Details des Biertyps

Am Gau­men rela­tiv neu­tral mit einem fri­schen und tro­cke­nen Abgang und einem gerin­gen bis sehr gerin­gen getrei­de- oder mais­ar­ti­gen Geschmack, der wegen der gerin­gen Bit­te­re als Süße wahr­ge­nom­men wer­den kann. Hop­fen­ge­schmack ist nicht oder nur auf sehr gerin­gem Niveau vor­han­den und kann flo­ral, wür­zig oder gra­sig sein (wobei er nur sel­ten stark genug ist, um erkannt zu wer­den). Gerin­ge oder sehr gerin­ge Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Die Balan­ce kann leicht mal­zig oder leicht bit­ter sein, ist aber immer nahe an der Aus­ge­gli­chen­heit. Eine hohe Kar­bo­ni­sie­rung kann die fri­sche des tro­cke­nen Abgangs noch ver­stär­ken. Rein­tö­ni­ger unter­gä­ri­ger Charakter.

Am Gau­men rela­tiv neu­tral mit einem fri­schen und tro­cke­nen Abgang und einem mäßig-gerin­gen bis gerin­gen getrei­de- oder mais­ar­ti­gen Geschmack, der wegen der gerin­gen Bit­te­re als Süße wahr­ge­nom­men wer­den kann. Hop­fen­ge­schmack ist nicht oder nur auf mäßig-gerin­gem Niveau vor­han­den und kann flo­ral, wür­zig oder gra­sig sein (wobei er nur sel­ten stark genug ist, um erkannt zu wer­den). Gerin­ge oder mit­tel-gerin­ge Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Die Balan­ce kann leicht mal­zig oder leicht bit­ter sein, ist aber immer nahe an der Aus­ge­gli­chen­heit. Eine hohe Kar­bo­ni­sie­rung kann die fri­sche des tro­cke­nen Abgangs noch ver­stär­ken. Rein­tö­ni­ger unter­gä­ri­ger Charakter.

Gerin­ge bis mäßig gerin­ge Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Gerin­ge bis mitt­le­re Mal­zig­keit und Süße je nach Stamm­wür­ze und Ver­gä­rungs­grad. Meist hoch ver­go­ren. Weder Malz noch Hop­fen soll­ten im Geschmack über­wie­gen. Ein gerin­ger bis mäßi­ger mais­ar­ti­ger Geschmack ist, wie auch etwas DMS (optio­nal), meist vor­han­den. Der Abgang kann leicht tro­cken bis schwach süß­lich sein. Schwa­che Fruch­tes­ter sind optio­nal. Gerin­ger bis mäßig gerin­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack (von belie­bi­gen Sor­ten, aber typisch blu­mig, wür­zig und grasig).

Leich­ter bis mäßig star­ker bro­ti­ger, tei­gi­ger oder getrei­de­ar­ti­ger Wei­zen­ge­schmack, der bis in den Abgang anhal­ten kann. Kann mäßi­ge mal­zi­ge Süße oder einen recht tro­cke­nen Abgang haben. Gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Hop­fen­bit­te­re, die manch­mal bis in den Abang anhält. Gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Hop­fen­bit­te­re mit aus­ge­wo­ge­ner, even­tu­ell etwas bit­te­rer Abstim­mung. Gerin­ger bis mäßi­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack (zitrus­ar­tig, wür­zig, blu­mig oder fruch­tig). Mäßi­ge bis kei­ne Ester, die aber kai­ne Bana­nen­aro­men haben soll­ten. Kei­ne Nel­ken-Phe­no­le. Kann einen leicht fri­schen Abgang haben.

Gerin­ger bis mäßi­ger getrei­dig-mal­zi­ger Geschmack mit einem fri­schen, tro­cke­nen, hoch ver­go­re­nen Abgang. Der Getrei­de­cha­rak­ter kann neu­tral sein oder eine leich­te bro­tig-cra­cker­ar­ti­ge Qua­li­tät bis zu einer mäßi­gen Mais- oder Malz­sü­ße haben. Hop­feng­schmack nicht vor­han­den bis mitt­le­res Niveau, oft mit blu­mi­gem, wür­zi­gem oder gra­si­gem Cha­rak­ter. Hop­fen­bit­te­re auf mäßig-gerin­gem bit mitt­le­rem Niveau. Die Abstim­mung reicht von leicht mal­zig bis etwas bit­ter, ist aber rela­tiv nahe an der Aus­ge­gli­chen­heit. Neu­tra­ler Nach­ge­schmack mit etwas Malz und manch­mal Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Eine gerin­gen Men­ge an DMS ist kein Fehler.

Gerin­ges bis mäßi­ges Malz­pro­fil, das von tro­cken bis getrei­dig-süß rei­chen kann. Gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Kara­mell- und toas­tig-bro­ti­ge Noten kön­nen vor­han­den sein. Gerin­ge bis mit­tel-gerin­ge Mais­sü­ße ist optio­nal, aber kein Feh­ler. Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re ist gering bis mäßig, und der Hop­fen­ge­schmack ist gering bis mäßig mit wür­zi­gem, blu­mi­gem oder gra­si­gem Cha­rak­ter. Die Abstim­mung kann leicht mal­zig bis fast aus­ge­gli­chen mit merk­li­che­rer aber nicht unan­ge­neh­me­rer Bit­te­re sein. Die Bit­te­re kann erhöht wer­den, um einer stär­ke­ren Mal­zig­keit zu ent­spre­chen. Rein­tö­ni­ge Ver­gä­rung. Der Abgang ist mäßig tro­cken mit mode­rat mal­zi­gem Nachgeschmack.

Gerin­ge bis mitt­le­re Malz­sü­ße mit mit­tel-gerin­gem bis nicht vor­han­de­nem Kara­mell- und/oder Röst­malz-Geschmack (der Noten von Kaf­fee, Melas­se oder Kakao beinhal­ten kann). Der Hop­fen­ge­schmack reicht von nicht vor­han­den bis gering und ist typisch blu­mig, wür­zig oder gra­sig. Kei­ne bis mitt­le­re Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Kann ganz gerin­ge Fruch­tig­keit haben. Mode­rat fri­scher Abgang. Die Abstim­mung ist typisch etwas mal­zig. Brenz­li­ger oder mäßig star­ker Röst­malz­ge­schmack ist ein Fehler.

Mit­tel-gerin­ger bis mitt­le­rer bro­tig-schwe­rer Malz­ge­schmack mit einem run­den, hop­fi­gen Abgang. Gerin­ger bis mit­tel-star­ker wür­zi­ger oder gra­si­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Die Bit­te­re ist auf­fal­lend, aber nie­mals harsch. Geschmack­voll und erfri­schend. Dia­ce­thyl oder Fruch­tes­ter sind auf gerin­gen Niveau akzep­ta­bel, müs­sen aber nicht vor­han­den und soll­ten nie domi­nant sein.

Üppi­ge, kom­ple­xe, bro­ti­ge Mal­zig­keit kom­bi­niert mit einer aus­ge­spro­chen wei­chen und run­den Bit­te­re und flo­ra­lem und wür­zi­gem Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Malz- und Hop­fen­ge­schmack sind mit­tel bis mit­tel-hoch, und die Mal­zig­keit kann etwas Kara­mell ent­hal­ten. Die Bit­te­re ist mar­kant, aber nie harsch. Der Lan­ge Abgang kann in Rich­tung Hop­fen oder Malz aus­ba­lan­ciert sein, geht aber nie aggres­siv in die eine oder ande­re Rich­tung. Leich­tes bis mode­ra­tes Dia­ce­thyl und gerin­ge Fruch­tes­ter aus dem Hop­fen sind akzep­ta­bel, müs­sen aber nicht vor­han­den sein.

Der kom­ple­xe Malz­ge­schmack ist domi­nant (mit­tel bis mit­tel-hoch), wobei sei­ne Art zwi­schen tro­cken und domi­niert von Mail­lard­pro­duk­ten bis zu kara­mel­lig und fast süß vari­ie­ren kann. Eini­ge Sor­ten haben einen süß­li­chen bis Gra­ham-Cra­cker-arti­gen Malz­cha­rak­ter. Wenig bis mode­ra­ter, wür­zi­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Mar­kan­te, aber rei­ne Hop­fen­bit­te­re ergibt einen aus­ba­lan­cier­ten Abgang. Sub­ti­le Pflau­men- oder Bee­ren-Ester sind optio­nal. Etwas Dia­ce­thyl ist optio­nal. Kein Röst­malz­ge­schmack. Der Abgang kann von tro­cken und hop­fig bis rela­tiv süß variieren.

Es domi­niert eine mitt­le­re bis mit­tel-hohe, tie­fe, kom­ple­xe Mal­zig­keit, typi­scher­wei­se mit mal­zig-schwe­ren Mail­lard­pro­duk­ten und einer leich­ten bis mäßi­gen mal­zi­gen Rest­sü­ße. Malz­ge­schmacks­no­ten wie Kara­mell, Nüs­se, Toast, Lakritz, dunk­le Tro­cken­früch­te, Scho­ko­la­de und Kaf­fee kön­nen eben­so wie sehr gerin­ges bis mäßi­ges Röst­aro­ma vor­han­den sein. Ein wür­zi­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack kann mäßig-gering bis nicht vor­han­den sein. Die Hof­en­bit­te­re soll­te mäßig bis mäßig-gering, aber immer spür­bar sein. Die Balan­ce kann von mal­zig über rela­tiv gut aus­ge­wo­gen bis leicht hop­fig rei­chen. Wenig bis mäßig viel Dia­ce­thyl und leich­te Pflau­men- und Bee­ren-Ester kön­nen vor­han­den sein.

Mode­rat mazi­ger Antrunk mit den Ein­druck von Süße, mode­rat getrei­dig-süßer Malz­ge­schmack mit einem wei­chen, run­den Ein­druck, unter­stützt von gerin­ger bis mit­tel-gerin­ger Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Der Abgang ist weich und tro­cken, nicht krat­zig und bei­ßend. Gerin­ger bis mit­tel-gerin­ger wür­zi­ger, flo­ra­ler oder kräu­te­ri­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Das Malz domi­niert im Geschmack, Abgang und Nach­ge­schmack über den Hop­fen, der aber trotz­dem spür­bar sein soll­te. Es soll­te kei­ne Rest­sü­ße vor­han­den sein, son­dern ein­fach der Ein­druck von Mal­zig­keit mit zurück­hal­ten­der Bit­te­re. Sehr fri­sche Exem­pla­re erschei­nen süßer durch den fri­schen, kräf­ti­gen Malz­cha­rak­ter, der mit der Zeit abneh­men kann. Rein­tö­ni­ges Gärprofil.

Zu Beginn mitt­le­rer bis mit­tel-star­ker Malz­ge­schmack mit leicht toas­tig, brot­teig-arti­ger Qua­li­tät und einem Ein­druck von Süße. Mitt­le­re mit mit­tel-gerin­ge Bit­te­re, deut­li­che Beto­nung des Mal­zes in der Abstim­mung. Gut aus­ge­go­ren und kna­ckig, aber nicht tro­cken. Mit­tel-gerin­ger mit mitt­le­rer blu­mi­ger, kräu­t­ri­ger oder wür­zi­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Rein­tö­ni­ge Unter­gä­rung. Der Geschmack ist meist der von Pils­ner Malz, aber mit leich­ten toas­ti­gen Noten. Die Bit­te­re ist unter­stüt­zend, soll­te aber immer einen mal­zi­gen, geschmack­vol­len Abgang erzeugen.

Mode­ra­te bis mode­rat star­ker getrei­dig-süßer Malz­ge­schmack domi­niert neben eini­gen inter­es­san­ten toas­ti­gen Aro­men und/oder Mail­lard­pro­duk­ten. Wenig oder kein Kara­mellge­schmack. Kenn leich­ten DMS-Geschmack haben. Mode­ra­ter bis kein Hop­fen­ge­schmack (wür­zig, kräu­ter­ar­tig, blu­mig, pfeff­rig). Mode­ra­te Hop­fen­bit­te­re (bes­ser aus­ba­lan­ciert als bei ande­ren Bock­bie­ren). Rein­tö­ni­ge Ver­gä­rung. Hoch ver­go­ren, nicht süß­lich mit einem mode­rat tro­cke­nen Abgang, der sowohl nach Hop­fen als auch nach Malz schme­cken kann.

Im Antrunk gerin­ger bis mit­tel-gerin­ger Malz­ge­schmack. Mitt­le­re Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Gerin­ger bis mitt­le­rer Hop­fen­ge­schmack mit wür­zi­gem, kräu­t­ri­gem oder blu­mi­gem Cha­rak­ter. Rein­tö­nig ver­go­ren, gut aus­ge­la­gert. Tro­cke­ner Abgang mit leicht mal­zi­gem und hop­fi­gem Nachgeschmack.

Wei­ches, run­des Mund­ge­fühl mit sanf­tem, aus­ge­wo­ge­nem Geschmack von wei­chem, aber aus­ge­go­re­nen Malz, eine fast unmerk­li­chen Frucht­sü­ße aus der Gärung und mit­tel-gerin­ger bis gerin­ger Bit­te­re mit leicht tro­cke­nem und fri­schem Abgang (aber ohne krat­zi­gen Nach­ge­schmack). Die Mal­zig­keit geht in die getrei­dig-süß­li­che Rich­tung, mög­li­cher­wei­se mit ganz leich­ten bro­ti­gen oder honig­ar­ti­gen Noten. Der Hop­fen­ge­schmack kann unter­schied­lich von gering bis mäßig stark sein, wobei meist die Inten­si­tät mit­tel-gering bis mit­tel ist und einen blu­mi­gen, wür­zi­gen oder kräu­t­ri­gen Cha­rak­ter hat. Kann im Antrunk einen mal­zig-süßen Ein­druck machen, der aber nicht erfor­der­lich ist. Kei­ne spür­ba­re Rest­sü­ße. Kann einen leicht wei­ni­gen, mine­ra­li­schen oder schwef­li­gen Ton haben, der die Tro­cken­heit und Aus­ge­wo­gen­heit des Geschmacks betont. Ein leich­ter Wei­zen­ge­schmack ist sel­ten, aber kein Feh­ler. Sonst sehr rein.

