Beer

How to taste beer:

1. Judge the colour
2. Smell from afar
3. Smell nose-is
4. Taste
5. Assess the after-taste and finish

Short video description of how to taste beer

Types of glasses and beers

• Tulip—Ideal for IPAs and other hoppy beers, this glass has a tulip-shaped bowl and small stem to activate the flavor profiles of the beer.
• Snifter—This glass is perfect for beers with stronger flavor profiles, as it allows you to swirl your beer to get the best taste.
• Pints—A pint is a cylindrical beer glass ideal for serving a wide variety of beer types.
• Pilsner—This glass has a straighter shape compared to tulip and snifter glasses and is ideal for lighter beers.
• Beer Mug—The handle on a beer mug keeps your hand away to prevent warming the glass, keeping your beer cold.

Brewing beer

• Wiki description - link
• Animation video on the beer brewing process

Types of german beers

Pale lagers

• Export – a pale lager brewed around Dortmund that is fuller, maltier, and less hoppy than Pilsner. 12–12.5° Plato, 5–5.5% ABV. Germany's most popular style in the 1950s and 1960s, it is now becoming increasingly rare.
• Helles – a malty pale lager from Bavaria of 11–12° Plato, 4.5–5% ABV.
• Kölsch – pale, light-bodied, top fermented, beer which, when brewed in Germany, can only legally be brewed in the Cologne region. 11–12° Plato, 4.5–5% ABV.
• Maibock – a pale, strong lager brewed in the spring. 16–17° Plato, 6.5–7% ABV.
• Märzen – medium body, malty lagers that come in pale, amber and dark varieties. 13–14° Plato, 5.2–6% ABV. The type of beer traditionally served at the Munich Oktoberfest.
• Pilsener – a pale lager with a light body and a more prominent hop character. 11–12° Plato, 4.5–5% ABV. By far the most popular style, with around two-thirds of the market.
• Spezial – a pale, full, bitter-sweet and delicately hopped lager. 13–13.5° Plato, 5.5–5.7% ABV.

Dark lagers

• Altbier – a top-fermented, lagered beer. It is brewed only in Düsseldorf and in the Lower Rhine region. Its origins lie in Westphalia, and there are still a few Altbier breweries in this region. Tastes range from mildly bitter and hoppy to exceptionally bitter. About ten breweries in the Düsseldorf region brew Altbier at 5–6.5% ABV.
• Bock – seasonal, a heavy-bodied, bitter-sweet lager that uses dark-colored malts. 16–17° Plato, 6.5–7% ABV.
• Doppelbock – a very strong, very full-bodied lager that uses dark-colored malts. 18–28° Plato, 8–12% ABV.
• Eisbock is made by icing the beer and removing the frozen water . This means that a significantly higher alcohol content can be achieved.
• Dunkel – a dark lager that comes in two main varieties: the sweetish, malty Munich style and the drier, hoppy Franconian style.
• Schwarzbier – a bottom fermented, dark lager beer. 11–12° Plato, 4.5–5% ABV.
• Kellerbiers are unfiltered lagers that are conditioned in a similar manner to cask ales. Strength and color will vary, though in the Franconia region where these cask conditioned lagers are still popular, the strength will tend to be 5% ABV or slightly higher, and the color will tend to be deep amber, but the defining characteristic is the cask conditioning. Kellerbier is German for "cellar beer".
• Zwickelbier was originally a sample amount of beer taken by a brewery boss from the barrel with the help of a special pipe called a "Zwickelhahn". Zwickelbiers are unfiltered lagers like Kellerbier, though with a slightly different conditioning process which gives the lager more carbonation. Zwickelbiers tend to be younger, lower in alcohol, and less hoppy than Kellerbiers.
• Zoiglbier, which in the Upper Palatinate's brewing practice is advertised with a "Zoiglstern" (i.e., sign) — a six-pointed blue-and-white symbol made from wooden slats, similar to a Star of David.
• Münchener Bier is a beer from Munich that is protected under EU law with PGI status, first published under relevant laws in 1998. This designation was one of six German beers registered with the PGI designation at the time.
• Rauchbier – specialty beer, smoked, a region of Franken, smoky malt

Wheat beers

• Weizenbier and Weißbier are the standard German names for wheat beer – "Weizen" is German for "wheat", and "weiß" is German for "white". Always served in long glasses, and you toast with them at the bottom.
• Berliner Weisse – a pale, very sour, wheat beer brewed in Berlin. 9° Plato, 2.5–5% ABV. The beer is typically served with raspberry or woodruff flavored syrup.
• Hefeweizen – an unfiltered wheat beer. "Hefe" is German for yeast.
• Kristallweizen – a filtered wheat beer. Characterized by a clear appearance as opposed to the cloudy look of a typical Hefeweizen.
• Weizenbock is the name for a strong beer or bock made with wheat. 16–17° Plato, 6.5–8% ABV.
• Roggenbier – a fairly dark beer made with rye, somewhat grainy flavour similar to bread, 4.5–6% ABV.