Beer Styles Guide: Colours, Aromas & Flavours
From crisp, refreshing lagers to rich, roasted stouts, beer comes in a huge variety of styles, each with its own characteristics. Understanding the differences can make choosing a beer easier and help you recognise the aromas and flavours you enjoy.
I’ve put together this interactive beer styles guide as a handy reference for exploring the different types of beer, their typical colours, aromas and flavour profiles. Although DryNotes focuses on alcohol-free and low-alcohol beer, the guide covers traditional beer styles too, providing a useful starting point for understanding what makes each one different.
It’s worth remembering that beer styles aren’t set in stone. Ingredients, brewing methods and individual breweries can all influence the finished beer, while alcohol-free versions may have slightly different characteristics from their full-strength equivalents.
How to Use the Beer Styles Guide
The guide includes 36 beer styles, organised into categories to make browsing easier. You can explore the full list or narrow things down using the interactive search and filters.
- Search by keyword: Enter a beer style, aroma or flavour, such as Pilsner, citrus, coffee or chocolate, to find matching results.
- Filter by beer family: Explore particular groups of beers, including lagers, pale ales and darker styles.
- Filter by colour: Narrow the results according to a beer’s typical appearance, from pale straw and golden shades through to deep brown and black.
- Filter by aroma or flavour: Discover styles associated with characteristics you enjoy, whether that’s fruity, citrusy, roasted or sour.
- Combine filters: Use several filters together to refine the results. The guide updates automatically as you make your selections.
If you want to start again, simply select Clear Filters to return to the complete list.
Whether you’re trying to identify a flavour you’ve noticed in a beer, discover a new style or understand what to expect before trying something unfamiliar, this guide should provide a useful starting point.
A note on alcohol-free beer: These descriptions represent typical characteristics of traditional beer styles. Alcohol-free and low-alcohol versions can differ because of ingredients and brewing methods. The colours, aromas and flavours are useful guides rather than guarantees.
Lagers
| Beer style | Typical colour | Typical aromas | Typical flavours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helles | Pale gold | Bread dough, light honey, gentle floral hops | Soft bready malt, mild sweetness, clean finish |
| Pilsner | Straw to gold | Floral, grassy or herbal hops, light grain | Crisp biscuit malt, distinct bitterness, dry finish |
| International pale lager | Very pale gold | Light grain, subtle floral or herbal notes | Light malt, low bitterness, clean refreshing finish |
| Vienna lager | Amber to copper | Toasted bread, biscuit, delicate herbs | Smooth toasted malt, gentle bitterness, dry balance |
| Märzen / Oktoberfest | Deep gold to amber | Bread crust, toast, light caramel | Rich bready malt, rounded finish, restrained hops |
| Dunkel | Brown to dark copper | Bread crust, toasted nuts, chocolate hints | Deep malt, bread and gentle chocolate, low roast |
| Schwarzbier | Dark brown to black | Light coffee, cocoa, toasted bread | Smooth dark malt, restrained roast, crisp finish |
| Bock / Doppelbock | Amber to dark brown | Rich bread, toffee, dried fruit | Full malty sweetness, toasted bread, low hop emphasis |
Pale ales and hop-forward beers
| Beer style | Typical colour | Typical aromas | Typical flavours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blonde / golden ale | Pale gold to gold | Biscuit, light fruit, floral hops | Soft malt, gentle hop bite, clean or lightly fruity |
| English pale ale / bitter | Gold to copper | Earthy, floral hops, biscuit, light fruit | Biscuit and toffee, balanced bitterness, dry finish |
| American pale ale | Gold to amber | Citrus, pine, floral hops | Light caramel or biscuit, lively hops, moderate bitterness |
| English IPA | Gold to amber | Earthy, herbal hops, marmalade, malt | Firm bitterness, biscuit malt, earthy or citrus hops |
| West Coast IPA | Gold to copper | Grapefruit, pine, resin, citrus peel | Assertive bitterness, crisp malt, dry resinous finish |
| New England / hazy IPA | Pale yellow to orange | Mango, peach, tropical citrus | Juicy hops, softer bitterness, rounded mouthfeel |
| Session IPA | Pale gold to amber | Citrus, tropical fruit, pine | Hop-led flavour with a lighter body; bitterness varies |
| Double / imperial IPA | Gold to amber | Intense tropical fruit, pine, citrus | Concentrated hop flavour, firm bitterness, fuller malt |
| Black IPA | Deep brown to black | Pine, citrus, restrained roast | Hop bitterness and dark-malt hints, often dry |
Wheat, Belgian and farmhouse beers
| Beer style | Typical colour | Typical aromas | Typical flavours |
|---|---|---|---|
| German weissbier / hefeweizen | Pale gold to amber | Banana, clove, fresh dough | Wheaty softness, fruity yeast, gentle spice |
| Belgian witbier | Pale straw to gold | Orange peel, coriander, soft spice | Fresh citrus, wheat, gentle spice, light tartness |
| Saison | Pale gold to amber | Pepper, herbs, citrus, fruity yeast | Dry, lively, peppery and sometimes lightly tart |
| Belgian blonde | Gold to deep gold | Honeyed malt, pear, subtle spice | Soft malt, fruity yeast, gentle peppery finish |
| Belgian dubbel | Deep amber to brown | Raisin, plum, caramel, spice | Dark fruit, caramelised malt, rounded finish |
| Belgian tripel | Deep gold to amber | Pear, banana, pepper, light honey | Fruity and spicy, complex, typically dry |
Amber, brown and dark ales
| Beer style | Typical colour | Typical aromas | Typical flavours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amber / red ale | Amber to reddish copper | Caramel, toast, light citrus or earthy hops | Toffee, biscuit, moderate hop balance |
| Brown ale | Chestnut to dark brown | Hazelnut, caramel, chocolate | Nutty toasted malt, cocoa, light sweetness |
| Porter | Brown to near black | Chocolate, coffee, toasted bread | Cocoa, roast and biscuit; dryness varies |
| Dry stout | Very dark brown to black | Roasted coffee, cocoa, grain | Dry roast, coffee-like bitterness, lean finish |
| Oatmeal stout | Dark brown to black | Coffee, chocolate, roasted grain | Smooth cocoa and roast, silky fuller body |
| Milk / sweet stout | Dark brown to black | Milk chocolate, coffee, caramel | Sweeter chocolate and roast; creamy impression |
| Imperial stout | Very dark brown to black | Dark chocolate, espresso, dried fruit | Intense roast, cocoa, dark fruit, rich body |
Sour, mixed and speciality beers
| Beer style | Typical colour | Typical aromas | Typical flavours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berliner Weisse | Very pale straw | Lemon, wheat, mild lactic tang | Bright, clean acidity, light grain, dry finish |
| Gose | Pale straw to gold | Lemon, wheat, coriander | Tart citrus, subtle saltiness, gentle spice |
| Lambic / gueuze | Pale gold to deep gold | Citrus, hay, earthy or funky notes | Dry, complex acidity, citrus, earthy funk |
| Flanders red ale | Red to deep reddish brown | Cherry, red fruit, oak, light vinegar | Sweet-sour fruit, gentle tannin, complex acidity |
| Fruit beer | Varies with base beer / fruit | Fresh fruit, berries, citrus or stone fruit | Fruit-led; sweetness, acidity and base beer vary |
| Smoked beer / rauchbier | Amber to dark brown | Woodsmoke, bacon-like smoke, toasted malt | Smoky malt, toast and savoury notes |
Colour swatches are visual approximations, not measured EBC or SRM values. Descriptions are general tasting characteristics rather than formal competition definitions. References: BJCP Beer Style Guidelines and Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines.