hops

Bitter Ale

If one were asked to name the definitive American craft beer style, they would pick pale ale. Ask a Brit

American Style Brown Ale

Like many American variants on traditional English beer styles, the American take on brown ale tends to be bigger in alcohol, malt and hops. Sweet, rich malt with caramel, toasted and chocolate notes, though not so evident as in a porter. Hops can be quite pronounced and citrusy.

Amber Ale

Many North American brewers are now producing ales that are identified by the term “amber ale.” This is a more modern, non-traditional style, and many of these beers borrow heavily from the characteristics associated with more classical styles such as pale ales or bitters. Amber ales are light- to medium-bodied and can be anywhere from light copper to light brown in hue. Flavorwise they can vary from generic and quaffable to serious craft brewed styles with extravagant hoppy aromas and full malt character. Typically amber ales are quite malty but not heavily caramelized in flavor. For our purposes amber ales will also include ales commonly identified as “red ales,” and “American ales” as, from the consumer’s viewpoint, the dividing line between these styles can often be a more a marketing concern than a consistently observed brewing convention.

Mild

Mild ale is a traditional style of English ale that is characterized by darker colors, sweetish malt flavors, and subtle hopping levels, all within a lower alcohol frame (typically 3.5 percent ABV). Their purpose is to allow the drinker to get a full quotient of flavor in a “session” beer―a trick to which English ale brewing lends itself readily. In the 1940s, mild was more popular than bitter in English pubs, though it is less common now. U.S. craft brewers occasionally pay homage to this style.

Imperial IPA

Imperial IPAs (also known as Double IPAs) are distinguished by their prominent hop cone aromas and flavors, and bitterness that is intense and assertive. Colors range from deep gold to deep amber. These intense hop characteristics should be balanced by a rich malt backbone, mid-to-high levels notes and fruity esters. They are medium-to-full bodied in weight and notes of astringency and hop haze are accepted. Depending on the varieties of hops being used, the drinker can experience a wide range of hop flavors including tart citrus peels, pepper and earthy pine-like notes. Imperial IPAs have an ABV between 7.5 and 10.5 percent. These ales represent an extreme use of the hop flower in brewing and a challenge to the brewer in terms of balance and drinkability.

American Style Black Ale

The alternate names for this style, Cascadian dark ale or black India pale ale, have been replaced by American-style black ale because of the too-narrow geographical focus of the first and the oxymoronic nature of the second. Still, the early names are useful: the style was not exclusive to the Pacific Northwest, but that area has been the source of outstanding examples; and this beer is based on an IPA, with intense hop aroma and flavor and some bready maltiness, but with black color and added roasty, chocolate and caramel notes from the addition of dark malt to the brew.

India Pale Ale

India pale ales are deep gold-to-amber in color, and are usually characterized by floral hop aromas and a distinctive hop bitterness on the finish. India pale ales were originally brewed by British brewers in the 19th century, when British troops and colonizers depended upon supplies of beer shipped from England. Standard ales did not survive the journey; hence, brewers developed high gravity, highly-hopped ales that survived shipment in casks to their largest market, India. This style, probably not anywhere near as bitter as it was when destined for India, continues to be brewed in a toned-down manner in the United Kingdom and is undergoing a mini-revival at present. However, U.S. craft brewers have claimed the style as their own, and often brew them with assertive Pacific Northwestern hop varieties that give such examples a hugely aromatic hop accent.

American Style Pale Ale

Pale ales tend to be fuller-bodied with a more assertive character on the palate than the standard bitter in a English brewer’s portfolio. In England, they are generally bottled, as opposed to being sold on draft. Despite the name, pale ales are not pale but, in fact, more of an amber hue. The original designation was in reference to this style of beer being paler than the brown and black beers that were more popular at the time of the style’s inception. In the United States, pale ale styles have become one of the benchmarks by which craft brewers are judged. The U.S. version of pale ale is crisper and generally much more hoppy. Indeed, this style is well suited to assertive domestic Pacific Northwestern hop varieties that give the United States examples inimitable character. A good U.S. example should be available on tap in any bar worth frequenting for its beer selection.

Braised Crispy Pork Belly

When I saw the list of ingredients I had two initial thoughts. First was the classic bistro salad of frisee

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