For today I drank two styles of beer: an American Pale Ale (APA) and an Extra Special Bitter (ESB). In both styles, hops are the key; and since there is a bit of overlap between the two styles, here is a quick run-down of similar styles and what typically makes them different from one another:
- Bitter is an ale typically made with a pale malt. Extra Special Bitter typically refers to stronger versions while Ordinary is on the low end and Best or Special falls somewhere between. Many are adjunct beers (made with other grains in addition to the barley malt) which tends to make them a bit crisp.
- Pale Ales are typically stronger, and many are all malt. American Pale Ales are typically stronger than English Pale Ales, but the real difference is the way the hops come through in the flavor (American Pale Ales being brewed with American hops).
- India Pale Ales are part of the Pale Ale family, but they are typically a little paler, stronger and more bitter than other pale ales. The American IPA is much like other IPAs, but with American hops.
Honestly there is a good deal of overlap with these styles, so it is possible to drink to different styles from two different breweries and find that they have a lot in common. That wasn’t the case for me, though. Both beers are from Schlafly in St. Louis. The first beer was a Schlafly Dry Hopped APA. The head formed more quickly than I anticipated and faded slowly. I had to pour half a bottle at a time to fill my glass without overflowing. The biscuit-colored head was dense, but still fluffy. It smelled faintly of hops and was a murky reddish orange. It had a mild flavor, starting dry like a red wine with a thick malty texture. This was not a “coffee” beer, but it had something of the acidity and bitterness that I notice when drinking from a black coffee. Aside from an unassuming bitterness that would be at home in a maibock, it tasted like dry wheat toast. It was a decent beer - I give it three stars.
