BJCP Styles: Overall Impression (Beer Only)

Question 1

1A: Lite American Lager, overall impression?

Answer 1

Overall Impression: Very refreshing and thirst quenching.

Question 2

1B: Standard American Lager, overall impression?

Answer 2

Overall Impression: Very refreshing and thirst quenching.

Question 3

1C: Premium American Lager, overall impression?

Answer 3

Overall Impression: Refreshing and thirst quenching, although generally more filling than standard/lite versions.

Question 4

1D: Munich Helles, overall impression?

Answer 4

Overall Impression: Malty but fully attenuated Pils malt showcase.

Question 5

1E: Dortmunder Export, overall impression?

Answer 5

Overall Impression: Balance and smoothness are the hallmarks of this style. It has the malt profile of a Helles, the hop character of a Pils, and is slightly stronger than both.

Question 6

2A: German Pilsner (Pils), overall impression?

Answer 6

Overall Impression: Crisp, clean, refreshing beer that prominently features noble German hop bitterness accentuated by sulfates in the water.

Question 7

2B: Bohemian Pilsener, overall impression?

Answer 7

Overall Impression: Crisp, complex and well-rounded yet refreshing.

Question 8

2C: Classic American Pilsner, overall impression?

Answer 8

Overall Impression: A substantial Pilsner that can stand up to the classic European Pilsners, but exhibiting the native American grains and hops available to German brewers who initially brewed it in the USA. Refreshing, but with the underlying malt and hops that stand out when compared to other modern American light lagers. Maize lends a distinctive grainy sweetness. Rice contributes a crisper, more neutral character.

Question 9

3A: Vienna Lager, overall impression?

Answer 9

Overall Impression: Characterized by soft, elegant maltiness that dries out in the finish to avoid becoming sweet.

Question 10

3B: Oktoberfest/Märzen, overall impression?

Answer 10

Overall Impression: Smooth, clean, and rather rich, with a depth of malt character. This is one of the classic malty styles, with a maltiness that is often described as soft, complex, and elegant but never cloying.

Question 11

4A: Dark American Lager, overall impression?

Answer 11

Overall Impression: A somewhat sweeter version of standard/premium lager with a little more body and flavor.

Question 12

4B: Munich Dunkel, overall impression?

Answer 12

Overall Impression: Characterized by depth and complexity of Munich malt and the accompanying melanoidins. Rich Munich flavors, but not as intense as a bock or as roasted as a schwarzbier.

Question 13

4C: Schwarzbier (Black Beer), overall impression?

Answer 13

Overall Impression: A dark German lager that balances roasted yet smooth malt flavors with moderate hop bitterness.

Question 14

5A: Maibock/Helles Bock, overall impression?

Answer 14

Overall Impression: A relatively pale, strong, malty lager beer. Designed to walk a fine line between blandness and too much color. Hop character is generally more apparent than in other bocks.

Question 15

5B: Traditional Bock, overall impression?

Answer 15

Overall Impression: A dark, strong, malty lager beer.

Question 16

5C: Doppelbock, overall impression?

Answer 16

Overall Impression: A very strong and rich lager. A bigger version of either a traditional bock or a helles bock.

Question 17

5D: Eisbock, overall impression?

Answer 17

Overall Impression: An extremely strong, full and malty dark lager.

Question 18

6A: Cream Ale, overall impression?

Answer 18

Overall Impression: A clean, well-attenuated, flavorful American lawnmower beer.

Question 19

6B: Blonde Ale, overall impression?

Answer 19

Overall Impression: Easy-drinking, approachable, malt-oriented American craft beer.

Question 20

6C: Kölsch, overall impression?

Answer 20

Overall Impression: A clean, crisp, delicately balanced beer usually with very subtle fruit flavors and aromas. Subdued maltiness throughout leads to a pleasantly refreshing tang in the finish. To the untrained taster easily mistaken for a light lager, a somewhat subtle Pilsner, or perhaps a blonde ale.

Question 21

6D: American Wheat or Rye Beer, overall impression?

