JOHN HOLL: A (rough) style guide to beers

• Lagers, favored by larger breweries, tend to be thirst-quenching beers, subtle on malt & hop flavors
• Pale ales are light and refreshing beers carrying a more flavor than the light lagers and pilsners
• Guinness is a stout most likely to be found on tap, using dark, roasted malts for a flavor profile
• Strong ales are good for cooler months; they are more boozy, with hefty malt and hop balance

Walk into a liquor store these days and take a stroll down the beer aisle. It can be overwhelming to see so many different styles of beer from so many different breweries: Bottles and cans of many sizes; domestic and imported; lagers and ales.

If you're new to the brewing world, having a bit of knowledge before making a purchase is important.

These general overviews are not meant to define every beer that carries the name on their label. There are varying degrees within every category, but by knowing these basic styles, you will be able to learn what you like and don't, and will be able to order with some confidence if you walk to a store with a wide selection or a bar that offers, say, 30-plus taps.

Let's start with lagers. Chances are it's the category you're most likely to see advertised on television because it's a style favored by larger breweries. These tend to be thirst-quenching beers, subtle on malt and hop flavors. The light and regular varieties (think Budweiser) often use corn and rice as ingredients.

There is so much depth to lagers — and varying colors and flavors as well. On the lighter side, you have Bohemian Pilsners (Pilsner Urquell), a German Pilsner (Victory Prima Pils) and Dortmunder Export. These usually fall into the 4 to 5 percent ABV range. Moving on to ambers, there are Oktoberfests, Marzen, Vienna Lagers and amber American lagers. These have a heavy malt emphasis and typically fall into the high 4 to 6 percent ABV range.

Dark lagers, like a Munich Dunkel or Shwarzbier, are roastier and more complex. Finally there are Bocks, like a maibock or Dopplebock, that are strong, hearty and often a little sweet. Some of these can be upwards of 8 percent ABV.

German variations of light or pale lagers are known as Helles and traditional brews follow the Reinheitsgebot, or German purity law, that allows beer to be made with just water, malt, hops and yeast. A option that's a bit darker will be a dunkel that has a nice sweetness and hopefully notes of dessert like chocolate or toffee.

German lagers can also come and go with the seasons. Maibock, a hearty spring beer, usually appears in February and March to welcome warmer weather, while the Oktoberfest beers lead us into fall.

Now, onto the ales.

Ease in with a Kolsch, or a cream ale, or a blonde ale. These light and refreshing beers usually carry a bit more flavor than the light lagers and pilsners, but are built to be consumed without loading you down.

Even in the depths of dive bars, it's now common to see a pale ale on tap. These moderately hopped brews are made with any variety of hops and offer a nice bitter flavor to balance out the malt. Usually good for a few rounds without killing taste buds, pale ales (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) are great year round but very pleasant in warmer weather.

An India pale ale, especially those made in the United States, will be more aggressive on the hops, with brewers working to get the bitterness units up to a tangy delight. Even more aggressive are the Imperial IPAs that push the limits of hops to the brink of chewiness and powerful aromas (Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA).

There are red ales, amber ales as well as brown ales. So much depends on what the brewer used as malt (for color) and hops (for flavor), and no two are exactly alike. Many places now offer sample trays — and if you prefer ales, this is a good way to find something you like.

Guinness is the stout most likely to be found on tap, but there are others that can be found in this ale style that use dark roasted malts for a flavor profile that can conjure up notes of coffee, espresso, chocolate, caramel and even dark fruit, depending on the style.

Guinness is an example of a dry stout, but other stout variations include sweet, oatmeal, milk, foreign extra and Russian imperial.

Similar to a stout is the porter. Also an ale, it is usually found behind the bar as a brown porter (Fuller's) but can also be robust or in the Baltic variety where deep, licorice notes with ABV pushing 10 percent may be found.

As we settle into cooler months, check out strong ales. These can be an old ale, a barley wine or Wee Heavy, all are quite boozy, with hefty malt and hop balance.

Up to this point, we've focused on German and American style beers. One famed brewing country that should not be overlooked is Belgium. Home to Trappist monasteries that make some of the world's finest beer, you're most likely to see these beers in bottles, but will occasionally see some on draft.

Belgian beers include witbier, a hazy wheat-heavy brew with spicy notes, to the pale ale, that has more of a malt profile and some fruit notes.

There are saisons, a wonderful beer that has origins in the fields, where it was fed to workers to help fortify them for an afternoon of toil. These have earthy notes, and are full but refreshing. There is the Biere de Garde, a beer with a woodsy, cellar-like character that comes with proper aging and offers a dry flavor and finish.

Keep in mind that this is just a rough guide and that in some bars you might see something we didn't touch on here. Don't be deterred! Ask your bartender or server about the brew in question.

The same goes for someone next to you at the bar nursing that different looking beer. Ask for a sample and see if you like it. It's OK to experiment.

By exploring the many flavors of beer, you will learn to appreciate new styles, further your own brew education and be able to order each pint with confidence.

John Holl is the author of "The American Craft Beer Cookbook" and editor of All About Beer Magazine. He lives in Jersey City. Contact him via Twitter @John_Holl or JohnHoll@gmail.com.

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