Want to enjoy Sacramento beer but have no idea what you’re talking about? Here’s a guide

With more than 50 breweries in the Sacramento region, you’re likely going to run into one as you explore the area or take a trip downtown.

But for beer rookies, stepping into a brewery can be like entering a whole new dimension. There are stouts and porters, and “hoppy” and malty. Where do you even start?

Whether you know everything about beer or nothing, you deserve to crack open a cold one. Here is a rundown on the smorgasbord of craft beer styles and terminology you should know before taking a trip to a brewery:

Flavor profiles

When it comes to describing how beer tastes, there’s a specific set of vocabulary you want to look out for.

For example, a “hoppy” beer means you can taste, smell or notice hops in your drink. Hops is one of the main ingredients used to brew beer and depending on the type of hops and how much of it is used, your beer can be earthy, citrusy or piney.

“If you were to put hops into water or soda or whatever else it would be, it has a distinct flavor and smell,” said Jason Mussetter, a Cicerone level 1 certified beer server. “It’s really aromatic. Some are spicy, some are more fruity.”

A beer is “malty” when there is more malt, or grains, brewed into the beer. It’s a little sweeter and the color is darker, said Mussetter, who is also the general manager at Mussetter Distributing, a craft beer and cider distributing company in Auburn.

If you can taste alcohol in beer, then it can be described as “boozy.”

Pale Ales

Pale ales have lower alcohol levels and use less hops compared to IPAs, Mussetter said. They’re also brewed with more malt, which gives it more body and a bread-like flavor.

The brew is known for its light amber color, and while less hops are used in pale ales, it has a pronounced hops taste. It was also known as the only “hoppy” beer for almost 100 years before IPAs came around, according to Summit Brewing.

India Pale Ales

India Pale Ales, also known simply as IPAs, are a type of pale ale that focus on hops and aromas, according to Stone Brewing. And within IPAs, there are other variations, as well.

New England and West Coast, or American, style IPAs are the more popular types, Mussetter said. The West Coast has a distinctive bitterness because the hops are added during the brewing process. Whereas, for the New England-style IPA, hops are added during fermentation, cutting down on the bitterness.

“That’s how you get the flavor,” he said about the New England IPAs. “The true juicy aroma and flavor of the hop imparted into the beer.”

The flavor spectrum of IPAs can range a lot.

“There’s either really bitter IPAs or there’s going to be really fruity ones,” he said, “And then there’s kind of the in-between. That’s kind of your spectrum.”

Lagers and Pilsners

Pilsners are a type of lager.

“Pilsners use a little bit of hops in there to give it more of a bite,” Mussetter said.

These brews are a little bitter, spicier and are more carbonated than a traditional lager.

Typical lagers, on the other hand, are less carbonated, have less hops and use a different type of yeast.

“They brew with adjuncts, like rice or corn maize,” he said.

It also typically has fewer calories, less bitterness and is lighter in body.

“The lightest style of beer that you can drink is a lager,” he said. “Lagers would be a good thirst quenching beer.”

Stouts

What sets stouts apart from other types of beer is its use of barley, typically roasted barley. This gives the rich dark colored brew a chocolate or coffee flavor, said Mussetter. He added that you’re less likely to run into stouts that are hoppy.

You may also run into breweries that have stouts with a unique twist.

“The cool thing about the industry is that it’s so diverse now, everyone’s looking for something new,” he said. “There’s imperial stouts which are kind of higher alcohol stouts, there’s milk stouts that are brewed with lactose, there’s pastry stouts, which are pretty popular now.”

Pastry stouts are made with cakes, pies, candy and fruit purees. Mussetter said anything that has a sugar in it, can be broken down and put into a brew.

Porters

Similar to stouts, porters aredark beers and have a brown to almost black hue. According to Kitchn, the two beers have “a similar range of malty, roasted, and bittersweet flavors.”

“I would consider them a winter type of beer,” Mussetter said.

Kitchn, an online food magazine, noted in its article that, like stouts, porters can be heavy and can make you feel “toasty” when you sip on them.

Porters are typically “slightly lighter and less full-bodied than stouts.” And they came before stout.

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