Weder das getrei­dig-süße Malz noch der blu­mi­ge, wür­zi­ge oder kräu­t­ri­ge Hop­fen domi­niert, son­dern bei­de sind in guter Balan­ce mit einem Hauch mal­zi­ger Süße, so dass ein wei­ches, aber kna­ckig fri­sches Bier ent­steht. Die Aus­ge­wo­gen­heit setzt sich bis zum Abgang fort, und die Hop­fen­bit­te­re bleibt bis in den Nach­ge­schmack vor­han­den (wobei eini­ge Exem­pla­re im Abgang leicht süß­lich sind). Rein­tö­ni­ge Gärung. Leich­te mine­ra­li­sche Töne durch das Was­ser, aber nor­ma­ler­wei­se kein deut­li­cher mine­ra­li­scher Geschmack.

Mitt­le­re bis hohe Hop­fen­bit­te­re domi­niert das Mund­ge­fühl und hängt bis in bleibt Nach­ge­schmack. Mäßi­ge bis mäßig-gerin­ge getrei­dig-süße Mal­zig­keit untr­stützt die Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Gerin­ger bis star­ker blu­mi­ger, kräu­t­ri­ger oder wür­zi­ger Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Rein­tö­ni­ges Gär­pro­fil. Tro­cke­ner bis mit­tel-tro­cke­ner Abgang mit bit­te­rem Nach­ge­schmack und leich­tem Malz­ge­schmack. Exem­pla­re, die mit Was­ser mit hohem Sul­fat­an­teil gebraut wur­den, haben oft einen leich­ten schwef­li­gen Geschmack, der die Tro­cken­heit ver­stärkt und den Abgang ver­län­gert - das ist akzep­ta­bel, aber nicht not­wen­dig. Eini­ge Ver­sio­nen haben einen wei­chen Abgang mit mehr Malz­ge­schmack, aber immer noch spür­ba­rer Hop­fen­bit­te­re und -Geschmack und einer in Rich­tung Bit­te­re aus­ge­wo­ge­ne Balance.

Die Malz­no­ten im Antrunk täu­schen Süße vor, aber der Abgang ist mäßig tro­cken bis tro­cken. Die aus­ge­präg­te und kom­ple­xe Mal­zig­keit hat oft einen bro­ti­gen, toas­ti­gen Aspekt. Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re ist mäßig und der Hop­fen­ge­schmack gering bis nicht vor­han­den (Deut­sche Sor­ten: kom­plex, blu­mig, kräut­rig oder wür­zig). Der Hop­fen bil­det nur ein aus­rei­chen­des Gleich­ge­wicht zum Malz­ge­schmack, so dass der Abgang nicht süß wirkt. Der Nach­ge­schmack ist mal­zig mit den glei­chen lang anhal­ten­den, kräf­ti­gen aber ele­gan­ten Mal­za­ro­men. Spür­ba­rer Kara­mell-, Bis­cuit- oder Röst­ge­schmack ist unpas­send. Rein­tö­ni­ges unter­gä­ri­ges Gärprofil.

Folgt gene­rell dem Geruchspro­fil mit einer Mischung von Rauch und Malz in unter­schied­li­cher Balan­ce und Inten­si­tät, aber sich immer ergän­zend. März­en­ar­ti­ge Eigen­schaf­ten soll­ten spür­bar sein, ins­be­son­de­re eine mal­zi­ge, toas­ti­ge Schwe­re, dazu kommt aber ein gerin­ger bis star­ker Geschmack von Buchen­holz­rauch. Bei star­kem Rauch­ge­schmack kann er schin­ken- oder speck­ar­tig sein, was akzep­ta­bel ist, solan­ge er nicht in den fet­ti­gen Bereicch abrutscht. Auf der Zun­ge kann das Bier leicht mal­zig, schwer und süß sein, aber der Abgang ten­diert eher dazu, mit­tel­tro­cken bis tro­cken mit einer rau­chi­gen Kom­po­nen­te zu sein. Der Nach­ge­schmack reflek­tiert sowohl mal­zi­ge Schwe­re als auch Rauch­ge­schmack in einem mög­lichst aus­ge­wo­ge­nen Ver­hält­nis. Mäßi­ge, aus­ge­wo­ge­ne Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Mäßi­ger bis kein Hop­fen­ge­schmack mit wür­zi­gen, blu­mi­gen oder krä­t­ri­gen Noten. Der Rauch­ge­schmack sollt nicht harsch, bit­ter, ver­brannt, ver­kohlt, gum­mi­ar­tig, schwef­lig oder phe­n­o­lisch sein.

Die kom­ple­xe, schwe­re Mal­zig­keit wird von toas­tig-schwe­ren Mail­lard-Pro­duk­ten domi­niert. Eini­ge Kara­mell­no­ten kön­nen vor­han­den sein. Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re ist gene­rell nur stark genug, um den Malz­ge­schmack zu unter­stüt­zen, und lässt etwas nach­hän­gen­de Süße im Abgang zu. Hoch ver­go­ren, nicht süß­lich. Rei­nes Gär­pro­fil, wobei das Malz etwas Tro­cken­früch­te bei­steu­ern kann. Kein Hop­fen­ge­schmack. Kei­ne rös­ti­gen oder ver­brann­ten Noten.

Soft, ele­gant malt com­ple­xi­ty is in the fore­front, with a firm enough hop bit­ter­ness to pro­vi­de a balan­ced finish. The malt fla­vor tends towards a rich, toas­ty cha­rac­ter, without signi­fi­cant cara­mel or roast fla­vors. Fair­ly dry, crisp finish, with both rich malt and hop bit­ter­ness pre­sent in the after­tas­te. Flo­ral, spi­cy hop fla­vor may be low to none. Clean lager fer­men­ta­ti­on character.

Spür­ba­re Hop­fen­bit­te­re aus­ba­lan­ciert mit kräf­ti­ger, aber rei­ner und fri­scher Mal­zig­keit. Die Prä­senz des Mal­zes wird gemil­dert von einer mäßi­gen bis mäßig-hohen Ver­gä­rung, wobei aber die ziem­lich schwe­ren, etwas getrei­di­gen und mal­zi­gen Aro­men deut­lich spür­bar blei­ben. Eini­ge Fruch­tes­ter (spe­zi­ell kir­sch­ar­ti­ge) kön­nen die Lage­rung über­dau­ern. Ein lang anhal­ten­der, mit­tel­tro­cke­ner bis tro­cke­ner, bit­ter­sü­ßer oder nus­si­ger Abgang zeugt sowohl von der Hop­fen­bit­te­re als auch von der Kom­ple­xi­tät des Mal­zes. Der wür­zi­ge, pfeff­ri­ge oder blu­mi­ge Hop­fen­ge­schmack kann mäßig bis gering sein. Kei­ne rös­ti­ger oder krat­zi­ger Malz­ge­schmack. Die deut­li­che Bit­te­re wird manch­mal durch die Mal­zig­keit über­deckt und kann dadurch gering bis mäßig wir­ken, wenn der Abgang nicht sehr tro­cken ist. Ein leich­ter schwef­li­ger oder mine­ra­li­scher Cha­rak­ter ist optional.

Initi­al malt fla­vor may sug­gest sweet­ness, but finish is moder­ate­ly dry to dry, and slight­ly bit­ter. Dis­tinc­ti­ve and com­plex mal­ti­ness often inclu­des a brea­dy-toas­ty aspect. Hop bit­ter­ness is mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high, and spi­cy or her­bal hop fla­vor is low to moder­ate­ly high. Balan­ce can be eit­her on the malt or hop side, but the finish is not sweet. Noti­ce­ab­le cara­mel or roas­ted malt fla­vors are inap­pro­pria­te. Very low to low dia­ce­tyl. Pos­si­ble very low green apple or other yeast-deri­ved notes. Smooth, mal­ty aftertaste.

Domi­na­ted by the soft, rich, and com­plex fla­vor of dar­ker Munich mal­ts, usual­ly with over­to­nes remi­nis­cent of toas­ted bread crusts, but without a burnt-har­sh-grai­ny toas­ti­ness. The pala­te can be moder­ate­ly mal­ty, alt­hough it should not be over­whel­ming or cloyin­gly sweet. Mild cara­mel, toast or nut­ti­ness may be pre­sent. Very fresh examp­les often have a plea­sant mal­ty-cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter that isn’t roas­ty or sweet. Burnt or bit­ter fla­vors from roas­ted mal­ts are inap­pro­pria­te, as are pro­noun­ced cara­mel fla­vors from crys­tal malt. Hop bit­ter­ness is moder­ate­ly low but per­cep­ti­ble, with the balan­ce tip­ped firm­ly towards mal­ti­ness. Hop fla­vor is low to none; if noted, should reflect flo­ral, spi­cy, or her­bal Ger­man-type varie­ties. After­tas­te remains mal­ty, alt­hough the hop bit­ter­ness may beco­me more appa­rent in the medi­um-dry finish. Clean fer­men­ta­ti­on pro­fi­le and lager character.

Light to mode­ra­te malt fla­vor, which can have a clean, neu­tral cha­rac­ter to a moder­ate­ly rich, bread-mal­ty qua­li­ty. Light to mode­ra­te roas­ted malt fla­vors can give a bit­ter-cho­co­la­te pala­te that lasts into the finish, but which are never burnt. Medi­um-low to medi­um bit­ter­ness, which can last into the finish. Light to mode­ra­te spi­cy, flo­ral, or her­bal hop fla­vor. Clean lager cha­rac­ter. After­tas­te tends to dry out slow­ly and lin­ger, fea­turing hop bit­ter­ness with a com­ple­men­ta­ry but sub­t­le roas­ti­ness in the back­ground. Some resi­du­al sweet­ness is accep­ta­ble but not required.

Very rich and mal­ty. Dar­ker ver­si­ons will have signi­fi­cant Mail­lard pro­ducts and often some toas­ty fla­vors. Ligh­ter ver­si­ons will have a strong malt fla­vor with some Mail­lard pro­ducts and toas­ty notes. A very slight cho­co­la­te fla­vor is optio­nal in dar­ker ver­si­ons, but should never be per­cei­ved as roas­ty or burnt. Clean lager cha­rac­ter. A moder­ate­ly low malt-deri­ved dark fruit cha­rac­ter is optio­nal in dar­ker ver­si­ons. Inva­ria­b­ly the­re will be an impres­si­on of alco­ho­lic strength, but this should be smooth and war­ming rather than har­sh or bur­ning. Litt­le to no hop fla­vor (more is accep­ta­ble in pale ver­si­ons). Hop bit­ter­ness varies from mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly low but always allows malt to domi­na­te the fla­vor. Most ver­si­ons are fair­ly mal­ty-sweet, but should have an impres­si­on of atte­nua­ti­on. The sweet­ness comes from low hop­ping, not from incom­ple­te fer­men­ta­ti­on. Paler ver­si­ons gene­ral­ly have a dri­er finish.

Rich, sweet malt balan­ced by a signi­fi­cant alco­hol pre­sence. The malt can have Mail­lard pro­ducts, toas­ty qua­li­ties, some cara­mel, and occa­sio­nal­ly a slight cho­co­la­te fla­vor. No hop fla­vor. Hop bit­ter­ness just off­sets the malt sweet­ness enough to avoid a cloy­ing cha­rac­ter. May have signi­fi­cant malt-deri­ved dark fruit esters. The alco­hol should be smooth, not har­sh or hot, and should help the hop bit­ter­ness balan­ce the strong malt pre­sence. The finish should be of malt and alco­hol, and can have a cer­tain dry­ness from the alco­hol. It should not be sti­cky, syru­py or cloyin­gly sweet. Clean lager character.

As with aro­ma, has a rich mal­ty sweet­ness with a com­plex blend of deep malt, dried fruit esters, and alco­hol. Has a pro­mi­nent yet smooth schwarz­bier-like roas­ted fla­vor that stops short of burnt. Mouth-fil­ling and very smooth. Clean lager cha­rac­ter. Starts sweet but dar­ker malt fla­vors quick­ly domi­na­tes and per­sists through finish. Just a touch dry with a hint of roast cof­fee or lico­ri­ce in the finish. Malt can have a cara­mel, tof­fee, nut­ty, molas­ses and/or lico­ri­ce com­ple­xi­ty. Light hints of black cur­rant and dark fruits. Medi­um-low to medi­um bit­ter­ness from malt and hops, just to pro­vi­de balan­ce. Hop fla­vor from slight­ly spi­cy hops ran­ges from none to medium-low.

Low to moder­ate­ly strong bana­na and clove fla­vor. The balan­ce and inten­si­ty of the phe­nol and ester com­pon­ents can vary but the best examp­les are rea­son­ab­ly balan­ced and fair­ly pro­mi­nent. Optio­nal­ly, a very light to mode­ra­te vanil­la cha­rac­ter and/or faint bub­ble­gum notes can accen­tua­te the bana­na fla­vor, sweet­ness and round­ness; neit­her should be domi­nant if pre­sent. The soft, some­what brea­dy or grai­ny fla­vor of wheat is com­ple­men­ta­ry, as is a slight­ly grai­ny-sweet malt cha­rac­ter. Hop fla­vor is very low to none, and hop bit­ter­ness is very low to moder­ate­ly low. Well-roun­ded, fla­vor­ful pala­te with a rela­tively dry finish. The per­cep­ti­on of sweet­ness is more due to the absence of hop bit­ter­ness than actu­al resi­du­al sweet­ness; a sweet or hea­vy finish would signi­fi­cant­ly impair drinkability.

Low to moder­ate­ly strong bana­na and clove fla­vor. The balan­ce and inten­si­ty of the phe­nol and ester com­pon­ents can vary but the best examp­les are rea­son­ab­ly balan­ced and fair­ly pro­mi­nent. Optio­nal­ly, a very light to mode­ra­te vanil­la cha­rac­ter and/or faint bub­ble­gum notes can accen­tua­te the bana­na fla­vor, sweet­ness and round­ness; neit­her should be domi­nant if pre­sent. The soft, some­what brea­dy, doughy, or grai­ny fla­vor of wheat is com­ple­men­ta­ry, as is a richer cara­mel, toast, or bread crust fla­vor. The mal­ty rich­ness can be low to medi­um-high, and sup­ports the yeast cha­rac­ter. A roas­ted malt cha­rac­ter is inap­pro­pria­te. A spi­cy, her­bal, or flo­ral hop fla­vor is very low to none, and hop bit­ter­ness is very low to low. Well-roun­ded, fla­vor­ful, often some­what mal­ty pala­te with a rela­tively dry finish.

Simi­lar to the aro­ma, a medi­um-high to high mal­ty-rich fla­vor tog­e­ther with a signi­fi­cant brea­dy-grai­ny wheat fla­vor. Paler ver­si­ons will have a brea­dy, toas­ty, grai­ny-sweet malt rich­ness, while dar­ker ver­si­ons will have deeper, brea­dy-rich or toas­ted malt fla­vors with signi­fi­cant Mail­lard pro­ducts, optio­nal cara­mel. Low to mode­ra­te bana­na and spi­ce (clove, vanil­la) yeast cha­rac­ter. Dar­ker ver­si­ons can have some dark fruit fla­vor (plums, pru­nes, gra­pes, raisins), par­ti­cu­lar­ly as they age. A light cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter (but not roast) is optio­nal in dar­ker ver­si­ons. No hop fla­vor. A low hop bit­ter­ness can give a slight­ly sweet pala­te impres­si­on, but the beer typi­cal­ly finis­hes dry (some­ti­mes enhan­ced by a light alco­hol cha­rac­ter). The inter­play bet­ween the malt, yeast, and alco­hol adds com­ple­xi­ty and inte­rest, which is often enhan­ced with age.

Medi­um to moder­ate­ly high bit­ter­ness. Moder­ate­ly low to moder­ate­ly high frui­ty esters. Mode­ra­te to low hop fla­vor, typi­cal­ly with an ear­thy, resi­ny, frui­ty, and/or flo­ral cha­rac­ter. Low to medi­um mal­ti­ness with a dry finish. The malt pro­fi­le is typi­cal­ly brea­dy, bis­cui­ty, or light­ly toas­ty. Low to mode­ra­te cara­mel or tof­fee fla­vors are optio­nal. Balan­ce is often deci­ded­ly bit­ter, alt­hough the bit­ter­ness should not com­ple­te­ly over­power the malt fla­vor, esters and hop fla­vor. Gene­ral­ly no dia­ce­tyl, alt­hough very low levels are allowed.

Medi­um to moder­ate­ly high bit­ter­ness. Moder­ate­ly low to moder­ate­ly high frui­ty esters. Mode­ra­te to low hop fla­vor, typi­cal­ly with an ear­thy, resi­ny, frui­ty, and/or flo­ral cha­rac­ter. Low to medi­um mal­ti­ness with a dry finish. The malt pro­fi­le is typi­cal­ly brea­dy, bis­cui­ty, or light­ly toas­ty. Low to mode­ra­te cara­mel or tof­fee fla­vors are optio­nal. Balan­ce is often deci­ded­ly bit­ter, alt­hough the bit­ter­ness should not com­ple­te­ly over­power the malt fla­vor, esters and hop fla­vor. Gene­ral­ly no dia­ce­tyl, alt­hough very low levels are allowed.

Medi­um to medi­um-high bit­ter­ness with sup­por­ting malt fla­vors evi­dent. The malt pro­fi­le is typi­cal­ly brea­dy, bis­cui­ty, nut­ty, or light­ly toas­ty, and optio­nal­ly has a moder­ate­ly low to mode­ra­te cara­mel or tof­fee fla­vor. Hop fla­vor mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high, typi­cal­ly with a flo­ral, ear­thy, resi­ny, and/or frui­ty cha­rac­ter. Hop bit­ter­ness and fla­vor should be noti­ce­ab­le, but should not total­ly domi­na­te malt fla­vors. Moder­ate­ly-low to high frui­ty esters. Optio­nal­ly may have low amounts of alco­hol. Medi­um-dry to dry finish. Gene­ral­ly no dia­ce­tyl, alt­hough very low levels are allowed.

Medi­um to medi­um-high bit­ter­ness. Hop fla­vor is mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high of any hop varie­ty, alt­hough citrus fla­vors are incre­a­singly com­mon. Medi­um-low to low malt cha­rac­ter, gene­ral­ly brea­dy with perhaps a litt­le bis­cui­ty fla­vor. Cara­mel fla­vors are typi­cal­ly absent. Litt­le to no dia­ce­tyl. Hop bit­ter­ness and fla­vor should be pro­noun­ced. Moder­ate­ly-low to low esters. Medi­um-dry to dry finish. Bit­ter­ness incre­a­ses with alco­hol level, but is always balanced.

Medi­um to low roun­ded, grai­ny to brea­dy malt fla­vor, initi­al­ly mild to mal­ty-sweet but a medi­um to medi­um-high bit­ter­ness rises mid-pala­te to balan­ce the malt. Cara­mel fla­vors typi­cal­ly absent. High­ly atte­nua­ted, giving a dry finish with lin­ge­ring bit­ter­ness, alt­hough the body gives an impres­si­on of full­ness. Medi­um to medi­um-high hop fla­vor, some­what ear­thy and pos­si­b­ly her­bal, resin­ous, pep­pe­ry, or iron-like but not flo­ral, las­ting into after­tas­te. Medi­um-high to medi­um-low esters, often pears and app­les. Bana­na is optio­nal, but should never domi­na­te. May be light­ly mine­ral­ly or sul­fu­ry, espe­cial­ly if yeast is pre­sent. Should not be bland.

Hop fla­vor is medi­um to high, with a mode­ra­te to asser­ti­ve hop bit­ter­ness. The hop fla­vor should be simi­lar to the aro­ma (flo­ral, spi­cy-pep­pe­ry, citrus-oran­ge, and/or slight­ly gras­sy). Malt fla­vor should be medi­um-low to medi­um, and be some­what brea­dy, optio­nal­ly with light to medi­um-light bis­cuit-like, toas­ty, tof­fee-like and/or cara­mel­ly aspects. Medi­um-low to medi­um frui­ti­ness. Finish is medi­um-dry to very dry, and the bit­ter­ness may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. The balan­ce is toward the hops, but the malt should still be noti­ce­ab­le in sup­port. If high sul­fa­te water is used, a dis­tinc­tively mine­ral­ly, dry finish, some sul­fur fla­vor, and a lin­ge­ring bit­ter­ness are usual­ly pre­sent. Some clean alco­hol fla­vor can be noted in stron­ger ver­si­ons. Oak is inap­pro­pria­te in this style.

Gene­ral­ly a mal­ty beer, alt­hough may have a very wide ran­ge of malt- and yeast-based fla­vors (e.g., mal­ty, sweet, cara­mel, tof­fee, toast, nut­ty, cho­co­la­te, cof­fee, roast, fruit, lico­ri­ce, plum, rai­sin). Can finish sweet to dry. Ver­si­ons with dar­ker mal­ts may have a dry, roas­ted finish. Low to mode­ra­te bit­ter­ness, enough to pro­vi­de some balan­ce but not enough to over­power the malt. Frui­ty esters mode­ra­te to none. Dia­ce­tyl and hop fla­vor low to none.

Gent­le to mode­ra­te malt sweet­ness, with a light to hea­vy cara­mel cha­rac­ter and a medi­um to dry finish. Malt may also have a nut­ty, toas­ted, bis­cui­ty, tof­fee, or light cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter. Medi­um to medi­um-low bit­ter­ness. Malt-hop balan­ce ran­ges from even to malt-focu­sed; hop fla­vor low to none (flo­ral or ear­thy qua­li­ties). Low to mode­ra­te frui­ty esters can be present.

Mode­ra­te brea­dy, bis­cui­ty, and toas­ty malt fla­vor inclu­des a mild to mode­ra­te roas­ti­ness (fre­quent­ly with a cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter) and often a signi­fi­cant cara­mel, nut­ty, and/or tof­fee cha­rac­ter. May have other secon­da­ry fla­vors such as cof­fee, lico­ri­ce, bis­cuits or toast in sup­port. Should not have a signi­fi­cant burnt or har­sh roas­ted fla­vor, alt­hough small amounts may con­tri­bu­te a bit­ter cho­co­la­te com­ple­xi­ty. Ear­thy or flo­ral hop fla­vor mode­ra­te to none. Medi­um-low to medi­um hop bit­ter­ness will vary the balan­ce from slight­ly mal­ty to slight­ly bit­ter. Usual­ly fair­ly well-atte­nua­ted, alt­hough can be some­what sweet. Dia­ce­tyl moder­ate­ly-low to none. Mode­ra­te to low frui­ty esters.

Ent­i­re­ly malt-focu­sed, with fla­vors ran­ging from pale, brea­dy malt with cara­mel over­to­nes to rich-toas­ty malt with roas­ted accents (but never roas­ty) or a com­bi­na­ti­on the­re­of. Frui­ty esters are not requi­red but add depth yet are never high. Hop bit­ter­ness to balan­ce the malt. No to low hop fla­vor is also allo­wed and should of tra­di­tio­nal Eng­lish cha­rac­ter (ear­thy, flo­ral, oran­ge-citrus, spi­cy, etc.). Finish ran­ges from rich and mal­ty to dry and grai­ny. A sub­t­le but­ters­cotch cha­rac­ter is accep­ta­ble; howe­ver, burnt sug­ars are not. The malt-hop balan­ce tilts toward malt. Peat smo­ke is inappropriate.

Ent­i­re­ly malt-focu­sed, with fla­vors ran­ging from pale, brea­dy malt with cara­mel over­to­nes to rich-toas­ty malt with roas­ted accents (but never roas­ty) or a com­bi­na­ti­on the­re­of. Frui­ty esters are not requi­red but add depth yet are never high. Hop bit­ter­ness to balan­ce the malt. No to low hop fla­vor is also allo­wed and should of tra­di­tio­nal Eng­lish cha­rac­ter (ear­thy, flo­ral, oran­ge-citrus, spi­cy, etc.). Finish ran­ges from rich and mal­ty to dry and grai­ny. A sub­t­le but­ters­cotch cha­rac­ter is accep­ta­ble; howe­ver, burnt sug­ars are not. The malt-hop balan­ce tilts toward malt. Peat smo­ke is inappropriate.

Ent­i­re­ly malt-focu­sed, with fla­vors ran­ging from pale, brea­dy malt with cara­mel over­to­nes to rich-toas­ty malt with roas­ted accents (but never roas­ty) or a com­bi­na­ti­on the­re­of. Frui­ty esters are not requi­red but add depth yet are never high. Hop bit­ter­ness to balan­ce the malt. No to low hop fla­vor is also allo­wed and should of tra­di­tio­nal Eng­lish cha­rac­ter (ear­thy, flo­ral, oran­ge-citrus, spi­cy, etc.). Finish ran­ges from rich and mal­ty to dry and grai­ny. A sub­t­le but­ters­cotch cha­rac­ter is accep­ta­ble; howe­ver, burnt sug­ars are not. The malt-hop balan­ce tilts toward malt. Peat smo­ke is inappropriate.

Mode­ra­te to very litt­le cara­mel malt fla­vor and sweet­ness, rare­ly with a light but­te­red toast or tof­fee-like qua­li­ty. The pala­te often is fair­ly neu­tral and grai­ny, or can take on a light­ly toas­ty or bis­cui­ty note as it finis­hes with a light tas­te of roas­ted grain, which lends a cha­rac­te­ris­tic dry­ness to the finish. A light ear­thy or flo­ral hop fla­vor is optio­nal. Medi­um to medi­um-low hop bit­ter­ness. Medi­um-dry to dry finish. Clean and smooth. Litt­le to no esters. The balan­ce tends to be slight­ly towards the malt, alt­hough light use of roas­ted grains may incre­a­se the per­cep­ti­on of bit­ter­ness slightly.

Mode­ra­te roas­ted grain or malt fla­vor with a medi­um to high hop bit­ter­ness. The finish can be dry and cof­fee-like to moder­ate­ly balan­ced with a touch of cara­mel or mal­ty sweet­ness. Typi­cal­ly has cof­fee-like fla­vors, but also may have a bit­ters­weet or uns­wee­te­ned cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter in the pala­te, las­ting into the finish. Balan­cing fac­tors may inclu­de some crea­m­i­ness, medi­um-low to no frui­ti­ness, and medi­um to no hop fla­vor (often ear­thy). The level of bit­ter­ness is some­what varia­ble, as is the roas­ted cha­rac­ter and the dry­ness of the finish; allow for inter­pre­ta­ti­on by brewers.

Mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high dark-roas­ted grain or malt fla­vor with a medi­um to medi­um-high hop bit­ter­ness. The finish can be dry and cof­fee-like to moder­ate­ly balan­ced with up to mode­ra­te cara­mel or mal­ty sweet­ness. Typi­cal­ly has roas­ted cof­fee-like fla­vors, but also often has a dark cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter in the pala­te, las­ting into the finish. Back­ground mocha, bis­cuit, or vanil­la fla­vors are often pre­sent and add com­ple­xi­ty. Medi­um-low to no frui­ti­ness. Medi­um to no hop fla­vor (often ear­thy or spi­cy). The level of bit­ter­ness is some­what varia­ble, as is the roas­ted cha­rac­ter and the dry­ness of the finish; allow for inter­pre­ta­ti­on by brewers.

