Style family
Pale ale
Warm-fermented pale beers balancing malt and hops, from British bitter through to American pale ale.
What unites this family
Pale base malt, warm fermentation and a balance struck between malt sweetness and hop bitterness. The family divides mainly along hop origin: British examples lean earthy, floral and restrained; American ones lean citrus, resinous and assertive.
Top-fermented (ale). Fermented warm with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which collects at the surface. Warmer fermentation produces more esters and phenols, so ales tend to carry more fruit and spice from the yeast itself.
23 styles in this family
- Ordinary bitter
The everyday British cask ale: low in strength, gently bitter, and built to be drunk in pints over a whole evening.
- Best bitter
A step up from ordinary bitter in strength and depth, with more malt body while staying firmly sessionable.
- Strong bitter
The strongest of the bitters, with pronounced malt richness, firm bitterness and noticeable fruit from warm fermentation.
- British golden ale
A modern British cask style: pale, crisp and citrus-hopped, developed to win drinkers back from lager.
- American pale ale
The beer that defined American craft brewing: clean pale malt under bright citrus and pine hop character, balanced rather than extreme.
- English pale ale
The bottled British pale ale tradition: biscuity malt, earthy and floral English hops, and a firm, dry, mineral finish.
- Blonde ale
A gentle, approachable pale ale with soft malt sweetness and restrained hopping — often a brewery’s entry-level beer.
- American amber ale
Caramel malt depth meeting American citrus hops — the maltier counterpart to American pale ale.
- Irish red ale
An easy-drinking malt-led ale with caramel sweetness and a distinctive dry, faintly roasty finish.
- Belgian pale ale
An everyday Belgian ale, toasty and biscuity, with restrained yeast character compared with the stronger Belgian styles.
- Australian sparkling ale
A highly carbonated, bottle-conditioned Australian pale ale, fruity and dry, traditionally poured to rouse its yeast.
- English IPA
The original IPA: a strong, firmly bitter English pale ale with earthy, floral hop character and a dry, mineral finish.
- American IPA
The defining modern craft beer: intense citrus, tropical and resinous hop aroma over a lean malt base, finishing firmly bitter.
- West Coast IPA
The dry, clear, aggressively bitter interpretation of American IPA, built on pine and grapefruit with the malt stripped right back.
- New England IPA
Hazy, soft and intensely aromatic: tropical and stone fruit hop character with deliberately low bitterness and a full, juicy body.
- Session IPA
IPA hop intensity at a strength you can drink several of — lean, dry and aromatic, with the malt kept minimal.
- Double IPA
IPA scaled up: more strength, more hops and more bitterness, while staying dry enough to remain drinkable.
- Black IPA
An IPA with dark malt for colour and a light roast edge, keeping full citrus and pine hop character.
- Red IPA
An IPA built on caramel and amber malt, where toffee depth sits underneath full American hop character.
- White IPA
A hybrid of witbier and IPA: wheat and Belgian yeast spice underneath American hop aroma.
- Belgian IPA
American hop intensity fermented with expressive Belgian yeast, producing pepper and fruit alongside citrus and pine.
- Cold IPA
A lean, dry IPA fermented with lager yeast at higher temperature, using maize or rice to strip body and expose hop aroma.
- Milkshake IPA
A hazy IPA with lactose and fruit added for sweetness and a fuller, creamier body.