Classics Of Each Style?

[cpsmusic]

Hi,

I've recently returned to brewing and have done a couple of extract/steep brews. I'd like to try some different brews, and while I'm happy to work from recipes, I often find myself wondering what a "classic" of a particular style tastes like. Problem is, often I'm not sure what is regarded as a "classic", and more often, if I do know, I can't find it anywhere (I'm in Melbourne). For example, I'm planning on doing a Southern Brown Ale and would like to have a taste of one before doing the brew to get some idea of what I'm aiming for. I'd also like to compare a "classic" of this style to my brew (once it's completed) to see how close I got.

I've had a look at the AABC Style Guidelines and while they are useful, they mention beers that I've never seen (and I've looked in quite a few places!). For example, for Southern Brown Ale the AABC Guidelines mention Mann's Brown Ale and Tolly Cobbold Cobnut Nut Brown Ale.

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in setting up a "sticky" with a list of the classic styles that contains some representative examples that can be found in Australia. Anyone interested? Maybe it could be a poll?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[eamonnfoley]

Hi,

I've recently returned to brewing and have done a couple of extract/steep brews. I'd like to try some different brews, and while I'm happy to work from recipes, I often find myself wondering what a "classic" of a particular style tastes like. Problem is, often I'm not sure what is regarded as a "classic", and more often, if I do know, I can't find it anywhere (I'm in Melbourne). For example, I'm planning on doing a Southern Brown Ale and would like to have a taste of one before doing the brew to get some idea of what I'm aiming for. I'd also like to compare a "classic" of this style to my brew (once it's completed) to see how close I got.

I've had a look at the AABC Style Guidelines and while they are useful, they mention beers that I've never seen (and I've looked in quite a few places!). For example, for Southern Brown Ale the AABC Guidelines mention Mann's Brown Ale and Tolly Cobbold Cobnut Nut Brown Ale.

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in setting up a "sticky" with a list of the classic styles that contains some representative examples that can be found in Australia. Anyone interested? Maybe it could be a poll?

Cheers,

Chris

check out "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zanisheff. Great book. If you can't find a classic representation of a style, you can certainly brew one!

 

[wambesi]

check out "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zanisheff. Great book. If you can't find a classic representation of a style, you can certainly brew one!

Whilst the book recommended is quite good (just got it myself) it doesn't really help him with his original question. I can't really either but I think it has some merit.
For a lot of people on here, we don't have access to some of the "better" bottle shops/cellars - or quite simply unsure of where they are.
A more "common" list would be beneficial to many I think.

Unfortunately you are going to find the better examples of these classic styles quite hard to locate unless you do find a better shop to purchase them from, you wont them in liqueurland etc, I don't have much experience with Dan Murphys but from what I have seen they do have a much better range than your normal run of the mill bottleo.

 

[cpsmusic]

check out "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zanisheff. Great book. If you can't find a classic representation of a style, you can certainly brew one!

I have a copy of "Brewing Classic Styles". Problem is, how do I know if I'm close unless I have something to compare my brew to?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[cpsmusic]

Here's a list courtesy of the AABC:

1. LOW ALCOHOL
Light Australian Lager
Light Wheat Beer
Scottish Light (60/-)
Southern English Brown Ale
English Mild
English Ordinary Bitter

2. PALE LAGER
Australian Lager
Australian Premium Lager
Pale Continental Lager
Munich Helles
Dortmunder

3. PILSENER
Classic American Pilsener
German Pilsener
Bohemian Pilsner

4. AMBER & DARK LAGER
Oktoberfest/Marzen
Vienna
California Common Beer
North German Altbier
Munich Dunkel
Schwarzbier

5. STRONG LAGER
Strong Pale Lager
Maibock/Hellesbock
Traditional Bock
Doppelbock
Eisbock

6. PALE ALE
Cream Ale
Blonde Ale
Klsch
Belgian Pale Ale
Australian Pale Ale
English Pale Ale

7. AMERICAN PALE ALE
American Pale Ale

8. BITTER ALE
English Special/Best Bitter
English Extra Special/Strong Bitter
Düsseldorfer Altbier

9. BROWN ALE
Northern English Brown Ale
Irish Red Ale
Scottish Heavy (70/-)
Scottish Export (80/-)
Australian Dark/Old Ale
American Brown Ale

10. PORTER
Brown Porter
Robust Porter
Baltic Porter

11. STOUT
Dry Stout
Sweet Stout
Oatmeal Stout

12. STRONG STOUT
Australian/Foreign Extra Stout
Russian Imperial Stout

13. INDIA PALE ALE
English IPA
American IPA
Imperial IPA

14. STRONG ALE
Old Ale (English Strong Ale)
Strong Scotch Ale
English Barleywine
American Barleywine

15. BELGIAN STRONG ALE
Belgian Blond Ale
Belgian Strong Golden Ale
Tripel
Dubbel
Belgian Strong Dark Ale

16. GERMAN WHEAT & RYE BEER
Weizen/Weissbier
Dunkelweizen
Weizenbock
Roggenbier

17. FARMHOUSE ALE & WILD BEER
Witbier
Saison
Biere de Garde
Flanders Red Ale
Flanders Brown Ale/Ouid Bruin
Berliner Weisse
Straight (unblended) Lambic
Gueuze
Fruit Lambic

18. SPECIALTY BEER
Fruit Beer
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer
Christmas/Winter Spiced Beer
Classic Rauchbier
Belgian Specialty Ale
Wood-aged Beer
Other Specialty

 

[BOG]

They are sub styles and not a brand.

Example for 8. Bitter Ale

English Special / Best Bitter = Fullers London Pride or Youngs Special Ale
English Extra Special / Strong Bitter = Fullers ESB

Generally available from Dan Murphys, but have been out of stock since Christmas.



BOG

 

[cpsmusic]

What about a few more? Should be easy for the more experienced drinkers...I mean brewers on the forum .

 

[chappo1970]

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in setting up a "sticky" with a list of the classic styles that contains some representative examples that can be found in Australia. Anyone interested? Maybe it could be a poll?

Cheers,

Chris

Chris you have my vote! Damn good idea. :icon_cheers:

 

[cpsmusic]

Chris you have my vote! Damn good idea. :icon_cheers:

Thanks, so how do we get this happening?

 

[Bizier]

BJCP 2008 lists examples, but many are US availability only.

My vote for nut brown is Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale hands down.

You can get it in Glebe, Syd, but I don't know where you are Chris.

 

[cpsmusic]

BJCP 2008 lists examples, but many are US availability only.

That's exactly what I mean!

I'm in Melbourne. Dan Murphy's and Acland Cellars are my two favourites.

 

[bconnery]

At Babbs (See signature if you dont' already know what that means, I could have typed it faster than this bracketed sentence but where would be the fun in that?) we recently switched our club comp to BJCP and in developing the guidelines I tried to list locally available examples.
This isn't all the classes, just the ones we are using for our comp...
Here's that info as a starting point. I will try and add a few more in so this could form the start of an article...
Some are a little hard. Unless you can find a bitter (not an ordinary for those who were at the ANHC) on tap then the bottled examples nearly always push out of style because they up the percentages for bottled conditioned beers.

In any of these examples I am happy to be shown where there are examples, or if a beer really doesn't fit, this is just based on my knowledge, readings, guesswork etc.
This is also based on what I knew could be sourced in Brisbane for the most part so many WA particularly and other Vic, NSW, SA etc breweries will not always be represented...

Hefeweizen
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Erdinger Weissbier, Duke Hefeweizen, Schoefferhofer Kristallweizen


Dunkelweizen
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel, Franziskaner Dunkel Hefe-Weisse, Schneider Weisse (Original), Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, Bridge Rd Chevalier Dunkelweizen

WeizenBock
Schneider Aventinus, Schneider Aventinus Eisbock, Erdinger Pikantus

Roggenbier
Tony, Ross, TidalPete to name a few make them...
Paulaner Roggen is the example I have from the BJCP but I've never seen one even at the German Club...

German Pilsner
Bitburger, Warsteiner, Trumer Pils, Knig Pilsener, Jever Pils

Bohemian Pilsener
Pilsner Urquell, Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar in the US), Staropramen, Matilda Bay Bohemian Pilsener

Marzen/Oktoberfest
Paulaner Oktoberfest, Hofbru Oktoberfest, Gosser Marzen


Standard Bitter
Feel free to add some in here...
Wells John Bull, Fuller's Chiswick Bitter, Adnams Bitter, Tetleys Original Bitter, Boddington's Pub Draught


Special/Best Bitter
Fuller's London Pride, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Greene King Ruddles County Bitter, Gage Road London Best

Extra Special Bitter/Pale Ale
Fullers ESB, Adnams Broadside, Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King Abbot Ale, Barons ESB

American Pale Ale
Little Creatures Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 3 Ravens 55, Snowy Mountains CrackenBack Pale Ale, Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale

American Amber Ale
FishRock Red Emperor (although it fails on colour big time), loads of American examples that haven't made it here...

American Brown Ale
2 Brothers Growler, Hickinbotham American Brown, I think one of the Mikellar (sp) is one as well...

Mild
Moorhouse Black Cat (I think that's about the only one I've seen recently but it's a really good one...)

