Seven New Beer Styles Added To Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines

From The Brewers Association:

If you’ve ever followed along as award are handed out at the annual great American beer Festival, then you’re familiar with the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines. Each year, the Brewers Association modifies the list to include emerging new styles and remove any outdated styles.

The full list is available at https://www.brewersassociation.org/edu/brewers-association-beer-style-guidelines/

The Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines are compiled by the Brewers Association, copyright: 1993 through and including 2021. With Style Guideline Committee assistance and review by Paul Gatza, Chuck Skypeck, Chris Williams, Steve Parr, Katie Fromuth, Adriana Terron, and suggestions from Great American Beer Festival® and World Beer Cup℠ judges, and brewers and beer lovers from around the world.

Since 1979 the Brewers Association has provided beer style descriptions as a reference for brewers and beer competition organizers. Much of the early work was based on the assistance and contributions of beer journalist Michael Jackson; more recently these guidelines were greatly expanded, compiled, and edited by Charlie Papazian. The task of creating a realistic set of guidelines is always complex. The beer style guidelines developed by the Brewers Association use sources from the commercial brewing industry, beer analyses, and consultations with beer industry experts and knowledgeable beer enthusiasts as resources for information.

The Brewers Association’s beer style guidelines reflect, as much as possible, historical significance, authenticity, or a high profile in the current commercial beer market. Often, the historical significance is not clear, or a new beer type in a current market may represent only a passing fad and is quickly forgotten. For these reasons, the addition of a style or the modification of an existing one is not undertaken lightly and is the product of research, consultation, and consideration of market actualities, and may take place over several years.

Another factor considered is that current commercial examples do not always fit well into the historical record, and instead represent a modern version of the style. Our decision to include a particular historical beer style takes into consideration the style’s brewing traditions and the need to preserve those traditions in today’s market. The more a beer style has withstood the test of time, marketplace, and consumer acceptance, the more likely it is to be included in the Brewers Association’s style guidelines.

The availability of commercial examples plays a large role in whether a beer style “makes the list.” It is important to consider that not every historical or commercial beer style can be included, nor is every commercial beer representative of the historical tradition (i.e., a brewery labeling a brand as a particular style does not always indicate a fair representation of that style).

Please note that almost all of the classic and traditional beer style guidelines have been cross-referenced with data from commercially available beers representative of the style. The primary reference for this purpose has been Professor Anton Piendl’s comprehensive work published in the German Brauindustrie magazine through the years 1982 to 1994, from the series “Biere Aus Aller Welt.”

Each style description is purposefully written independently of any reference to another beer style to the greatest extent possible. Furthermore, as much as it is possible, beer character is not described in terms of ingredients or process. These guidelines attempt to emphasize final evaluation of the product and try not to judge or regulate the formulation or process by which it was brewed, except in special circumstances that clearly define a style.
 
For 2025, the new list will include seven new styles:


West Coast-Style Pilsener
Color: Straw to gold
Clarity: Hop haze or chill haze is allowable at low levels
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium. May include pilsner malt attributes such as bready, toasty, or cracker-like
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Medium-high to very high, exhibiting a wide range of attributes including floral, piney, citrus, fruity (berry, tropical, stone fruit, and other), sulfur, dank, diesel-like, catty, resinous, and many others
Perceived Bitterness: Medium to high
Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters range from absent to medium-low; DMS, acetaldehyde, and diacetyl should not be present. Light sulfur character that enhances hop expression is allowable
Body: Low to medium. In balance to support high dry hop rates
Additional notes: This style of beer should balance the fresh, assertive expression of Pacific Northwest and Southern Hemisphere hops with the drinkability found in a Pilsner. Kettle hops can be either European/noble-type hops or modern IPA hops, though the pronounced hop expression showcases modern IPA hops. Crispness and drinkability are at the forefront of the style, but body and structure are needed to balance a significant dry hop load. Beers dry hopped with European/noble-type hops should be classified as Italian-Style Pilsner
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.05-1.057 (12.5-14 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.005-1.012 (1.5-3 °Plato)
 
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.90%-4.70% (5.00%-6.00%)
Bitterness (IBU) 30-50
Color SRM (EBC) 2.5-6.5(4-13 EBC)
 
Czech-Style Amber Lager
Color: Dark amber to reddish-brown
Clarity: Appearance should be clear. Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Medium to medium-high complex malt flavor and aroma with biscuit, cracker, toast and/or light caramel flavors present
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Medium-low to medium
Fermentation Characteristics: Esters are usually not present, but if present should be extremely low, at the limit of perception Diacetyl may be allowable at low levels
Body: Medium to medium-full
Additional notes: The upper limit of original gravity of versions brewed in Czech Republic is 14.9 °Plato or 1.060 specific gravity. Very low levels of diacetyl, if present, are acceptable and may accent malt character. Low levels of sulfur compounds may be present. DMS and acetaldehyde should not be present. Many versions may exhibit flavor contributions typical of decoction mashing.
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.044-1.06 (11-14.9 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.013-1.017 (3.32-4.3 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.40%-4.60% (4.40%-5.80%)
Bitterness (IBU) 20-35
Color SRM (EBC) 10-16(19-32 EBC)
 
