GABS 2022
Hoppy, Malty, Fruity… Spice, Sour and Roast – wtf?
By GABS resident writer, Beer Diva Kirrily Waldhorn The range of beers available to Aussie beer-lovers is ever-evolving which whilst is incredibly exciting, it can be a little overwhelming when faced with so many choices! To make it easier to find a potential undiscovered new favourite, our team works hard each year to segment every one of the container bar beers into key flavour profiles. These are a fantastic guide to helping you decide which styles and flavours most suit your taste to help you to discover the perfect beer for any occasion. With over 700 breweries in Australia, craft beer offers an incredibly wide variety of styles and flavour profiles and none more so than the ‘push the boundary’ beers we present at GABS. So, rather than fall back into the “too hard” basket, we encourage you to step out of your comfort zone as we know, craft beer is an absolute adventure and should always be an exciting journey of discovery. Whilst there are two main styles of beer, lagers and ales, under each of those styles lies over 150 ‘sub-styles’ of beer… much like red and white wine and the many varietals that sit under each of those styles. Within these sub-styles, the beer industry has worked on categorising the main flavour profiles into seven key flavour profiles. These are a fantastic tool to use as an initial way of finding and identifying beer styles that suit your flavour preferences. 1. CRISP These spring/summer refreshers are great for long lunches, afternoon picnics, beach cricket and backyard bbq’s. These popular beer styles are extremely approachable and easy-drinking. They are crisp & refreshing and often lagers (but not exclusively) with a clean, dry finish. Those beers falling into the CRISP flavour profile tend to be lighter in flavour and body and may have subtle fruit, malt or hoppy characters. The beer styles included in CRISP are Pilsner, Australian Lager, International Lager, Session Ale, Summer Ale, Golden Ale
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2. HOP Looking for a punchy, fresh flavour lift? HOP beers offer an aromatic delight to those a little more adventurous. Perfect for a lively dinner party or Sunday roast with friends. This flavour profile is characterised by the generous use of hops imparting both bitterness and lively aromatics, with hop driven beers offering a punchy freshness and vibrancy generally coupled with a balancing sweet malt backbone. These can range from easy-drinking right through to big and bold. Key styles included are XPA, American Pale Ale, Australian Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, IPA, Red IPA 3. MALT Warm & comforting, MALT beers will complement slow-cooking, a cheese platter with friends or as the perfect seasonal transition from summer to autumn. Sweet, rich and often quite decadent, malt driven beers impart toffee, caramel, nutty, toasty or fruity characteristics and can often be darker in colour and lower in bitterness. They are a great option for the cooler months of the year. Amongst MALT profile beers are Amber Ales, Brown Ales, Extra Special Bitters (ESB), Dark Lagers, German Dunkels and rich Scotch Ales 4. FRUITY (& SPICY) The approachability of FRUIT beers will perfectly complement a summer picnic, the end of a bike ride in the countryside, sunset gazing and Sunday brunch. These beers can be naturally fruity (or spicy) based on the raw ingredients, most often the yeast, that is selected by the brewer, or their fruit characters can come directly from the addition of fruit or spice to the beer. They are generally very approachable and often lower in bitterness. Think Hefeweizens (German wheat beer), Witbiers (Belgian wheat beer), farmhouse Saisons, Belgian Tripels and Belgian Dark Ales.
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