Dark roas­ted grain/malt impres­si­on with cof­fee and/or cho­co­la­te fla­vors domi­na­te the pala­te. Hop bit­ter­ness is mode­ra­te. Medi­um to high sweet­ness pro­vi­des a coun­ter­point to the roas­ted cha­rac­ter and hop bit­ter­ness, and lasts into the finish. Low to mode­ra­te frui­ty esters. Dia­ce­tyl low to none. The balan­ce bet­ween dark grains/malts and sweet­ness can vary, from qui­te sweet to moder­ate­ly dry and some­what roasty.

Simi­lar to the aro­ma, with a mild roas­ted cof­fee to cof­fee-and-cream fla­vor, and low to moder­ate­ly-high frui­ti­ness. Oats and dark roas­ted grains pro­vi­de some fla­vor com­ple­xi­ty; the oats can add a nut­ty, grai­ny or ear­thy fla­vor. Dark grains can com­bi­ne with malt sweet­ness to give the impres­si­on of milk cho­co­la­te or cof­fee with cream. Medi­um hop bit­ter­ness with the balan­ce toward malt. Medi­um-sweet to medi­um-dry finish. Dia­ce­tyl medi­um-low to none. Hop fla­vor medi­um-low to none, typi­cal­ly ear­thy or floral.

Qui­te sweet with a smooth dark grain fla­vors, and restrai­ned bit­ter­ness. Roas­ted grain and malt cha­rac­ter can be mode­ra­te to high with a smooth cof­fee or cho­co­la­te fla­vor, alt­hough the roast cha­rac­ter is mode­ra­ted in the balan­ce by the sweet finish. Mode­ra­te to high frui­ty esters. Can have a sweet, dark rum-like qua­li­ty. Litt­le to no hop fla­vor. Medi­um-low to no diacetyl.

Mode­ra­te to high roas­ted grain and malt fla­vor with a cof­fee, cho­co­la­te, or light­ly burnt grain cha­rac­ter, alt­hough without a sharp bite. Moder­ate­ly dry. Low to medi­um esters. Medi­um to high bit­ter­ness. Mode­ra­te to no hop fla­vor, can be ear­thy, her­bal, or flo­ral. Dia­ce­tyl medi­um-low to none.

Medi­um to high malt cha­rac­ter often rich with nut­ty, tof­fee, or cara­mel fla­vors. Light cho­co­la­te notes are some­ti­mes found in dar­ker beers. May have inte­res­ting fla­vor com­ple­xi­ty from brewing sug­ars. Balan­ce is often mal­ty, but may be well hop­ped, which affects the impres­si­on of mal­ti­ness. Mode­ra­te frui­ty esters are com­mon, often with a dark fruit or dried fruit cha­rac­ter. The finish may vary from medi­um dry to some­what sweet. Alco­ho­lic strength should be evi­dent, though not over­whel­ming. Dia­ce­tyl low to none, and is gene­ral­ly not desirable.

Medi­um to high malt cha­rac­ter with a luscious malt com­ple­xi­ty, often with nut­ty, cara­mel­ly and/or molas­ses-like fla­vors. Light cho­co­la­te or roas­ted malt fla­vors are optio­nal, but should never be pro­mi­nent. Balan­ce is often mal­ty-sweet, but may be well hop­ped (the impres­si­on of bit­ter­ness often depends on amount of aging). Mode­ra­te to high frui­ty esters are com­mon, and may take on a dried-fruit or vin­ous cha­rac­ter. The finish may vary from dry to some­what sweet. Exten­ded aging may con­tri­bu­te oxi­da­ti­ve fla­vors simi­lar to a fine old Sher­ry, Port or Madei­ra. Alco­ho­lic strength should be evi­dent, though not over­whel­ming. Dia­ce­tyl low to none. Some wood-aged or blen­ded ver­si­ons may have a lac­tic or Brett­ano­my­ces cha­rac­ter; but this is optio­nal and should not be too strong. Any aci­di­ty or tan­nin from age should be well-inte­gra­ted and con­tri­bu­te to com­ple­xi­ty in the fla­vor pro­fi­le, not be a domi­nant experience.

Rich­ly mal­ty with signi­fi­cant cara­mel (par­ti­cu­lar­ly in stron­ger ver­si­ons). Hints of roas­ted malt may be pre­sent (some­ti­mes per­cei­ved as a faint smo­ke cha­rac­ter), as may some nut­ty cha­rac­ter, all of which may last into the finish. Peat smo­ke is inap­pro­pria­te. Hop fla­vors and bit­ter­ness are low to medi­um-low, so the malt pre­sence should domi­na­te the balan­ce. Dia­ce­tyl should be low to none. Low to mode­ra­te esters and alco­hol are usual­ly pre­sent. Esters may sug­gest plums, raisins or dried fruit. The pala­te is usual­ly full and sweet, but the finish may be sweet to medi­um-dry, some­ti­mes with a light roas­ty-grai­ny note.

Strong, inten­se, com­plex, mul­ti-laye­red malt fla­vors ran­ging from brea­dy, tof­fee, and bis­cui­ty in paler ver­si­ons through nut­ty, deep toast, dark cara­mel, and/or molas­ses in dar­ker ver­si­ons. Mode­ra­te to high mal­ty sweet­ness on the pala­te, alt­hough the finish may be moder­ate­ly sweet to moder­ate­ly dry (depen­ding on aging). Some oxi­da­ti­ve or vin­ous fla­vors may be pre­sent, and often com­plex alco­hol fla­vors should be evi­dent. Mode­ra­te to fair­ly high frui­ti­ness, often with a dark- or dried-fruit cha­rac­ter. Hop bit­ter­ness may ran­ge from just enough for balan­ce to a firm pre­sence; balan­ce the­re­fo­re ran­ges from mal­ty to some­what bit­ter. Pale ver­si­ons are often more bit­ter, bet­ter atte­nua­ted, and might show more hop cha­rac­ter than dar­ker ver­si­ons; howe­ver, all ver­si­ons are mal­ty in the balan­ce. Low to moder­ate­ly high hop fla­vor, often flo­ral, ear­thy, or mar­mala­de-like Eng­lish varieties.

Anfangs wei­che mal­zi­ge Süße, optio­nal mit eini­gen leich­ten Noten von Spe­zi­al­mal­zen (z.B. Brot, Toast, Bis­cuit, Wei­zen). Kara­mellge­schmack ist nor­ma­ler­wei­se nicht vor­han­den, wenn doch, dann nur leich­te Kara­mell­no­ten von hel­le­ren Mal­zen. Gerin­ge bis mitt­le­re Fruch­tes­ter sind optio­nal, aber will­kom­men. Leich­ter bis mode­ra­ter Hop­fen­ge­schmack (belie­bi­ger Sor­ten), aber nicht zu aggres­siv. Mit­tel-gerin­ge bis mitt­le­re Bit­te­re, aber nor­ma­ler­wei­se eher in Rich­tung Malz oder gleich­wer­tig aus­ba­lan­ciert. Im Abgang mit­tel-tro­cken bis etwas mal­zig-süß, wobei der Ein­druck von Süße eher ein Aus­druck der gerin­gen Bit­te­re als wirk­lich vor­han­de­ner Rest­sü­ße ist.

Mäßi­ger bis star­ker Hop­fen­ge­schmack mit den typi­schen Eigen­schaf­ten von ame­ri­ka­ni­schen oder Neue-Welt-Hop­fen­sor­ten (zitrus­ar­tig, blu­mig, kie­fern­ar­tig, har­zig, wür­zig, nach Tro­pen- oder Stein­früch­ten, Bee­ren oder Melo­ne usw.). Gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Mal­zig­keit, die den Hop­fen unter­stützt und optio­nal klei­ne Men­gen von Spe­zi­al­malz­no­ten zeigt (bro­tig, nus­sig, bis­cuit­ar­tig). Typi­scher­wei­se mehr in Rich­tung der spä­ten Hop­fen­ga­ben und der Bit­te­re aus­ba­lan­ciert. Die Mal­zig­keit soll den Hop­fen unter­stüt­zen, nicht von ihm ablen­ken. Kara­mellge­schmack ist oft nicht vor­han­den oder recht zurück­hal­tend (aber akzep­ta­bel, solan­ge er mit dem Hop­fen har­mo­niert). Fruch­tes­ter sind mäßig bis nicht vor­han­den, wobei man­che Hop­fen­sor­ten sehr fruch­tig ein kön­nen. Mäßi­ge bis star­ke Hop­fen­bit­te­re mit einem mitt­le­ren bis tro­cke­nen Abgang. Hop­fen­ge­schmack und Bit­te­re hän­gen oft bis in den Abgang nach, aber der Nach­ge­schmack soll­te gene­rell sau­ber und nicht krat­zig sein. Die Kalthop­fung kann, wen sie ange­wen­det wird, gra­si­ge Noten ein­brin­gen, die aber nicht über­mäßg wer­den sollten

Mäßi­ger bis star­ker Hop­fen­ge­schmack mit den cha­rak­te­ris­ti­schen Eigen­schaf­ten ame­ri­ka­ni­scher und Neur-Welt-Hop­fen­sor­ten (zitrus­ar­tig, blu­mig, har­zig, wür­zig, tro­pen-, bee­ren- oder stein­frucht­ar­tig, Melo­ne, Kie­fer). Ein zitrus­ar­ti­ger Hop­fen­cha­rak­ter ist üblich, aber nicht erfor­der­lich. Der Malz­ge­schmack ist mäßig bis stark und zeigt übli­cher­wei­se zunächst einen mal­zi­ge Süße gefolgt von einem mäßi­gen Kara­mellge­schmack (und manch­mal dem ande­rer Spe­zi­al­mal­ze in gerin­ge­rer Men­ge). Malz und Hop­fen­bit­te­re sind übli­cher­wei­se aus­ba­lan­ciert und unter­stüt­zen sich gegen­sei­tig, was aber in bei­de Rich­tun­gen vari­ie­ren kann. Fruch­tes­ter kön­nen mäßig bis nicht vor­han­den sein. Kar­a­mall­sü­ße und Hopfengeschmack/Bittere kön­nen bis in den mitt­le­ren bis vol­len Abgang nachhängen.

Mäßig mal­zig mit aus­ge­präg­ter Hop­fen­bit­te­re. Der Malz­cha­rak­ter ist übli­cher­wei­se toas­tig (nicht rös­tig) und kara­mel­l­artig. Gerin­ger bis mäßg star­ker Hop­fen­ge­schmack, der übli­cher­wei­se die rus­ti­ka­len, tra­di­tio­nel­len Eigen­schaf­ten ame­ri­ka­ni­scher Hop­fen­sor­ten hat (oft hol­zig, rus­ti­kal, minz­ar­tig). Im Abgang recht tro­cken und kna­ckig, mit einer nach­hän­gen­den Hop­fen­bit­te­re und kräf­ti­gem, getrei­di­gem Malz­ge­schmack. Leich­te Fruch­tes­ter sind akzep­ta­bel, sonst aber reintönig.

Mäßi­ge süß­li­che bis schwe­re, kom­ple­xe Mal­zig­keit mit Noten von Scho­ko­la­de, Kara­mell, Nüs­sen oder Toast, mit mitt­le­rer bis mit­tel-hoher Bit­te­re. Der mitt­le­re bis mit­tel-tro­cke­ne Abgang erzeugt einen Nach­ge­schmack sowohl vom Malz als auch vom Hop­fen. Der Hop­fen­gech­mack kann leicht bis mäßig sein und optio­nal einen zitrus­ar­ti­gen, fruch­ti­gen oder tro­pi­schen Cha­rak­ter haben, wobei jeder Hop­fen­ge­schmack, der das Malz ergänzt, akzep­ta­bel ist. Sehr gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Fruchtester.

Mäßig star­ker Malz­ge­schmack meist mit leicht brenz­li­gem Cha­rak­ter (und manch­mal Scho­ko­la­den- oder Kaf­fe­ge­schmack), im Abgang mit etwas getrei­d­ger, röst­malz­ar­ti­ger Tro­cken­heit. Ins­ge­samt tro­cke­ner bis mit­tel-süßer Abgang. Kann einen etwas schar­fen Röst­malz­cha­rak­ter haben, soll­te aber nicht zu ste­chend, ver­brannt oder harsch sein. Mitt­le­re bis hohe Bit­te­re, die durch die Röst­mal­ze betont sein kann. Der Hop­fen­ge­schmack kann von sehr gering bis hoch vari­ie­ren und har­zi­ge, erdi­ge oder blu­mi­ge Geschmacks­no­ten haben. Dunk­le Mal­ze und Hop­fen soll­ten har­mo­nie­ren. Kalt­ge­hopf­te Ver­sio­nen kön­nen einen har­zi­gen Geschmack haben. Fruch­tes­ter sind mäßig bis nicht vorhanden.

Mode­ra­te to very high roas­ted malt fla­vors, often tas­ting of cof­fee, roas­ted cof­fee beans, dark or bit­ters­weet cho­co­la­te. May have the fla­vor of slight­ly burnt cof­fee grounds, but this cha­rac­ter should not be pro­mi­nent. Low to medi­um malt sweet­ness, often with rich cho­co­la­te or cara­mel fla­vors. Medi­um to high bit­ter­ness. Low to high hop fla­vor, gene­ral­ly citru­sy or resi­ny. Low to no esters. Medi­um to dry finish, occa­sio­nal­ly with a light­ly burnt qua­li­ty. Alco­hol fla­vors can be pre­sent up to medi­um levels, but smooth.