Northern English Brown
Newcastle Brown

Old Ale
Greene King Old Suffolk, Harviestoun Engine Oil, Fullers 1845

Brown Porter
Fullers London Porter, James Squire Porter

Robust Porter
Meantime London Porter

Dry Stout
Guinness Draught Stout (also canned), Murphy's Stout, Orkney Dragonhead Stout, Northern Rivers Stout

Foreign Extra
Tropical-Type: Lion Stout (Sri Lanka), Export-Type: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (bottled), Coopers Best Extra Stout, Sheaf Stout

Russian Imperial Stout
MT Brewing Katya, Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Great Divide Yeti, Rogue Imperial Stout, Murrays Wild Thing

English IPA
Meantime IPA :icon_drool2: , Worthington White Shield, Gage Roads IPA

Imperial IPA
Murrays Icon 2IPA, Rogue I2PA

English Barleywine
Thomas Hardys Ale, Murrays Anniversary Ale (early ones perhaps?)

Belgian Blonde
Leffe Blond, Affligem Blond, La Trappe (Koningshoeven) Blond,

Dubbel
Westmalle Dubbel, La Trappe Dubbel, Chimay Premiere (Red)

Tripel
Westmalle Tripel, Chimay Cinq Cents (White), La Trappe Tripel, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Murrays Grand Cru

Witbier
Hoegaarden Wit, Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, Feral White. La Trappe (Koningshoeven) Wit

Fruit beer
Meantime Rasberry Grand Cru, Jamiesons Rasberry Ale, James Squire Mad Brewers Rasberry Wheat, Red Oak Blackberry Hefeweizen

Spice Herb or Vegetable beer
RedOak Christmas Cheer, Rogue Chipotle Ale, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rauchbier
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Mrzen, Sunshine Coast RauchBier, Red Oak Rauch

Wood Aged Beer
Moo Brew Oak Aged Imperial Stout, Eagle Heights 9 Bullet Reserve, Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer, BrewDog Paradox Whiskey Cask Aged Russian Imperial Stout








American Brown Ale

 

[sgreatwood]

If the OP is still looking for examples, Grain and Grape in Yarraville have quite a nice selection of imports that Dan's do not have.

 

[Scruffy]

I reckon Timothy Taylor's Landlord should be in the Pale Ale list, n'est pas? But I kind of know what you mean...

 

[eamonnfoley]

wyeast lists some examples under each style on their website - which are generally classics (well known examples at least)

 

[discoloop]

Interesting idea... It gets my vote simply because I've brewed a couple of Cali Commons (love 'em) but have never tasted one I didn't make myself! Makes it hard to know whether I'm on style or not. Searched high and low for Anchor Steam in Aus to no avail...

 

[unterberg]

At Babbs (See signature if you dont' already know what that means, I could have typed it faster than this bracketed sentence but where would be the fun in that?) we recently switched our club comp to BJCP and in developing the guidelines I tried to list locally available examples.
This isn't all the classes, just the ones we are using for our comp...
Here's that info as a starting point. I will try and add a few more in so this could form the start of an article...
Some are a little hard. Unless you can find a bitter (not an ordinary for those who were at the ANHC) on tap then the bottled examples nearly always push out of style because they up the percentages for bottled conditioned beers.

In any of these examples I am happy to be shown where there are examples, or if a beer really doesn't fit, this is just based on my knowledge, readings, guesswork etc.
This is also based on what I knew could be sourced in Brisbane for the most part so many WA particularly and other Vic, NSW, SA etc breweries will not always be represented...

Hefeweizen
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Erdinger Weissbier, Duke Hefeweizen, Schoefferhofer Kristallweizen


Dunkelweizen
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel, Franziskaner Dunkel Hefe-Weisse, Schneider Weisse (Original), Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, Bridge Rd Chevalier Dunkelweizen

WeizenBock
Schneider Aventinus, Schneider Aventinus Eisbock, Erdinger Pikantus

Roggenbier
Tony, Ross, TidalPete to name a few make them...
Paulaner Roggen is the example I have from the BJCP but I've never seen one even at the German Club...

Nice list there, however the Schneider Weisse Original is a Hefeweizen not a Dunkelweizen and Paulaner does not produce the Roggen any more. Another one would be http://www.thurnundtaxisbiere.de/produkte

 

[marksfish]

+ 1 for g+g in yarraville they have a large range of beers local and imported!. :icon_drunk:

 

[jbowers]

Also Purvis cellars, Acland st Cellars and especially Slow Beer have a great range, should carry a large portion of those listed.

No American IPA examples? Bah!!

Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Dogfish head 60, Epic Armageddon, Jamieson Beast.

 

[Jazman]

muencher helles = weihnstephaner original Mild
Germans pills = Weihnstephaner Pilsner
dopplebock = Paulaner salvator
fest bier = gulf brewery have one also forgot the hofbrau fest seams a bit pale more pils type
Koelsch = Sunner Koelsch

Cant beat goiung to german for the real thing