Answer 21

Overall Impression: Refreshing wheat or rye beers that can display more hop character and less yeast character than their German cousins.

Question 22

7A: Northern German Altbier, overall impression?

Answer 22

Overall Impression: A very clean and relatively bitter beer, balanced by some malt character. Generally darker, sometimes more caramelly, and usually sweeter and less bitter than Düsseldorf Altbier.

Question 23

7B: California Common Beer, overall impression?

Answer 23

Overall Impression: A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing the signature Northern Brewer varietal hop character.

Question 24

7C: Düsseldorf Altbier, overall impression?

Answer 24

Overall Impression: A well balanced, bitter yet malty, clean, smooth, well-attenuated amber-colored German ale.

Question 25

8A: Standard/Ordinary Bitter, overall impression?

Answer 25

Overall Impression: Low gravity, low alcohol levels and low carbonation make this an easy-drinking beer. Some examples can be more malt balanced, but this should not override the overall bitter impression. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales.

Question 26

8B: Special/Best/Premium Bitter, overall impression?

Answer 26

Overall Impression: A flavorful, yet refreshing, session beer. Some examples can be more malt balanced, but this should not override the overall bitter impression. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales.

Question 27

8C: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale), overall impression?

Answer 27

Overall Impression: An average-strength to moderately-strong English ale. The balance may be fairly even between malt and hops to somewhat bitter. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales. A rather broad style that allows for considerable interpretation by the brewer.

Question 28

9A: Scottish Light 60/-, overall impression?

Answer 28

Overall Impression: Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.

Question 29

9B: Scottish Heavy 70/-, overall impression?

Answer 29

Overall Impression: Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.

Question 30

9C: Scottish Export 80/-, overall impression?

Answer 30

Overall Impression: Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.

Question 31

9D: Irish Red Ale, overall impression?

Answer 31

Overall Impression: An easy-drinking pint. Malt-focused with an initial sweetness and a roasted dryness in the finish.

Question 32

9E: Strong Scotch Ale, overall impression?

Answer 32

Overall Impression: Rich, malty and usually sweet, which can be suggestive of a dessert. Complex secondary malt flavors prevent a one-dimensional impression. Strength and maltiness can vary.

Question 33

10A: American Pale Ale, overall impression?

Answer 33

Overall Impression: Refreshing and hoppy, yet with sufficient supporting malt.

Question 34

10B: American Amber Ale, overall impression?

Answer 34

Overall Impression: Like an American pale ale with more body, more caramel richness, and a balance more towards malt than hops (although hop rates can be significant).

Question 35

10C: American Brown Ale, overall impression?

Answer 35

Overall Impression: Can be considered a bigger, maltier, hoppier interpretation of Northern English brown ale or a hoppier, less malty Brown Porter, often including the citrus-accented hop presence that is characteristic of American hop varieties.

Question 36

11A: Mild, overall impression?

Answer 36

Overall Impression: A light-flavored, malt-accented beer that is readily suited to drinking in quantity. Refreshing, yet flavorful. Some versions may seem like lower gravity brown porters.

Question 37

11B: Southern English Brown, overall impression?

Answer 37

Overall Impression: A luscious, malt-oriented brown ale, with a caramel, dark fruit complexity of malt flavor. May seem somewhat like a smaller version of a sweet stout or a sweet version of a dark mild.

Question 38

11C: Northern English Brown Ale, overall impression?

Answer 38

Overall Impression: Drier and more hop-oriented that southern English brown ale, with a nutty character rather than caramel.

Question 39

12A: Brown Porter, overall impression?

Answer 39

Overall Impression: A fairly substantial English dark ale with restrained roasty characteristics.

Question 40

12B: Robust Porter, overall impression?

Answer 40

Overall Impression: A substantial, malty dark ale with a complex and flavorful roasty character.

Question 41

12C: Baltic Porter, overall impression?

Answer 41

Overall Impression: A Baltic Porter often has the malt flavors reminiscent of an English brown porter and the restrained roast of a schwarzbier, but with a higher OG and alcohol content than either. Very complex, with multi-layered flavors.

