Description of Beer Categories for the USBTC Summer Competition

IPA:                                        Very hop-accented pale ale with higher ABV, historically gold to copper in color.  We set a cutoff of IBU>45 to place a pale ale in IPA.  An IPA with ABV>7.5% will be placed in strong ales (a category in our winter competition).

Pale Ale:                                Ales with both malt and hop presence, but interpretations vary widely from malt to hop dominated.   

Amber/Red Ale:                   An American creation - not a true style but a color description, though arguably these beers trace their origins to Irish or Scottish brewing traditions.  We set limit of ABV<=6.5%, but categorization is left primarily to the brewer.  If “amber” or “red” is on the label and no other style designation is provided, they get placed here. 

Bitter/ESB:                             Pale ales brewed with some aspect of the English tradition such as English hop or malt varieties (e.g., East Kent Goldings or Fuggles hop, Maris Otter malt) or alteration of water characteristics, etc.  Typically, they tend to be hop-accented with a dry, bitter finish, with ESBs having a higher ABV and/or stronger hop/malt presence.

Belgian/French Specialty:   Ales brewed in traditional Belgian/French styles including wit/white beer, farmhouse ale, saison, biere de garde, Belgian pale ale, and Abbey single ale.  Excluded from this category are Abbey/Belgian Strong Ales, which are examined in our winter competition.  This year, wit/white beers will be examined in a separate “pull-out” category. 

Kolsch/Cream/Gold Ale:     Gold-colored ale, often undergoing cold maturation like a lager, typically with IBU from 20-35 (if IBU>45 or ABV>6.5%, beer is placed in IPA or strong ale). 

Bock/Doppelbock:               High-ABV lager (typically >6.5%) that can be golden to dark brown in color but with strong malt character.  Typically, true bocks are lagered for a significant amount of time.

Pilsner:                                   Gold-colored lager but distinctly hop-accented, typically with a flowery aroma, dry finish, and IBU from 20-40.  ABV must not be >6.5%. 

Dortmunder/Helles:             Gold-colored lager, though clearly less hop-accented than pilsners.  Typically, Dortmunders average 5.5% ABV and IBU of 25-35, and Helles lagers average 4.5% ABV and IBU of 20-30, with Dortmunders being slightly drier and less carbonated.

Fruit Beer:                              Beer of any style that contains a clearly detectable level of fruit flavoring in the taste, including Belgian-style, fruit-flavored beers.     

Wheat Beer:                          Any beer that contains a significant proportion of wheat added to the barley malt.  However, those classified as Belgian Wit/White, fruit wheat beer, or weizenbock are placed in other categories.

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