Rich, deep, com­plex and fre­quent­ly qui­te inten­se, with varia­ble amounts of roas­ted malt/grains, mal­ti­ness, frui­ty esters, hop bit­ter­ness and fla­vor, and alco­hol. Medi­um to aggres­si­ve­ly high bit­ter­ness. Medi­um-low to high hop fla­vor (any varie­ty). Mode­ra­te to aggres­si­ve­ly high roas­ted malt/grain fla­vors can sug­gest bit­ters­weet or uns­wee­te­ned cho­co­la­te, cocoa, and/or strong cof­fee. A slight­ly burnt grain, burnt cur­rant or tar­ry cha­rac­ter may be evi­dent. Frui­ty esters may be low to inten­se, and can take on a dark fruit cha­rac­ter (raisins, plums, or pru­nes). Malt back­bone can be balan­ced and sup­por­ti­ve to rich and bar­ley­wi­ne-like, and may optio­nal­ly show some sup­por­ting cara­mel, brea­dy or toas­ty fla­vors. The pala­te and finish can vary from rela­tively dry to moder­ate­ly sweet, usual­ly with some lin­ge­ring roas­ti­ness, hop bit­ter­ness and war­ming cha­rac­ter. The balan­ce and inten­si­ty of fla­vors can be affec­ted by aging, with some fla­vors beco­m­ing more sub­dued over time and some aged, vin­ous or port-like qua­li­ties developing.

Hop fla­vor is medi­um to very high, and should reflect an Ame­ri­can or New World hop cha­rac­ter, such as citrus, flo­ral, pine, resin­ous, spi­cy, tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, ber­ry, melon, etc. Medi­um-high to very high hop bit­ter­ness. Malt fla­vor should be low to medi­um-low, and is gene­ral­ly clean and grai­ny-mal­ty alt­hough some light cara­mel or toas­ty fla­vors are accep­ta­ble. Low yeast-deri­ved frui­ti­ness is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. Dry to medi­um-dry finish; resi­du­al sweet­ness should be low to none. The bit­ter­ness and hop fla­vor may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. A very light, clean alco­hol fla­vor may be noted in stron­ger ver­si­ons. May be slight­ly sul­fu­ry, but most examp­les do not exhi­bit this character.

Hop fla­vor is typi­cal­ly medi­um-low to high, with qua­li­ties depen­dent on typi­cal varie­ties used in the spe­ci­fic Spe­cial­ty IPA. Hop bit­ter­ness is typi­cal­ly medi­um-high to very high, with qua­li­ties depen­dent on typi­cal varie­ties used in the spe­ci­fic Spe­cial­ty IPA. Malt fla­vor gene­ral­ly low to medi­um, with qua­li­ties depen­dent on typi­cal varie­ties used in the spe­ci­fic Spe­cial­ty IPA. Com­mon­ly will have a medi­um-dry to dry finish. Some clean alco­hol fla­vor can be noted in stron­ger ver­si­ons. Various types of Spe­cial­ty IPAs can show addi­tio­nal malt and yeast cha­rac­te­ris­tics, depen­ding on the type.

Hop fla­vor is strong and com­plex, and can reflect the cha­rac­te­ris­tics of modern Ame­ri­can or New World hop varie­ties (citrus, flo­ral, pine, resin­ous, spi­cy, tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, ber­ry, melon, etc.). High to absurdly high hop bit­ter­ness. Low to medi­um malt fla­vor, gene­ral­ly clean and grai­ny-mal­ty alt­hough low levels of cara­mel or toas­ty fla­vors are accep­ta­ble. Low to medi­um frui­ti­ness is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. A long, lin­ge­ring bit­ter­ness is usual­ly pre­sent in the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. Dry to medi­um-dry finish; should not finish sweet or hea­vy. A light, clean, smooth alco­hol fla­vor is not a fault. Oak is inap­pro­pria­te in this style. May be slight­ly sul­fu­ry, but most examp­les do not exhi­bit this character.

Medi­um to high dex­tri­no­us malt with a full ran­ge of cara­mel, tof­fee, dark fruit fla­vors. Low to medi­um toas­ty, brea­dy, or Mail­lard-rich mal­ty fla­vors are optio­nal, and can add com­ple­xi­ty. Medi­um-high to high hop bit­ter­ness. The malt gives a medi­um to high sweet impres­si­on on the pala­te, alt­hough the finish may be slight­ly sweet to some­what dry. Mode­ra­te to high hop fla­vor. Low to mode­ra­te frui­ty esters. The hop fla­vors are simi­lar to the aro­ma (citru­sy, resi­ny, tro­pi­cal, stone fruit, melon, etc.). Alco­hol pre­sence may be noti­ce­ab­le, but sharp or sol­ven­ty alco­hol fla­vors are unde­s­i­ra­ble. Roas­ted malt fla­vors are allo­wa­ble but should be a back­ground note; burnt malt fla­vors are inap­pro­pria­te. While stron­gly mal­ty on the pala­te, the finish should seem bit­ter to bit­ters­weet. Should not be syru­py and under-atte­nua­ted. The after­tas­te typi­cal­ly has malt, hops, and alco­hol noticeable.

Der star­ke, schwe­re Malz­ge­schmack ist mit dem merk­li­chem Hop­fen­ge­schmack und der Bit­te­re im Gleich­ge­wicht. Mäßig gerin­ge bis mäßig hohe Malz­sü­ße auf der Zun­gem wobei der Abgang etwas süß­lich bis ziem­lich tro­cken sein kann (abhän­gig vom Alter). Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re kann von mäßig stark bis aggres­siv reichen.nObwohl es sehr mal­zig ist, soll­te es immer eher bit­ter aus­ba­lan­ciert sein. Mäßi­ger bis star­ker Hop­fen­ge­schmack (jeg­li­cher Sor­te, aber oft mit den typi­schen Eigen­schaf­ten der ame­ri­ka­ni­schen Sor­ten). Gerin­ge bis mäßi­ge Fruch­tes­ter. Merk­li­che, aber gut ein­ge­bun­de­ne Alko­hol-Prä­senz. Der Geschmack wird mit dem Alter wei­cher und nimmt ab, aber Oxi­da­ti­ons­no­ten soll­ten nur gering sein (und wer­den meist durch den Hop­fen über­deckt). Kann etwas, aber nicht zu viel bro­ti­gen oder kara­mel­l­arti­gen Malz­ge­schmack haben; rös­ti­ger oder brenz­li­ger Malz­ge­schmack ist undpassend. 

Mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly-high whea­ty malt fla­vor, domi­nant in the fla­vor balan­ce over any hop cha­rac­ter. Low to mode­ra­te brea­dy, toas­ty, cara­mel, or honey malt notes are a wel­co­me com­ple­xi­ty note, alt­hough not requi­red. Hop fla­vor is low to medi­um, and can reflect any varie­ty. Mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly-high frui­ti­ness, often with a dried-fruit cha­rac­ter. Hop bit­ter­ness may ran­ge from low to mode­ra­te; balan­ce the­re­fo­re ran­ges from mal­ty to even­ly balan­ced. Should not be syru­py and under-atte­nua­ted. Some oxi­da­ti­ve or vin­ous fla­vors may be pre­sent, as are light alco­hol notes that are clean and smooth but com­plex. A com­ple­men­ta­ry, sup­por­ti­ve oak cha­rac­ter is wel­co­me, but not required.

Clean lac­tic sour­ness domi­na­tes and can be qui­te strong. Some com­ple­men­ta­ry doughy, brea­dy or grai­ny wheat fla­vor is gene­ral­ly noti­ce­ab­le. Hop bit­ter­ness is unde­tec­ta­ble; sour­ness pro­vi­des the balan­ce rather than hops. Never vine­ga­ry. A restrai­ned citru­sy-lemo­ny or tart apple frui­ti­ness may be detec­ted. Very dry finish. Balan­ce domi­na­ted by sour­ness, but some malt fla­vor should be pre­sent. No hop fla­vor. May optio­nal­ly have a restrai­ned fun­ky Brett­ano­my­ces character.

Inten­se frui­ti­ness com­mon­ly inclu­des plum, oran­ge, black cher­ry or red cur­rant fla­vors. A mild vanil­la and/or cho­co­la­te cha­rac­ter is often pre­sent. Spi­cy phe­nols can be pre­sent in low amounts for com­ple­xi­ty. Sour fla­vor ran­ges from com­ple­men­ta­ry to inten­se, and can have an aci­dic bite. Mal­ty fla­vors ran­ge from com­ple­men­ta­ry to pro­mi­nent, and often have a soft toas­ty-rich qua­li­ty. Gene­ral­ly as the sour cha­rac­ter incre­a­ses, the malt cha­rac­ter blends to more of a back­ground fla­vor (and vice ver­sa). No hop fla­vor. Restrai­ned hop bit­ter­ness. An aci­dic, tan­nic bit­ter­ness is often pre­sent in low to mode­ra­te amounts, and adds an aged red wine-like cha­rac­ter and finish. Pro­mi­nent vine­ga­ry ace­tic cha­rac­ter is inap­pro­pria­te. Dia­ce­tyl is per­cei­ved only in very minor quan­ti­ties, if at all, as a com­ple­men­ta­ry fla­vor. Balan­ced to the malt side, but domi­na­ted by the frui­ty, sour, wine-like impression.

Mal­ty with frui­ty com­ple­xi­ty and typi­cal­ly some cara­mel cha­rac­ter. Medi­um to medi­um-high frui­ti­ness com­mon­ly inclu­des dark or dried fruit such as raisins, plums, figs, dates, black cher­ries or pru­nes. Medi­um low to medi­um high malt cha­rac­ter of cara­mel, tof­fee, oran­ge, treacle or cho­co­la­te. Spi­cy phe­nols can be pre­sent in low amounts for com­ple­xi­ty. A slight sour­ness often beco­mes more pro­noun­ced in well-aged examp­les, along with some sher­ry-like cha­rac­ter, pro­du­cing a “sweet-and-sour” pro­fi­le. The sour­ness should not grow to a nota­ble acetic/vinegary cha­rac­ter. Hop fla­vor absent. Restrai­ned hop bit­ter­ness. Low oxi­da­ti­on is appro­pria­te as a point of com­ple­xi­ty. Dia­ce­tyl is per­cei­ved only in very minor quan­ti­ties, if at all, as a com­ple­men­ta­ry fla­vor. Balan­ce is mal­ty, but with frui­ti­ness and sour­ness pre­sent. Sweet and tart finish

Young examp­les are often noti­ce­ab­ly lac­tic-sour, but aging can bring this cha­rac­ter more in balan­ce with the malt, wheat and barn­y­ard cha­rac­te­ris­tics. Frui­ty fla­vors are simp­ler in young lam­bics and more com­plex in the older examp­les, whe­re they are remi­nis­cent of app­les or other light fruits, rhubarb, or honey. Some citrus fla­vor (often grape­fruit) is occa­sio­nal­ly noti­ce­ab­le, and is desi­ra­ble. The malt and wheat cha­rac­ter are typi­cal­ly low with some brea­dy-grai­ny notes. An ente­ric, smo­ky or cigar-like cha­rac­ter is unde­s­i­ra­ble. Hop bit­ter­ness is low to none, and gene­ral­ly unde­tec­ta­ble; sour­ness pro­vi­des the balan­ce. Typi­cal­ly has a dry finish. No hop flavor.

A moder­ate­ly sour cha­rac­ter is clas­si­cal­ly in balan­ce with the malt, wheat and barn­y­ard cha­rac­te­ris­tics. A low, com­ple­men­ta­ry sweet­ness may be pre­sent but hig­her levels are not tra­di­tio­nal. While some may be more domi­nant­ly sour, balan­ce is the key and deno­tes a bet­ter gueu­ze. A varied fruit fla­vor is com­mon, and can have a honey-like cha­rac­ter. A mild vanil­la and/or oak fla­vor is occa­sio­nal­ly noti­ce­ab­le. The malt is gene­ral­ly low and brea­dy-grai­ny. An ente­ric, smo­ky or cigar-like cha­rac­ter is unde­s­i­ra­ble. Hop bit­ter­ness is gene­ral­ly absent but a very low hop bit­ter­ness may occa­sio­nal­ly be per­cei­ved; sour­ness pro­vi­des most of the balan­ce. Crisp, dry, and tart finish. No hop flavor.

The spe­ci­fied fruit should be evi­dent. Low to moder­ate­ly sour fla­vor, often with an aci­dic bite in the finish. The clas­sic barn­y­ard cha­rac­te­ris­tics may be low to high. When young, the beer will pre­sent its full frui­ty tas­te. As it ages, the lam­bic tas­te will beco­me domi­nant at the expen­se of the fruit character—thus fruit lam­bics are not inten­ded for long aging. The finish is com­mon­ly dry and tart, but a low, com­ple­men­ta­ry sweet­ness may be pre­sent; hig­her sweet­ness levels are not tra­di­tio­nal but can be inclu­ded for per­so­nal pre­fe­rence (sweet­ness level must be spe­ci­fied). A mild vanil­la and/or oak fla­vor is occa­sio­nal­ly noti­ce­ab­le. An ente­ric, smo­ky or cigar-like cha­rac­ter is unde­s­i­ra­ble. Hop bit­ter­ness is gene­ral­ly absent; aci­di­ty pro­vi­des the balan­ce. No hop flavor.

Plea­sant mal­ty-sweet grain fla­vor (often with a honey and/or vanil­la cha­rac­ter) and a zes­ty, oran­ge-citru­sy frui­ti­ness. Refres­hin­gly crisp with a dry, often tart, finish. Can have a low brea­dy wheat fla­vor. Optio­nal­ly has a very light lac­tic-tas­ting sour­ness. Her­bal-spi­cy fla­vors, which may inclu­de cori­an­der and other spi­ces, are com­mon should be sub­t­le and balan­ced, not over­powe­ring. A spi­cy-ear­thy hop fla­vor is low to none, and if noti­ce­ab­le, never gets in the way of the spi­ces. Hop bit­ter­ness is low to medi­um-low, and does­n’t inter­fe­re with refres­hing fla­vors of fruit and spi­ce, nor does it per­sist into the finish. Bit­ter­ness from oran­ge pith should not be pre­sent. Vege­tal, cele­ry-like, ham-like, or soapy fla­vors are inappropriate.

Has an initi­al soft, smooth, moder­ate­ly mal­ty fla­vor with a varia­ble pro­fi­le of toas­ty, bis­cui­ty, nut­ty, light cara­mel and/or honey notes. Mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high frui­ti­ness, some­ti­mes oran­ge- or pear-like. Rela­tively light (medi­um-low to low) spi­cy, her­bal, or flo­ral hop cha­rac­ter. The hop bit­ter­ness is medi­um-high to medi­um-low, and is optio­nal­ly enhan­ced by low to very low amounts of pep­pe­ry phe­nols. The­re is a dry to balan­ced finish, with hops beco­m­ing more pro­noun­ced in the after­tas­te of tho­se with a dri­er finish. Fair­ly well balan­ced over­all, with no sin­gle com­po­nent being high in inten­si­ty; malt and frui­ti­ness are more for­ward initi­al­ly with a sup­por­ti­ve bit­ter­ness and dry­ing cha­rac­ter com­ing on late.

Medi­um to high malt fla­vor often with a toas­ty-rich, bis­cui­ty, tof­fee-like or light cara­mel-sweet cha­rac­ter. Malt fla­vors and com­ple­xi­ty tend to incre­a­se with beer color. Low to mode­ra­te esters and alco­hol fla­vors. Medi­um-low hop bit­ter­ness pro­vi­des some sup­port, but the balan­ce is always til­ted toward the malt. Dar­ker ver­si­ons will have more of an initi­al mal­ty-sweet impres­si­on than paler ver­si­ons, but all should be mal­ty in the pala­te and finish. The malt fla­vor lasts into the finish, which is medi­um-dry to dry, never cloy­ing. Low to no hop fla­vor (spi­cy, pep­pe­ry, or her­bal), alt­hough paler ver­si­ons can have slight­ly hig­her levels of her­bal or spi­cy hop fla­vor (which can also come from the yeast). Smooth, well-lage­red cha­rac­ter, even if made with ale yeast. After­tas­te of malt (cha­rac­ter appro­pria­te for the color) with some dry­ness and light alcohol.

Smooth, light to mode­ra­te grai­ny-sweet malt fla­vor initi­al­ly, but finis­hes medi­um-dry to dry with some smooth alco­hol beco­m­ing evi­dent in the after­tas­te. Medi­um hop and alco­hol bit­ter­ness to balan­ce. Light hop fla­vor, can be spi­cy or ear­thy. Very soft yeast cha­rac­ter (esters and alco­hols, which are some­ti­mes per­fu­my or oran­ge/­le­mon-like). Light spi­cy phe­n­o­lics optio­nal. Some light­ly cara­me­li­zed sugar or honey-like sweet­ness on palate.

Mit­tel­ge­rin­ger bis mit­tel­star­ker fruch­ti­ger und wür­zi­ger Geschmack, unter­stützt durch eine gerin­ge bis mitt­le­re Mal­zig­keit, oft mit getrei­de­ar­ti­gem Geschmack. Die Bit­te­re ist typisch mäßig bis stark, wobei auch Säu­re an Stel­le der Bit­te­re vor­han­den sein kann (wobei nicht bei­de gleich­zei­tig stark sein soll­ten). Dier Ver­gä­rungs­grad ist extrem hoch, was einen cha­rak­te­ris­tisch tro­cke­nen Abgang erzeugt, der typisch für den Stil ist; ein Sai­son soll­te nie­mals süß im Abgang sein. Der fruch­ti­ge Cha­rak­ter ist oft zitrus­ar­tig (Oran­ge oder Zitro­ne) und die wür­zi­gen Noten sind typisch Pfef­fer. Die Stär­ke und Aus­ge­wo­gen­heit der fruch­ti­gen und wür­zi­gen Noten kann stark vari­ie­ren und wird oft von der Hefe­aus­wahl bestimmt. Der Hop­fen­ge­schmack ist gering bis mäßig und hat gene­rell einen wür­zi­gen oder erdi­gen Cha­rak­ter. Die Balan­ce neigt eher zu den fruch­ti­gen, wür­zi­gen und hop­fi­gen Eigen­schaf­ten, die nicht von bit­te­ren oder sau­ren Noten über­tont wer­den soll­ten. Dunk­le­re Ver­sio­nen habe stär­ke­re Geschmacks­no­ten dunk­le­rer Mal­ze (toas­tig, bro­tig, bicuit­ar­tig, Scho­ko­la­de etc.) die den fruch­tig-wür­zi­gen Cha­rak­ter die­ses Biers unter­stüt­zen (Röst­no­ten sind nicht typisch). Stär­ker Ver­sio­nen haben gene­rell mehr Malz­ge­schmack und eine leich­te Alko­hol­no­te. Kräu­ter und Gewür­ze sind völ­lig optio­nal, soll­ten dann aber mode­rat dosiert wer­den, damit sie nicht vom Hefe­cha­rak­ter ablen­ken. Der Abgang ist sehr tro­cken und der Nach­ge­schmack ist typisch bit­ter und wür­zig. Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re kann zurück­hal­tend sein, wobei sie durch den hohen Ver­gär­grad stär­ker erschei­nen kann.

Mar­ria­ge of frui­ty, spi­cy and alco­hol fla­vors sup­por­ted by a soft malt cha­rac­ter. Esters are remi­nis­cent of pears, oran­ges or app­les. Low to moder­ate­ly low phe­nols are pep­pe­ry in cha­rac­ter. A low to mode­ra­te spi­cy hop cha­rac­ter is often pre­sent. Alco­hols are soft and spi­cy, and are low-to-mode­ra­te in inten­si­ty. Bit­ter­ness is typi­cal­ly medi­um to high from a com­bi­na­ti­on of hop bit­ter­ness and yeast-pro­du­ced phe­n­o­lics. Sub­stan­ti­al car­bo­na­ti­on and bit­ter­ness leads to a dry finish with a low to moder­ate­ly bit­ter aftertaste.

Frui­ty, hop­py, bit­ter, and dry. Initi­al mal­ty-sweet impres­si­on, with a grai­ny-sweet soft malt pala­te, and a dry, hop­py finish. The malt may have a light honey­ed bis­cuit or cra­cker impres­si­on. Mode­ra­te spi­cy or flo­ral hop fla­vor. Esters can be citrus (oran­ge, lemon, grape­fruit), pome fruit (apple, pear), or stone fruit (apri­cot, peach). Light to mode­ra­te spi­cy, pep­pe­ry, or clove phe­n­o­lics. Bit­ter­ness rises towards the crisp, dry finish, with an after­tas­te of light malt, mode­ra­te hops and yeast character.

Simi­lar qua­li­ties as aro­ma. Rich, com­plex medi­um to medi­um-full rich-sweet malt fla­vor on the pala­te yet finis­hes moder­ate­ly dry. Com­plex malt, ester, alco­hol and phe­nol inter­play (rai­si­ny fla­vors are com­mon; dried fruit fla­vors are wel­co­me; clove or pep­per spi­ci­ness is optio­nal). Balan­ce is always toward the malt. Medi­um-low bit­ter­ness that does­n’t per­sist into the after­tas­te. Low spi­cy, flo­ral, or her­bal hop fla­vor is optio­nal and not usual­ly present.

Mar­ria­ge of spi­cy, frui­ty and alco­hol fla­vors sup­por­ted by a soft, roun­ded grai­ny-sweet malt impres­si­on, occa­sio­nal­ly with a very light honey note. Low to mode­ra­te phe­nols are pep­pe­ry in cha­rac­ter. Esters are remi­nis­cent of citrus fruit such as oran­ge or some­ti­mes lemon, and are low to mode­ra­te. A low to mode­ra­te spi­cy hop cha­rac­ter is usual­ly found. Alco­hols are soft, spi­cy, and low in inten­si­ty. Bit­ter­ness is typi­cal­ly medi­um to high from a com­bi­na­ti­on of hop bit­ter­ness and yeast-pro­du­ced phe­n­o­lics. Sub­stan­ti­al car­bo­na­ti­on and bit­ter­ness lends a dry finish with a moder­ate­ly bit­ter after­tas­te with sub­stan­ti­al spi­cy-frui­ty yeast cha­rac­ter. The grai­ny-sweet malt fla­vor does not imply any resi­du­al sweetness.

Simi­lar to aro­ma (same malt, ester, phe­nol, alco­hol, and hop comments app­ly to fla­vor as well). Moder­ate­ly mal­ty-rich on the pala­te, which can have a sweet impres­si­on if bit­ter­ness is low. Usual­ly moder­ate­ly dry to dry finish, alt­hough may be up to moder­ate­ly sweet. Medi­um-low to mode­ra­te bit­ter­ness; alco­hol pro­vi­des some of the balan­ce to the malt. Gene­ral­ly mal­ty-rich balan­ce, but can be fair­ly even with bit­ter­ness. The com­plex and varied fla­vors should blend smooth­ly and har­mo­nious­ly. The finish should not be hea­vy or syrupy.

Mode­ra­te to restrai­ned but noti­ce­ab­le sour­ness, like a squee­ze of lemon in iced tea. Mode­ra­te bready/doughy malt fla­vor. Light to mode­ra­te frui­ty cha­rac­ter of pome fruit, stone fruit, or lemons. Light to mode­ra­te salt cha­rac­ter, up to the thres­hold of tas­te; the salt should be noti­ce­ab­le (par­ti­cu­lar­ly in the initi­al tas­te) but not tas­te overtly sal­ty. Low bit­ter­ness, no hop fla­vor. Dry, ful­ly-atte­nua­ted finish, with aci­di­ty not hops balan­cing the malt. Aci­di­ty can be more noti­ce­ab­le in the finish, and enhan­ce the refres­hing qua­li­ty of the beer. The aci­di­ty should be balan­ced, not for­ward (alt­hough his­to­ri­cal ver­si­ons could be very sour).

Mode­ra­te grai­ny-sweet mal­ti­ness with low to medi­um-low cara­mel, tof­fee, brea­dy, and/or bis­cui­ty notes. Gene­ral­ly light pala­te fla­vors typi­cal of adjunct beers; a low grai­ny, corn-like sweet­ness is com­mon. Medi­um to low flo­ral or spi­cy hop fla­vor. Medi­um to low hop bit­ter­ness, which should neit­her be coar­se nor have a har­sh after­tas­te. May exhi­bit light frui­ti­ness. Balan­ce in the finish is towards the malt. May have a light­ly flin­ty or mine­ral­ly-sul­fa­te fla­vor in the finish. The finish is fair­ly dry, inclu­ding the con­tri­bu­ti­ons of roas­ted grains and mine­rals. No sourness.

Mäßig star­ker Frucht­ge­schmack, mög­li­cher­wei­se Zitro­nen oder Äpfel. Mäßig inten­si­ve, rei­ne Milch­säu­re (kein Brett- oder Wild­he­fe­no­ten). Ähn­li­cher Rauch­cha­rak­ter wie im Geruch (tro­cke­nes Holz­feu­er), mit­tel­stark. Tro­cke­ner Abgang, mit Säu­re und Rauch im Nach­ge­schmack. Gerin­ge Bit­te­re: die Säu­re den Aus­gleich, nicht der Hop­fen. Fri­scher, rei­ner Geschmack am Gau­men und leicht adstrin­gie­ren­der Nach­ge­schmack. Der Wei­zen­cha­rak­ter ist gering; der Rauch und die Säu­re sind pro­mi­nen­ter. Der Geschmack nach Zitro­nen­ku­chen und/oder grü­nem Apfel ist im Abgang am stärks­ten, mit einem kur­zen Moment Rauch. Komplex.

Deep, cara­mel or tof­fee-like mal­ty and sweet fla­vor on the pala­te and las­ting into the finish. Hints of bis­cuit and cof­fee are com­mon. Some frui­ty esters can be pre­sent (typi­cal­ly dark fruit); rela­tively clean fer­men­ta­ti­on pro­fi­le for an Eng­lish ale. Low hop bit­ter­ness. Hop fla­vor is low to non-exis­tent, pos­si­b­ly ear­thy or flo­ral in cha­rac­ter. Moder­ate­ly-low to no per­ceiva­ble roas­ty or bit­ter black malt fla­vor. Moder­ate­ly sweet finish with a smooth, mal­ty after­tas­te. May have a suga­ry-sweet flavor.

Moder­ate­ly-low to medi­um oak smo­ke fla­vor up front which car­ri­es into the finish; the smo­ke can be stron­ger in fla­vor than in aro­ma. The smo­ke cha­rac­ter is gent­le, should not be acrid, and can lend an impres­si­on of sweet­ness. A mode­ra­te to strong bit­ter­ness is rea­di­ly evi­dent which lin­gers through the finish. The over­all balan­ce is toward bit­ter­ness. Low but per­cep­ti­ble spi­cy, her­bal, or flo­ral hop fla­vor. Low grai­ny wheat cha­rac­ter in the back­ground. Light pome fruit esters (red apple or pear) may be pre­sent. Dry, crisp finish. No sourness.

Medi­um to medi­um-high mal­ti­ness with a grai­ny fla­vor, and optio­nal­ly a corn-like round­ness and impres­si­on of sweet­ness. Sub­stan­ti­al hop bit­ter­ness stands up to the malt and lin­gers through the dry finish. All malt and rice-based ver­si­ons are often cris­per, dri­er, and gene­ral­ly lack corn-like fla­vors. Medi­um to high hop fla­vor, with a rustic, flo­ral, or herbal/spicy cha­rac­ter. Medi­um to high hop bit­ter­ness, which should neit­her be over­ly coar­se nor have a har­sh after­tas­te. Allow for a ran­ge of lager yeast cha­rac­ter, as with modern Ame­ri­can lagers, but gene­ral­ly fair­ly neutral.

Grai­ny base malt fla­vor, with low levels of cho­co­la­te or burnt black malt notes, along with low levels of cara­mel, bis­cuit, lico­ri­ce, and toast notes. Corn/DMS fla­vor accep­ta­ble at low to mode­ra­te levels. Ame­ri­can hop bit­ter­ness low to mode­ra­te and Ame­ri­can hop fla­vor low to none. Balan­ce is typi­cal­ly even bet­ween malt and hops, with a mode­ra­te dry finish.

