There are a tremendous variety of ale styles being brewed by commercial breweries, craft brewers and home brewers all over the world.  This list is by no means exhaustive but will serve an introduction to the world of ales.  The Homebrew Garage will continue to expand this list as we brew new ale styles or are exposed to the ales of other brewers.

Barley Wine:  Barley wine originated in England as an extremely strong (high alcohol content) ale that like many wines can change and improve with age.  Barley wines can range from coppery red to dark brown in color and are typically highly hopped to cut the strong caramel like sweetness of the malted barley.  American styles of barley wine have become popular with home brewers and are often brewed as special occasion winter drink.

Bitter:  Bitter is an English style ale that remains one of the most popular in pubs all through Britain.  It can range in color from golden to dark coppery red and is very drinkable due to it being light to medium in body.  Despite the name, bitter has more hop aroma than bitterness and can have fruity, caramel like flavors depending on the yeast and grains used.  Stronger, more heavily bodied bitters are called extra special bitters (ESB) and are produced by several commercial breweries in the United States.  Bitters are a Homebrew Garage preferred product!

India Pale Ale (IPA):  India pale ale is another English ale that has grown very popular with brewers and consumers in America.  During the 19th century British brewers created very strongly hopped pale ales to survive the long shipping times from England to its many colonies overseas.  As much of the beer was destined for India the brew became known as India pale ale.  Despite the name, IPAs are usually gold to amber in color and have pronounced hops aroma and bitterness.

Irish Ales:  While many Americans associate Ireland with stouts and porters, Ireland has a long brewing tradition of producing fine ales.  Irish ales tend to be coppery red in color (although they can be darker) and have a full malty flavor profile.  Irish ales often have a residual sweetness left after the fermentation process and aren’t usually hopped very aggressively.  The first brew created by the Homebrew Garage was an Irish Red Ale and is still one of our favorite beers.

Dry Stout:  Dry stout is associated by most with Ireland and that most famous stout of all Guinness.  Dry stout is very dark in color and pours with a thick, creamy white head.  The grains used to brew dry stout are heavily roasted to produce the signature color and give the beer a dark chocolate or coffee like flavor.  The designation “dry” refers to most of the sugars in the brew being consumed during fermentation leaving the stout crisp with no hint of residual sweetness.  While not typically heavily hopped, dry stouts tend to be on the bitter side due to the heavy roasting of the grain.