Drinks · fermented
Beer — two yeasts, everything else is variation
The whole world of beer splits in two first: yeast working cold at the bottom (lager) or warm at the top (ale). Most of the difference in flavour follows from that one choice, and the label almost always tells you which it is.
In short
- Strength
- 4–6% vol; light 2.5–4%, strong 7–9%
- Ingredients
- water, malt, hops, yeast
- Two families
- lager — cold fermentation; ale — warm
- Serving
- pale 4–6 °C, dark and strong 8–12 °C
- Glass
- a narrowing rim holds foam and aroma
- Point of the foam
- it holds the carbonation and the aroma in
Beer served too cold tastes of nothing. If a beer seems thin, try it a couple of degrees warmer.
What creates the flavour
Malt brings sweetness, bread, caramel and roasted notes — the darker the roast, the more coffee and chocolate. Hops bring bitterness and aroma: citrus, pine resin, tropical fruit. Yeast brings banana and clove to wheat beers and spice to Belgian styles.
Strength is no measure of quality. A good lager is technically harder to brew than a strong IPA, because a lager has nothing to hide mistakes behind.
Styles you will find in a shop
Six names cover most of the chiller cabinet.
Pale, dry, crisp. The broadest use — good with food and good for thirst.
Warm fermented, fruitier and fuller. English pale ale is moderate and food-friendly.
Hop-forward, bitter and aromatic. A strong flavour — good with spicy food and hard cheese.
Cloudy, banana and clove, soft. A summer beer, good with a slice of lemon.
Dark roasted malt: coffee, chocolate, dry finish. Serve warmer, 10–12 °C.
Below 0.5% vol. Quality has improved seriously in recent years, especially in IPA styles.
How to pour it
Foam is not waste; foam is part of the drink.
Clean, wet glass
Grease kills foam. Rinse the glass in cold water before pouring.
At a 45 degree angle
Pour against the side of the glass until it is half full.
Straighten up and finish in the middle
That gives a head of two or three centimetres — exactly as much as you want.
Never pour it over ice
Ice dilutes and kills the carbonation. Beer is chilled in the bottle, not in the glass.
What goes with it
Beer is friendlier to food than wine, because bubbles and bitterness clean the palate. Lager goes with almost anything; an IPA needs something that can stand up to it — spicy, fried, fatty. Stout and chocolate cake are worth discovering separately.
Among Estonian beers the big names are A. Le Coq and Saku, and the small-brewery side has grown seriously over the past decade. If you want something new, just ask for «something local and hoppy» — it works better than a long list.
Common questions
What is the difference between lager and ale?
Yeast and temperature. Lager ferments cold and comes out crisp; ale ferments warm and comes out fruitier.
At what temperature should beer be served?
Pale 4–6 °C, dark and strong 8–12 °C. Beer that is too cold gives no flavour.
Does beer age?
Most styles want to be fresh, especially IPA — the hops fade. Strong dark beers can improve over years.
How many units are in half a litre of beer?
Half a litre at 5% vol is about 2 units, that is 20 g of pure alcohol. See the units page.