Types of beer & which to choose ?

What are the types of beer ?

There are many different ways to classify beer. It can be classified by:
• colour (white, blond, amber, brown, black)
• alcohol content
• fermentation (top for ales, bottom for lagers, and spontaneous fermentation for others)
• family.

There are 4 major families, within which are found most of the classifications (colour, etc.) mentioned above:
Ales, very popular in Britain
Lagers, the most well-known of which are the Pilsners
Stouts, top-fermented beers that are rather dark in colour
Specials--many brewed in Belgium--include Trappist, Lambic and Gueze beers.

How to choose a beer ?

It’s the same as for choosing wine. Beer should be chosen on the basis of one’s own taste, the moment, and in some cases the food it accompanies.

If you’re very thirsty, a light blond beer of the Pilsner type is perfect..
If you want a beer to go with a chocolate dessert, prefer one made with roasted malts.
Foie gras with figs? Why not try a triple-fermentation?

What country doesn’t make its own beer? So when it comes to tasting, quenching one’s thirst or simply enjoying a brew with friends, there is an immense amount of choice.
The United States, many countries in South America and Asia and, of course, European countries such as Belgium, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and those composing the British Isles, have made beer production their specialty.
In Belgium alone there are more than 1000 brands of beer!