Brewing Master

Question:

: I am looking for some definitions, of what is a porter, bock etc.  I have : looked at Charlie Papazian books and cannot find a clear definition of : what makes a porter a porter and an ale an ale or a bock a bock.  I know : that this is a newbie question, or just my thick skull.  Can anyone point : me to some clear definitions, I have looked around the brewery already. You might want to pick up Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion and start reading there….he’ll describe the different flavors, brewing traditions, typical commercial examples etc. Also try picking up some porters, pale ales, wheat beers, etc. and tasting them yourself—that’s the only real way to understand what’s what—let your tongue, nose, and eyes be your teacher. If you want to see what the styles are by the numbers, look for the AHA’s competition style guidelines, or the very nice set of style descriptions put together by Tim Dawson (there is a link to these on the Brewery’s "Taproom" page: http://alpha.rollanet.org/TastingCont.html) You also might want to pick up a book like Fred Eckhardt’s "The Essentials of Beer Style", and then move on to the AHA’s Classic Beer Styles series for in-depth examinations of each of the  many different styles of beer. Cheers! —Mark   Brewery info server for homebrewers: <URL:http://alpha.rollanet.org/

Response:

Jim – The Beer Enthusiasts Guide written by Gregg Smith is a great resource book.  It lists all the major beer styles and the characteristics found in each style.  There are charts showing which type of hops and grains are typically found in which style of beer.  He also gets into the judging of beer, and in the back he has an appendix for homebrew supply shops and microbreweries.  Good luck, hope this helps out. Zane Anderson

Response:

hello, I am looking for some definitions, of what is a porter, bock etc.  I have looked at Charlie Papazian books and cannot find a clear definition of what makes a porter a porter and an ale an ale or a bock a bock.  I know that this is a newbie question, or just my thick skull.  Can anyone point me to some clear definitions, I have looked around the brewery already. Any info appreciated. jim jones

Response:

hello, I am looking for some definitions, of what is a porter, bock etc.  I have looked at Charlie Papazian books and cannot find a clear definition of what makes a porter a porter and an ale an ale or a bock a bock.  I know that this is a newbie question, or just my thick skull.  Can anyone point me to some clear definitions, I have looked around the brewery already. Any info appreciated.

Jim: That’s because there really ARE no hard and fast definitions for these styles.  One man’s "porter" is another man’s "black beer".  I’d suggest purusing a copy of Michael Jackson’s "The New World Guide to Beer" to get a feel for just *how many* different styles there are, and how much they overlap. There is also a "Dictionary of Beer and Brewing" by Carl Forget available in paperback, but personally I find the abbreviated definitions in this book anything but "clear". If you *REALLY* want to get into it, Brewers Publications has a "Classic Beer Style Series" of books (up to 10, now) in which each book treats a _single_ style, it’s history, and it’s variants.  Currently available are         Pale Ale                        Belgian Ale         Continental Pilsener            German Wheat Beer         Lambic                          Scotch Ale         Marzen-Oktoberfest-Vienna       Bock         Porter                          Stout I think these are great books, and I’ve read them all, but then, I’m something of a fanatic

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