As an exercise for myself, I decided to try to categorize all the Beer styles into 10 categories and it is HARD to do.

Here’s the best I could come up with for myself:
Pale Ales (EIPA/AIPA/BPA/APA/EPA/NEIPA/Bitter)

Malty (Amber/Brown/Irish Red/English Mild/Marzen/Bock)

Saison/Farmhouse/Biere de Garde

Wheat/Wit/Hefeweizen/Kristalweizen/Weisse/Blonde

Stout/Porter/Schwarzbier

Strong Ale (Tripel/Dubbel/Quad/Barleywine/Winter Warmer/Old Ale/Scotch Ale)

Cold Conditioned (pilsner/helles/kolsch/alt/japanese lagers/mexican lagers)

Wild/Sour (gueuze, lambic, berliner, kettle sour, fruited, american wild ale, flanders, oude bruin)

Smoked (rauchbier, grodziskie, smoked porters/stouts)

Post fermentation adjunct non-sour (fruit, lactose, coffee, Xmas)

tommy wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 10:56 am As an exercise for myself, I decided to try to categorize all the Beer styles into 10 categories and it is HARD to do.

It's no joke. The BJCP defines 34 different categories, each of which are further broken down into individual styles.

I love beer.

RyanZ wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 8:32 am My head just cannot deal with the over-the-top craft brews. Sweet, hazy majorly-hopped IPAs are just terrible and I get an instant headache.

Even though I voted IPA here, I agree with your sentiment. The hazy style became so popular/ubiquitous a few years back that a lot of half-baked shit got pushed into the market. It’s possible to do that style well but I prefer the doubles / triples if I’m going to drink an IPA with sweetness in it.

tommy wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 10:04 am

Tree wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 8:09 am

enframed wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 12:10 am If given the option, Kölsch.

Kölsch falls under the umbrella of "pale lager"

A true kolsch is more of an ale since it is top fermented at warmer temperatures, so it’s hard for me to lump them with pale lager. I suppose for the purposes of this list that’s the closest though since they are light colored and cold conditioned. I’d maybe lump it with Pale Ale on this list though.

You are totally right, I forgot about that. Ale yeast, right? Cold conditioned.



I like lambic/gueze a lot, but need to take extra-strength Tums in advance.

I enjoy a porter, a good Kolsch, or a fine Belgian but I've broadly found that when I moved back to California from Chicago my interest in Nice Beers started to evaporate.

Brown ale all the way, especially Newcastle or Oak Creek (from Sedona AZ). It's just so damn satisfying. I would drink more IPAs if there was any sort of consistency. Some I really like, some are just wretched. Unfortunately finding a place with brown ale on tap is a rarity whereas EVERY goddamn bar has IPAs on tap. It's too hoppy, ya fuckin' hippies!

I'm also fond of blonde or red ales such as Barrio Rojo from right here in Tucson.

Over the last few years, I've sort of lost interest in the taste of beer.

If I am drinking beer, it's a cream stout. The best beer I've ever had was Watney's Cream Stout, which is no longer made.

As Summer approaches all I want are Mexican Lagers or Pilsners as I stand by the BBQ.

Owen wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 7:10 pm As Summer approaches all I want are Mexican Lagers or Pilsners as I stand by the BBQ.

Amen to that!

Pale lager. The occasional brown ale, porter, or Bass-style pale ale in the cold months.

Hazy, modern IPAs, Belgians, sours, weirdo experimental shit with added lactic acid, etc are all disgusting to me. About the only wheat beer I ever enjoyed was the super cheap, filtered Kristallweizen I had in Germany, which they don't import into the US.