Grai­ny, moder­ate­ly-low to moder­ate­ly-strong spi­cy rye fla­vor, often having a hear­ty fla­vor remi­nis­cent of rye or pum­per­ni­ckel bread. Medi­um to medi­um-low bit­ter­ness allows an initi­al malt sweet­ness (some­ti­mes with a bit of cara­mel) to be tas­ted befo­re yeast and rye cha­rac­ter takes over. Low to mode­ra­te wei­zen yeast cha­rac­ter (bana­na, clove), alt­hough the balan­ce can vary. Medi­um-dry, grai­ny finish with a light­ly bit­ter (from rye) after­tas­te. Low to mode­ra­te spi­cy, her­bal, or flo­ral hop fla­vor accep­ta­ble, and can per­sist into aftertaste.

Strong bana­na and mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly-high clove yeast cha­rac­ter. Mode­ra­te grai­ny rye fla­vor. Low bit­ter­ness. Fair­ly sweet finish. Juni­per can add a pine-like fla­vor; juni­per ber­ries can add a gin-like fla­vor; both should be com­ple­men­ta­ry, not domi­nant. No noti­ce­ab­le hop fla­vor. Mode­ra­te cara­mel fla­vor but no roast. Mul­ti-laye­red and com­plex, with kind of a worti­ness that is unusu­al in other beer styles. Not sour.

Varia­ble by base style. Brett cha­rac­ter may ran­ge from mini­mal to aggres­si­ve. Can be qui­te frui­ty (e.g., tro­pi­cal fruit, ber­ry, stone fruit, citrus), or have some smo­ky, ear­thy, or barn­y­ard cha­rac­ter. Should not be unplea­s­ant­ly fun­ky, such as Band-Aid, fetid, nail polish remo­ver, cheese, etc. Light sour­ness is accep­ta­ble with the beer being light­ly tart, but should not be tru­ly sour. Always frui­tier when young, gai­ning more funk with age. May not be ace­tic or lac­tic. Malt fla­vors are often less pro­noun­ced than in the base style, lea­ving a beer most often dry and crisp due to high atte­nua­ti­on by the Brett.

Varia­ble by base style. Look for an agree­ab­le balan­ce bet­ween the base beer and the fer­men­ta­ti­on cha­rac­ter. A ran­ge of results is pos­si­ble from fair­ly high acidity/funk to a sub­t­le, plea­sant, har­mo­nious beer. The best examp­les are plea­sura­ble to drink with the esters and phe­nols com­ple­men­ting the malt and/or hops. The wild cha­rac­ter can be pro­mi­nent, but does not need to be domi­na­ting in a style with an other­wi­se strong malt/hop pro­fi­le. Aci­di­ty should be firm yet enjoya­ble, but should not be bit­ing or vine­ga­ry; pro­mi­nent or objectionable/offensive ace­tic acid is a fault. Bit­ter­ness tends to be low, espe­cial­ly as sour­ness increases.

Varia­ble by base style. Should show the fruit, sour and/or funk of a wild fer­men­ta­ti­on, as well as the cha­rac­te­ris­tics of the spe­cial ingre­dients used. Any fruit sweet­ness is gene­ral­ly gone, so only the esters typi­cal­ly remain from the fruit. The sour cha­rac­ter from the fruit and wild fer­men­ta­ti­on could be pro­mi­nent, but should not be over­whel­ming. The aci­di­ty and tan­nin from any fruit can both enhan­ce the dry­ness of the beer, so care must be taken with the balan­ce. The aci­di­ty should enhan­ce the per­cep­ti­on of the fruit fla­vor, not detract from it. Wood notes, if pre­sent, add fla­vor but should be balanced.

As with aro­ma, the dis­tinc­ti­ve fla­vor cha­rac­ter asso­cia­ted with the decla­red fruit should be noti­ce­ab­le, and may ran­ge in inten­si­ty from sub­t­le to aggres­si­ve. The balan­ce of fruit with the under­ly­ing beer is vital, and the fruit cha­rac­ter should not be so arti­fi­cial and/or inap­pro­pria­te­ly over­powe­ring as to sug­gest a ‘fruit juice drink.’ Hop bit­ter­ness, fla­vor, malt fla­vors, alco­hol con­tent, and fer­men­ta­ti­on by-pro­ducts, such as esters, should be appro­pria­te to the base beer and be har­mo­nious and balan­ced with the dis­tinc­ti­ve fruit fla­vors pre­sent. Remem­ber that fruit gene­ral­ly add fla­vor not sweet­ness to fruit beers. The sugar found in fruit is usual­ly ful­ly fer­men­ted and con­tri­bu­tes to ligh­ter fla­vors and a dri­er finish than might be expec­ted for the decla­red base style. Howe­ver, resi­du­al sweet­ness is not necessa­ri­ly a nega­ti­ve cha­rac­te­ris­tic unless it has a raw, unfer­men­ted quality.

As with aro­ma, the dis­tinc­ti­ve fla­vor cha­rac­ter asso­cia­ted with the decla­red fruits and spi­ces should be noti­ce­ab­le, and may ran­ge in inten­si­ty from sub­t­le to aggres­si­ve. The balan­ce of fruit and spi­ces with the under­ly­ing beer is vital, and the fruit cha­rac­ter should not be so arti­fi­cial and/or inap­pro­pria­te­ly over­powe­ring as to sug­gest a spi­ced fruit juice drink. Hop bit­ter­ness, fla­vor, malt fla­vors, alco­hol con­tent, and fer­men­ta­ti­on by-pro­ducts, such as esters, should be appro­pria­te to the base beer and be har­mo­nious and balan­ced with the dis­tinc­ti­ve fruit and spi­ce fla­vors pre­sent. Remem­ber that fruit gene­ral­ly add fla­vor not sweet­ness. The sugar found in fruit is usual­ly ful­ly fer­men­ted and con­tri­bu­tes to ligh­ter fla­vors and a dri­er finish than might be expec­ted for the decla­red base style. Howe­ver, resi­du­al sweet­ness is not necessa­ri­ly a nega­ti­ve cha­rac­te­ris­tic unless it has a raw, unfer­men­ted qua­li­ty. Some SHV(s) are inher­ent­ly bit­ter and may result in a beer more bit­ter than the decla­red base style.

Same as fruit beer, except that some addi­tio­nal fer­men­ta­bles (honey, molas­ses, etc.) may add a fla­vor com­po­nent. Wha­te­ver addi­tio­nal fla­vor com­po­nent is pre­sent should be in balan­ce with the fruit and the beer com­pon­ents, and be a plea­sant com­bi­na­ti­on. Added sug­ars should not have a raw, unfer­men­ted fla­vor. Some added sug­ars will have unfer­men­ta­ble ele­ments that may pro­vi­de a ful­ler finish; ful­ly fer­men­ta­ble sug­ars may thin out the finish.

As with aro­ma, the dis­tinc­ti­ve fla­vor cha­rac­ter asso­cia­ted with the par­ti­cu­lar SHV(s) should be noti­ce­ab­le, and may ran­ge in inten­si­ty from sub­t­le to aggres­si­ve. The indi­vi­du­al cha­rac­ter of each SHV(s) may not always be iden­ti­fia­ble when used in com­bi­na­ti­on. The balan­ce of SHV with the under­ly­ing beer is vital, and the SHV cha­rac­ter should not be so arti­fi­cial and/or over­powe­ring as to over­whelm the beer. Hop bit­ter­ness, fla­vor, malt fla­vors, alco­hol con­tent, and fer­men­ta­ti­on by-pro­ducts, such as esters, should be appro­pria­te to the base beer and be har­mo­nious and balan­ced with the dis­tinc­ti­ve SHV fla­vors pre­sent. Some SHV(s) are inher­ent­ly bit­ter and may result in a beer more bit­ter than the decla­red base style.

Many inter­pre­ta­ti­ons are pos­si­ble; allow for bre­wer crea­ti­vi­ty as long as the resul­ting pro­duct is balan­ced and pro­vi­des some spi­ce (and optio­nal­ly, sugar and vege­ta­ble) pre­sen­ta­ti­on. Spi­ces asso­cia­ted with the fall sea­son are typi­cal (as men­tio­ned in the Aro­ma sec­tion). The spi­ces and optio­nal fer­men­ta­bles should be sup­por­ti­ve and blend well with the base beer style. Rich, mal­ty and/or sweet malt-based fla­vors are com­mon, and may inclu­de cara­mel, toas­ty, bis­cui­ty, or nut­ty fla­vors (toas­ted bread crust or coo­ked pie crust fla­vors are wel­co­me). May inclu­de dis­tinc­ti­ve fla­vors from spe­ci­fic fer­men­ta­bles (molas­ses, honey, brown sugar, etc.), alt­hough the­se ele­ments are not requi­red. Fla­vor deri­ved from squash-based vege­ta­bles are often elu­si­ve. The wide ran­ge of spe­cial ingre­dients should be sup­por­ti­ve and balan­ced, not so pro­mi­nent as to oversha­dow the base beer. Bit­ter­ness and hop fla­vor are gene­ral­ly restrai­ned so as to not inter­fe­re with the spi­ces and spe­cial ingre­dients. Gene­ral­ly finis­hes rather full and satisfy­ing, and often has some alco­hol fla­vor. Roas­ted malt cha­rac­te­ris­tics are typi­cal­ly absent.

Many inter­pre­ta­ti­ons are pos­si­ble; allow for bre­wer crea­ti­vi­ty as long as the resul­ting pro­duct is balan­ced and pro­vi­des some spi­ce pre­sen­ta­ti­on. Spi­ces asso­cia­ted with the holi­day sea­son are typi­cal (as men­tio­ned in the Aro­ma sec­tion). The spi­ces and optio­nal fer­men­ta­bles should be sup­por­ti­ve and blend well with the base beer style. Rich, mal­ty and/or sweet malt-based fla­vors are com­mon, and may inclu­de cara­mel, toast, nut­ty, or cho­co­la­te fla­vors. May inclu­de some dried fruit or dried fruit peel fla­vors such as rai­sin, plum, fig, oran­ge peel or lemon peel. May inclu­de dis­tinc­ti­ve fla­vors from spe­ci­fic fer­men­ta­bles (molas­ses, honey, brown sugar, etc.), alt­hough the­se ele­ments are not requi­red. A light ever­green tree cha­rac­ter is optio­nal but found in some examp­les. The wide ran­ge of spe­cial ingre­dients should be sup­por­ti­ve and balan­ced, not so pro­mi­nent as to oversha­dow the base beer. Bit­ter­ness and hop fla­vor are gene­ral­ly restrai­ned so as to not inter­fe­re with the spi­ces and spe­cial ingre­dients. Gene­ral­ly finis­hes rather full and satisfy­ing, and often has some alco­hol fla­vor. Roas­ted malt cha­rac­te­ris­tics are rare, and not usual­ly stron­ger than chocolate.

Same as base beer style. The addi­tio­nal grain should be noti­ce­ab­le in fla­vor, alt­hough it may not be necessa­ri­ly iden­ti­fia­ble. Howe­ver, the alter­na­ti­ve grain should pro­vi­de the major fla­vor pro­fi­le for this beer. Dif­fe­rent grains have dif­fe­rent cha­rac­ters; the addi­tio­nal grain should enhan­ce the fla­vor of the base beer. Many will add an addi­tio­nal grai­ny, brea­dy, or nut­ty flavor.

Same as the base beer, except that some addi­tio­nal fer­men­ta­bles (honey, molas­ses, etc.) may add a fla­vor com­po­nent. Wha­te­ver addi­tio­nal fla­vor com­po­nent is pre­sent should be in balan­ce with the beer com­pon­ents, and be a plea­sant com­bi­na­ti­on. Added sug­ars should not have a raw, unfer­men­ted fla­vor. Some added sug­ars will have unfer­men­ta­ble ele­ments that may pro­vi­de a ful­ler finish; ful­ly fer­men­ta­ble sug­ars may thin out the finish.

As with aro­ma, the­re should be a balan­ce bet­ween smo­ki­ness and the expec­ted fla­vor cha­rac­te­ris­tics of the base beer style. Smo­ki­ness may vary from low to asser­ti­ve. Smo­ky fla­vors may ran­ge from woo­dy to some­what bacon-like depen­ding on the type of mal­ts used. The balan­ce of under­ly­ing beer cha­rac­te­ris­tics and smo­ke can vary, alt­hough the resul­ting blend should be some­what balan­ced and enjoya­ble. Smo­ke can add some dry­ness to the finish. Har­sh, bit­ter, burnt, char­red, rub­be­ry, sul­fu­ry, medi­ci­nal, or phe­n­o­lic smo­ky cha­rac­te­ris­tics are gene­ral­ly inap­pro­pria­te (alt­hough some of the­se cha­rac­te­ris­tics may be pre­sent in some base styles; howe­ver, the smo­ked malt should­n’t con­tri­bu­te the­se flavors).

As with aro­ma, the­re should be a balan­ce bet­ween smo­ki­ness, the expec­ted fla­vor cha­rac­te­ris­tics of the base beer style, and the addi­tio­nal ingre­dients. Smo­ki­ness may vary from low to asser­ti­ve. Smo­ky fla­vors may ran­ge from woo­dy to some­what bacon-like depen­ding on the type of mal­ts used. The balan­ce of under­ly­ing beer cha­rac­te­ris­tics and smo­ke can vary, alt­hough the resul­ting blend should be some­what balan­ced and enjoya­ble. Smo­ke can add some dry­ness to the finish. Har­sh, bit­ter, burnt, char­red, rub­be­ry, sul­fu­ry, medi­ci­nal, or phe­n­o­lic smo­ky cha­rac­te­ris­tics are gene­ral­ly inap­pro­pria­te (alt­hough some of the­se cha­rac­te­ris­tics may be pre­sent in some base styles; howe­ver, the smo­ked malt should­n’t con­tri­bu­te the­se flavors).