Czech-Style Dark Lager
Color: Reddish-brown to black
Clarity: Appearance should be clear. Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Medium to medium-high with a slightly sweet rich complex malt character and may include aromas and flavors of crystal malt, bread/toast, caramel/caramel malts, chocolate. Light roast malt character may be present at moderate levels but should not dominate
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Very low to low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium-high
Fermentation Characteristics: Esters are usually not present, but if present should be extremely low, at the limit of perception. Diacetyl may be allowable at low levels
Body: Medium to medium-full
Additional notes: The upper limit of original gravity of versions brewed in Czech Republic is 14.99 °Plato or 1.060 specific gravity. Very low levels of diacetyl, if present, are acceptable and may accent malt character. Low levels of sulfur compounds may be present. DMS and acetaldehyde should not be present. Many versions may exhibit flavor contributions typical of decoction mashing
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.044-1.06 (11-14.99 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.013-1.017 (3.32-4.33 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.40%-4.60% (4.40%-5.80%)
Bitterness (IBU) 18-35
Color SRM (EBC) 15-40(30-78 EBC)
 
Mexican-Style Light Lager
Color: Straw to pale gold
Clarity: Appearance should be clear; Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium-low pale malt sweetness and aroma may be present. May have adjunct flavors from corn and/or rice
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Very low to low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Very low to low
Fermentation Characteristics: Clean fermentation profile; low fruity esters may be present; sulfur may be present in very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present
Body: Very light to light body with dry finish
Additional notes: Clean pale lagers often made with 2-row pilsner malt and may contain corn and/or rice to lighten body. Medium to medium-high carbonation and low final gravity produce a light-bodied beer that finishes dry
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.026-1.044 (6.5-11 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.003-1.01 (0.77-2.5 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.50%-3.40% (3.20%-4.20%)
Bitterness (IBU) 8-17
Color SRM (EBC) 2-3(4-6 EBC)
 
Mexican-Style Pale Lager
Color: Pale to deep gold
Clarity: Appearance should be clear; Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium-low pale malt sweetness and aroma may be present. May have adjunct flavors and aromas from corn and/or rice
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium-low
Fermentation Characteristics: Clean fermentation profile; low fruity esters may be present; sulfur may be present in very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present
Body: Low to medium-low with dry finish
Additional notes: Clean pale lagers often made with 2-row pilsner malt and may contain corn and/or rice to lighten body. Head retention may be medium to medium low and low noble-hop character is slightly more noticeable than that of its light counterpart
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.045-1.05 (11.1-12.4 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2-3.1 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.50%-4.00% (4.50%-5.00%
Bitterness (IBU) 15-22
Color SRM (EBC) 3-5(6-10 EBC)
 
Mexican-Style Amber Lager
Color: Light amber to copper
Clarity: Appearance should be clear with white head of foam; Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Medium-low to medium-high caramel and bready malt aroma and flavor; light roast and light corn and/or rice flavors may be present
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: None to low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Very Low to low
Fermentation Characteristics: Clean fermentation profile; low fruity esters may be present; sulfur may be present in very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present
Body: Light to medium-light body with light creaminess
Additional notes: Addition of specialty malts may provide caramel or lightly toasted complexity to malt profile. The presence of corn and/or rice to lighten body may be noticeable. Medium to medium-high carbonation with dry finish makes these beers very refreshing
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.045-1.052 (11.1-12.9 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.01-1.012 (2.5-3.1 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.10%-4.40% (4.00%-5.50%)
Bitterness (IBU) 12-25
Color SRM (EBC) 7-15(13-30 EBC)
 
Mexican-Style Dark Lager
Color: Dark copper to dark brown with ruby or garnet highlights
Clarity: Appearance should be clear with creamy, beige to light brown foam. Chill haze should not be present
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Medium to medium high complex bready toast malt aroma and sweetness from addition of darker specialty malts; light caramel, toast, nutty and/or toffee flavors may be present; Low aromas and flavors from corn and/or rice may be present
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: None to low with attributes typical of noble-type hops
Perceived Bitterness: Very low to low
Fermentation Characteristics: Clean fermentation profile; low fruity esters may be present; sulfur may be present in very low levels. Diacetyl should not be present
Body: Medium to medium-full body with dry finish
Additional notes: Grain bill may contain Munich and/or Vienna type base malts. May also contain corn and/or rice. Small amounts of toasted and crystal malts and/or dextrin may be added for color and slight sweetness.
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.048-1.053 (11.9-13.1 °Plato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.009-1.012 (2.3-3.1 °Plato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.50%-4.60% (4.50%-5.80%)
Bitterness (IBU) 12-28
Color SRM (EBC) 16-30(31-59 EBC)