The Four Seasons of Beer

Spring

Scottish Ales and Scotch Ales Though these style names are often used interchangeably, each has its distinct signature. A Scottish ale, while typically the lighter and lower alcohol of the two, never shies away from being robust in flavor. On the other hand, Scotch ales—also known as Wee-Heavy—most often pack quite the punch and can sometimes hit double digits in ABV. Dark fruits and more complexity accompany these styles.

Saisons Lighter saisons are nearly perfect for these few months leading up to summer. The bigger body and equally refreshing style use spice and a Belgian yeast bite to warm the gizzard in this chilly season.

Bock This usually neglected style in the craft beer world is a great addition to spring. Thanks to its mild hop bitterness and excellent malt backbone, this lager style will warm anyone dreaming of the summer sunshine.

Summer

Radler and Shandy Another group of beers that is most commonly used hand in hand is the radler and shandy duet. While a radler has more of a German background, shandy spawned from Western Europe. Both styles originated from the combination of a fruit juice, in most cases lemonade, with beer.

Berliner Weisse and Gose Easily the most accessible forms of souring a beer, these German wheats are great for summer sipping. Both styles give off a tart, acidic citrus bite, yet culminate in a desirable and incredibly quaffable treat. Gose’s addition of sea salt brings a unique and enjoyable twist to the table.

Wit and Hefeweizen You may notice a common theme here: two similar but different styles that can be tied together on occasion. Wit, also known as white ale, often embodies notes of coriander and orange peel, while hefeweizens are characterized by their aroma and flavors of banana, clove and bubblegum.

Fall

Marzen Known to the mainstream consumer as the style used for most Oktoberfest celebrations, this beer typically weighs in at around five to six percent ABV, with a rich copper color and a sweet and roast-y full-bodied flavor profile.

Pumpkin Beers Easily one of the most popular seasonal styles of the year, the pumpkin beer style typically consists of pumpkin pie spices, such as allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Pumpkin beers range from lightly spiced to those that taste as if you are drinking a liquefied dessert.

Porters Roasted malt, coffee and chocolate are words used to describe an American-style porter. Though usually not as large and robust as a stout, this common style can still pack quite a lot of flavor to warm your palate during autumn.

Winter

Stouts With winter come the big guns, and the stout is a worthy competitor for this bitter cold season. Typically, a fair amount of hops plays nicely with rich flavors of dark chocolate and/or roasted coffee. Some breweries may decide to take it up a notch by throwing this liquid gold into bourbon barrels to create a monster of its own kind.

Barleywine One could say this is an underappreciated yet insanely complex and difficult style to perfect. Dark fruit flavors take over the taste buds, and often hoppy bitterness shines through as well. As intense as it is impressive, a barleywine will heat your soul.Christmas Ales One could argue that Christmas ales are not technically their own style—as with pumpkin beers. Still, one cannot go a day of the month at year’s end without the mention of this seasonal wave of brews. Arguably the best of the season come in the form of winter warmer styles, which normally contain some type of wintery spice and a healthy lingering of alcohol on the throat.