Varies with base style. Wood usual­ly con­tri­bu­tes a woo­dy or oaky fla­vor, which can occa­sio­nal­ly take on a raw “green” fla­vor if new wood is used. Other fla­vors that may optio­nal­ly be pre­sent inclu­de vanil­la (from vanil­lin in the wood); cara­mel, but­ters­cotch, toas­ted bread or almonds (from toas­ted wood); and cof­fee, cho­co­la­te, cocoa (from char­red wood). The wood and/or other cask-deri­ved fla­vors should be balan­ced, sup­por­ti­ve and noti­ce­ab­le, but should not over­power the base beer style. Some back­ground oxi­da­ti­on cha­rac­ter is optio­nal, alt­hough this should take on a plea­sant, sher­ry-like cha­rac­ter and not be pape­ry or cardboard-like.

Varies with base style. Wood usual­ly con­tri­bu­tes a woo­dy or oaky fla­vor. Other fla­vors that are typi­cal­ly pre­sent inclu­de vanil­la (from vanil­lin in the wood); cara­mel, but­ters­cotch, toas­ted bread or almonds (from toas­ted wood); cof­fee, cho­co­la­te, cocoa (from char­red wood or bour­bon casks); and alco­hol fla­vors from other pro­ducts pre­vious­ly stored in the wood. The wood and/or other cask-deri­ved fla­vors should be balan­ced, sup­por­ti­ve and noti­ce­ab­le, but should not over­power the base beer style. Some back­ground oxi­da­ti­on cha­rac­ter is optio­nal, alt­hough this should take on a plea­sant, sher­ry-like cha­rac­ter and not be pape­ry or cardboard-like.

Wie beim ange­ge­be­nen Vorbild.

Auf Basis der ange­ge­be­nen Basis-Stile.

Unter­schied­lich.

Moder­ate­ly mal­ty with a roun­ded, grai­ny-sweet pro­fi­le. Low to moder­ate­ly-high spi­cy, flo­ral, or her­bal hop fla­vor, with a mode­ra­te hop bit­ter­ness that can lin­ger. Finish is crisp and dry, but the after­tas­te remains mal­ty. Very low to mode­ra­te dia­ce­tyl, which should always remain at a plea­sant, drin­ka­ble level that balan­ces some­what with the other cha­rac­te­ris­tics of the beer; over­whel­ming dia­ce­tyl is not appro­pria­te. Pos­si­ble very low green apple or other yeast deri­ved notes, and pos­si­ble low back­ground note of DMS. 

Initi­al malt fla­vor may sug­gest sweet­ness, but finish is moder­ate­ly dry to dry, and slight­ly bit­ter. Dis­tinc­ti­ve and com­plex mal­ti­ness often inclu­des a brea­dy-toas­ty aspect. Hop bit­ter­ness is mode­ra­te to moder­ate­ly high, and spi­cy or her­bal hop fla­vor is low to moder­ate­ly high. Balan­ce can be eit­her on the malt or hop side, but the finish is not sweet. Noti­ce­ab­le cara­mel or roas­ted malt fla­vors are inap­pro­pria­te. Very low to low dia­ce­tyl. Pos­si­ble very low green apple or other yeast-deri­ved notes. Smooth, mal­ty aftertaste.

Initi­al fla­vor is moder­ate­ly spi­cy and este­ry asso­cia­ted with Bel­gi­an yeast strains. Clove-like and pep­pe­ry fla­vors are com­mon. Bana­na, pear and apple fla­vors are also typi­cal. Hop fla­vors are mode­ra­te to high in inten­si­ty and may reflect tro­pi­cal, stone fruit, melon, citru­sy, or piney American/New World varie­ties or flo­ral and spi­cy Saa­zer-type hop fla­vors. Malt fla­vor is light and grai­ny-sweet, some­ti­mes with low toas­ted or cara­mel malt fla­vor but not requi­red. Bit­ter­ness is high and may be accen­tua­ted by spi­cy yeast-deri­ved fla­vors. The finish is dry to medi­um-dry alt­hough some examp­les have a slight sweet­ness mixed with the lin­ge­ring bitterness.

Medi­um-low to high hop fla­vor with tro­pi­cal, stone fruit, melon, citru­sy, ber­ry, piney or resin­ous aspects. Medi­um-high to very high hop bit­ter­ness, alt­hough dark mal­ts may con­tri­bu­te to the per­cei­ved bit­ter­ness. The base malt fla­vor is gene­ral­ly clean and of low to medi­um inten­si­ty, and can optio­nal­ly have low cara­mel or tof­fee fla­vors. Dark malt fla­vors are low to medi­um-low; restrai­ned cho­co­la­te or cof­fee fla­vors may be pre­sent, but the roas­ted notes should not be inten­se, ashy, or burnt, and should not clash with the hops. Low to mode­ra­te frui­ti­ness (from yeast or hops) is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. Dry to slight­ly off-dry finish. The finish may inclu­de a light roast cha­rac­ter that con­tri­bu­tes to per­cei­ved dry­ness, alt­hough this is not requi­red. The bit­ter­ness may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. Some clean alco­hol fla­vor can be noted in stron­ger versions. 

Hop fla­vor is medi­um to high, and should reflect an Ame­ri­can or New World hop cha­rac­ter, such as citrus, flo­ral, pine, resin­ous, spi­cy, tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, ber­ry, melon, etc. Medi­um-high to high hop bit­ter­ness. Malt fla­vor should be medi­um-low to medi­um, and is gene­ral­ly clean but mal­ty-sweet up front with milk cho­co­la­te, cocoa, tof­fee, nut­ty, bis­cui­ty, dark cara­mel, toas­ted bread and/or dark fruit malt fla­vors. The cha­rac­ter malt choices and the hop selec­tions should com­ple­ment and enhan­ce each other, not clash. The level of malt fla­vor should near­ly balan­ce the hop bit­ter­ness and fla­vor pre­sen­ta­ti­on. Low yeast-deri­ved frui­ti­ness is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. Dry to medi­um finish; resi­du­al sweet­ness should be medi­um-low to none. The bit­ter­ness and hop fla­vor may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. A very light, clean alco­hol fla­vor may be noted in stron­ger ver­si­ons. No roas­ted, burnt, or har­sh-bit­ter malt character.

Hop fla­vor is medi­um to very high, and should reflect an Ame­ri­can or New World hop cha­rac­ter, such as citrus, flo­ral, pine, resin­ous, spi­cy, tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, ber­ry, melon, etc. Medi­um-high to very high hop bit­ter­ness. Malt fla­vor should be medi­um-low to medi­um, and is gene­ral­ly clean but mal­ty-sweet up front with medi­um-dark cara­mel, tof­fee, toas­ty and/or dark fruit malt fla­vors. The cha­rac­ter malt choices and the hop selec­tions should com­ple­ment and enhan­ce each other, not clash. The level of malt fla­vor should not adver­se­ly cons­train the hop bit­ter­ness and fla­vor pre­sen­ta­ti­on. Low yeast-deri­ved frui­ti­ness is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. Dry to medi­um-dry finish; resi­du­al sweet­ness should be medi­um-low to none. The bit­ter­ness and hop fla­vor may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. A very light, clean alco­hol fla­vor may be noted in stron­ger versions. 

Hop fla­vor is medi­um to very high, and should reflect an Ame­ri­can or New World hop cha­rac­ter, such as citrus, flo­ral, pine, resin­ous, spi­cy, tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, ber­ry, melon, etc. Medi­um-high to very high hop bit­ter­ness. Malt fla­vor should be low to medi­um-low, and is gene­ral­ly clean and grai­ny-mal­ty alt­hough some light cara­mel or toas­ty fla­vors are accep­ta­ble. A light grai­ny spi­ci­ness from rye malt should be pre­sent. Low yeast-deri­ved frui­ti­ness is accep­ta­ble but not requi­red. Rye malt con­tri­bu­tes to a dry finish; resi­du­al sweet­ness should be low to none. The bit­ter­ness, hop fla­vor and dry­ness may lin­ger into the after­tas­te but should not be har­sh. A very light, clean alco­hol fla­vor may be noted in stron­ger versions. 

Light malt fla­vor, perhaps a bit brea­dy. Frui­ty esters are mode­ra­te to high, with citrus fla­vors simi­lar to grape­fruit and oran­ge, or stone fruit like apri­cot. Some­ti­mes bana­na-like fla­vors are pre­sent. Hop fla­vor is medi­um-low to medi­um-high with citru­sy or frui­ty aspects. Some spi­cy clove-like fla­vors from Bel­gi­an yeast may be pre­sent. Cori­an­der and oran­ge peel fla­vors may be found as well. Bit­ter­ness is high which leads to a moder­ate­ly dry, refres­hing finish.

Initi­al fla­vor should pri­ma­ri­ly reflect hop oils or added fruit. Grape, citrus, tro­pi­cal, and stone fruit fla­vors are com­mon, while bit­ter­ness should be restrai­ned. Low bit­te­ring hops will be exa­g­ge­ra­ted by the very dry finis­hing gra­vi­ty as well as car­bo­nic acid, but the­re should not be an aggres­si­ve bit­ter­ness as one would tas­te in a West Coast–style Ame­ri­can IPA. Malt fla­vor is all but absent; cara­mel or jui­cy sweet­ness should not be pre­sent, though alco­hol may pro­vi­de a sen­sa­ti­on of sweet­ness. Hop fla­vors should exhi­bit dry, some­ti­mes wine-like frui­ti­ness. Low tar­t­ness may be pre­sent from the pre­sence of real fruit but is not requi­red. Finish is dry to very dry (1°P or less) with low hop bitterness.

The hop fla­vor is high to very high, and reflects the same cha­rac­te­ris­tics as the aro­ma (empha­sis on fruit, with ripe tro­pi­cal fruit, stone fruit, and citrus being most com­mon). The per­cei­ved bit­ter­ness can be some­what low to medi­um-high, often being mas­ked by the body and finish of the beer. The hop cha­rac­ter in the after­tas­te should not be sharp or har­sh. Low to medi­um malt fla­vor, gene­ral­ly neu­tral, some­ti­mes having a brea­dy, grai­ny, light­ly sweet fla­vor. Noti­ce­ab­le toast or cara­mel fla­vors are a flaw. Fer­men­ta­ti­on cha­rac­ter is neu­tral to frui­ty, but as with the aro­ma, sup­por­ti­ve of the hops. Off-dry to medi­um finish. Crea­my, star­chy, or suga­ry-sweet fla­vors are inap­pro­pria­te, alt­hough a high ester level and lower bit­ter­ness may give the impres­si­on of up to mode­ra­te sweet­ness. A mode­ra­te, sup­por­ti­ve alco­hol cha­rac­ter is accep­ta­ble but should never be hot or dominating.

Fri­scher Frucht­ge­schmack domi­niert auf mitt­le­rem bis hohem Niveau mit einer unter­stüt­zen­den Milch­säu­re (schwach bis mit­tel­stark, aber immer bemerk­bar). Die Frucht soll­te einen fri­schen Cha­rak­ter haben und nicht wie gekocht, mar­me­la­den­ar­tig oder künst­lich erschei­nen. Malz­ge­schmack ist oft nicht vor­han­den, kann aber leich­te getrei­di­ge oder bro­ti­ge Geschmacks­no­ten ein­brin­gen. Das Malz soll­te aber nie mit der Frucht oder der Säu­re kon­kur­rie­ren. Die Hop­fen­bit­te­re ist sehr gering, unter der Wahr­neh­mungs­schwel­le. Tro­cke­ner Abgang mit einem rei­nen, her­ben und fruch­ti­gen Nach­ge­schmack. Es soll­te kein Hop­fen­ge­schmack, Essi­gno­ten oder Dia­ce­thyl vor­han­den sein. Wil­der Brat­t­ano­my­ces-Geschmack ist unpassend.

Mitt­le­re bis star­ke Hop­fen­bit­te­re, die rein und nicht krat­zig sein solt­te, ist am auf­fäl­ligs­ten und reicht bis in den Nach­t­runk. Mtt­le­re bis star­ker Hop­fen­ge­schmack mit ähn­li­chen Eigen­schaf­ten wie des Geruch (tro­pisch, zitrus­ar­tig, Sta­chel­bee­re, Melo­ne, gra­sig). Mitt­le­rer bis mit­tel-star­ker Malz­ge­schmack, getrei­dig-süß, bro­tig oder Cra­cker-artig. Rein­tö­ni­ges Gärungs­pro­fil (Ester aus der Gärung sind ein Feh­ler). Tro­cken bis fein­herb mit einem rei­nen, wei­chen Abgang und bit­te­rem, aber nicht krat­zi­gen Nachgeschmack.Das Malz kann den Ein­druck einer gewis­sen Süße erwe­cken, aber das Bier soll­te nicht wirk­lich süß sein. Der Abgang kann tro­cken, soll­te aber nicht krat­zig oder bei­ßend sein. Die Abstim­mung ist immer auf der bit­te­ren Sei­te, trotz­dem muss der Malz­ge­schmack bemerk­bar sein.

Simi­lar to the aro­ma, the malt is initi­al­ly noted with a rich cha­rac­ter and a some­what sweet finish. The bit­ter­ness level is medi­um-high to high and hel­ps balan­ce the strong malt fla­vor. The malt fla­vors have a brea­dy and bis­cui­ty cha­rac­ter with sub­stan­ti­al deep toast or dark cara­mel fla­vors; over­ly roas­ted and burnt fla­vors are inap­pro­pria­te. Hop fla­vor can be medi­um to low, with a frui­ty, flo­ral, spi­cy, or woo­dy Eng­lish qua­li­ty. Dark or dried fruit fla­vors (plum, pru­ne, fig, or rai­sin) are often pre­sent at up to a mode­ra­te level. A light alco­hol fla­vor might be detec­ted, but the sweet­ness in the finish usual­ly masks it. The sweet­ness should be balan­ced by hops and never be cloy­ing or clashing.