price fixing cartel in the Netherlands. Along with the InBev corporation, the four brewers controlled 95% of the Dutch market, but InBev was not assessed a penalty because they were able to show “decisive information” regarding their operations.

Everyone wants to know what the strongest beers in the world are. Even if you aren’t much of a beer fan, this is a very interesting topic, especially when you realize how outrageous some of the most creative and daring brewers can be. When you consider that beer has been brewed for centuries and is common to many parts of the world, the topic begins to get more and more complex. Of course, depending on where you are the world, the beer can be complex as well.

DOGFISH HEAD 120-MINUTE IPA, United States

Dogfish Head is one of the most innovative breweries in the USA. They seem to have a devil-may-care attitude about the beer they create, and it’s obvious when you read the label. When you taste their beer, though, you quickly realize that they know what they are doing. Their 120-minute IPA, for example, is brewed twice as long as a traditional IPA, but it’s also remarkably strong. At 18% ABV per 12 oz bottle it definitely has some bite. It pours like a thick creamy stout but tastes surprisingly smooth, considering the color, texture, and alcohol content.

SAM ADAMS UTOPIA, United States

Sam Adams is one of the more popular craft brew companies in the United States. They take great care in developing seasonal and specialty ales that offer variety to their loyal fan base. While many of the strongest beers in North America are “freeze-distilled,” Sam Adams continues their tradition of quality by aging Utopia in casks, just like another great American beverage, Whiskey. Like Whiskey, this beer also takes on some of the characteristics of the cask, which explains its sweet, oaky, smooth flavor, even when you consider the 27% ABV.

SINK THE BISMARCK, Scotland

From Brew Dog Brewery, this Quadruple IPA (brewed for 360 minutes) is 41% alcohol! It is aptly named for a German battleship because when the beer was released on the market it knocked off a German beer as the strongest.

SCHORSCHBLOCK, Germany

At 43% and $155 per 12 oz bottle, this beer from the Schorschbau Brewery is an Eisbock style with intense fruit notes. This makes it fragrant and sweet.

END OF HISTORY, Scotland

Another remarkable beer from Brew Dog, the End of History rings in at a ridiculously high ABV of 55%. At $760 bottle, you might think it is also the end of your savings account too. Of course, it has a strong whiskey taste, but also hints of juniper. The most interesting fact about this beer is that it held the title of “World’s Strongest Beer” for exactly one week!

START OF THE FUTURE, Holland

One week after End of History went to market, Koelschip Brewery introduced this 60% ABV brew. Of course, it is currently the strongest beer in the world, but not without controversy. Rumors still circulate that the brewers added actual whiskey to the brew just to up the alcohol content and steal the title of the among the strongest beers title from Brew Dog.

Anyone who’s sat at a bar and had a beer will tell you that there are many different types of beer. Just as wine comes in a variety of flavors, so does beer. There are light beers and dark beers and imported and domestic beers. Even the way they are served can be a dramatic difference, giving beer drinkers the choices of draft, bottled, or canned.

As the beer is made, it will contain key ingredients. Water, yeast, hops, and malted barley are combined to give you beer. As you change one of these ingredients to a slightly different version, you’ll get a slightly different beer.

Lager

The yeast used in lager is known as bottom fermenting. This kind of yeast produces a less alcoholic beer and needs colder temperatures during the fermentation process. Lagers are lighter in color and less complex. Of the different types of beer, most beers sold in the US are lagers.

Ale

Ales use a different kind of yeast than a lager. Different types of beer use different types of yeast and in the case of ale, the yeast used is top fermenting. As a result of this kind of yeast, it requires a warmer temperature and will have a slightly higher percentage of alcohol. Ales will be fuller and more complex than a lager as well.

Within the category of ale are the porters and stouts. These are made with dark malts and are therefore dark in color, like a Guinness. A porter and stout are very similar and were first used in the 18^th century. Typically a stout is considered a double porter.

Specialty Beer

There is no rhyme or reason when making specialty beer. This is when people can truly get creative, adding virtually anything to make a unique flavor. Candy, chocolate, spices, juice, and anything else that one can get their hands on can be added to the beer. Many home brewing kits will typically be categorized as specialized beer because your average beer drinker can’t control themselves when they’re allowed the freedom for adding ingredients and making all different types of beer.

The Vessel

The different types of beer also produce a different flavor as they are served via draft or in a can or bottle. Many believe that the truest way to drink the beer is by draft because it is freshly poured. Next is the glass bottle because the glass doesn’t change the flavor that the brewery had intended. Finally is the can. While it is often the most cost-efficient way of drinking beer, many avid beer drinkers feel that the aluminum taints the flavor.

Beer comes in almost every shade from virtually clear to golden yellow to almost black. As the color changes, so does the flavor. Changing the yeast or the malted barley will change the richness and the category of the beer. As beer is made in every country, each one will taste a little different. No matter where in the world the beer was made, it will use the same four basic ingredients but can have a completely different flavor.