What are beer sensory styles? When it comes to exploring different beer styles, the distinction between ale and lager is not really that helpful to the typical beer consumer. It doesn’t tell you anything about the characteristics of a particular beer style. Craftbeer.com has come up with a very useful way of sorting beer styles into broad categories by some basic characteristics: Sour, Tart & Funky, Crisp & Clean, Dark & Roasty, Malty & Sweet, Hoppy & Bitter, and Fruity & Spicy. By grouping beer styles by these sensory categories, they have created a more reliable way of selecting a beer that will appeal to a particular sensory experience or even a mood that someone may be looking for.

I found this to be so useful, I decided to include this in my beer reviews in addition to BJCP and CraftBeer.com beer styles. To explore their search engine, go here: CraftBeer.com Sensory Styles. I think you’ll find it as helpful as I have.