Question 42

13A: Dry Stout, overall impression?

Answer 42

Overall Impression: A very dark, roasty, bitter, creamy ale.

Question 43

13B: Sweet Stout, overall impression?

Answer 43

Overall Impression: A very dark, sweet, full-bodied, slightly roasty ale. Often tastes like sweetened espresso.

Question 44

13C: Oatmeal Stout, overall impression?

Answer 44

Overall Impression: A very dark, full-bodied, roasty, malty ale with a complementary oatmeal flavor.

Question 45

13D: Foreign Extra Stout, overall impression?

Answer 45

Overall Impression: A very dark, moderately strong, roasty ale. Tropical varieties can be quite sweet, while export versions can be drier and fairly robust.

Question 46

13E: American Stout, overall impression?

Answer 46

Overall Impression: A hoppy, bitter, strongly roasted Foreign-style Stout (of the export variety).

Question 47

13F: Russian Imperial Stout, overall impression?

Answer 47

Overall Impression: An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.

Question 48

14A: English IPA, overall impression?

Answer 48

Overall Impression: A hoppy, moderately strong pale ale that features characteristics consistent with the use of English malt, hops and yeast. Has less hop character and a more pronounced malt flavor than American versions.

Question 49

14B: American IPA, overall impression?

Answer 49

Overall Impression: A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong American pale ale.

Question 50

14C: Imperial IPA, overall impression?

Answer 50

Overall Impression: An intensely hoppy, very strong pale ale without the big maltiness and/or deeper malt flavors of an American barleywine. Strongly hopped, but clean, lacking harshness, and a tribute to historical IPAs. Drinkability is an important characteristic; this should not be a heavy, sipping beer. It should also not have much residual sweetness or a heavy character grain profile.

Question 51

15A: Weizen/Weissbier, overall impression?

Answer 51

Overall Impression: A pale, spicy, fruity, refreshing wheat-based ale.

Question 52

15B: Dunkelweizen, overall impression?

Answer 52

Overall Impression: A moderately dark, spicy, fruity, malty, refreshing wheat-based ale. Reflecting the best yeast and wheat character of a hefeweizen blended with the malty richness of a Munich dunkel.

Question 53

15C: Weizenbock, overall impression?

Answer 53

Overall Impression: A strong, malty, fruity, wheat-based ale combining the best flavors of a dunkelweizen and the rich strength and body of a bock.

Question 54

15D: Roggenbier (German Rye Beer), overall impression?

Answer 54

Overall Impression: A dunkelweizen made with rye rather than wheat, but with a greater body and light finishing hops.

Question 55

16A: Witbier, overall impression?

Answer 55

Overall Impression: A refreshing, elegant, tasty, moderate-strength wheat-based ale.

Question 56

16B: Belgian Pale Ale, overall impression?

Answer 56

Overall Impression: A fruity, moderately malty, somewhat spicy, easy-drinking, copper-colored ale.

Question 57

16C: Saison, overall impression?

Answer 57

Overall Impression: A refreshing, medium to strong fruity/spicy ale with a distinctive yellow-orange color, highly carbonated, well hopped, and dry with a quenching acidity.

Question 58

16D: Bière de Garde, overall impression?

Answer 58

Overall Impression: A fairly strong, malt-accentuated, lagered artisanal farmhouse beer.

Question 59

16E: Belgian Specialty Ale, overall impression?

Answer 59

Overall Impression: Variable. This category encompasses a wide range of Belgian ales produced by truly artisanal brewers more concerned with creating unique products than in increasing sales.

Question 60

17A: Berliner Weisse, overall impression?

Answer 60

Overall Impression: A very pale, sour, refreshing, low-alcohol wheat ale.

Question 61

17B: Flanders Red Ale, overall impression?

Answer 61

Overall Impression: A complex, sour, red wine-like Belgian-style ale.

Question 62

17C: Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin, overall impression?

Answer 62

Overall Impression: A malty, fruity, aged, somewhat sour Belgian-style brown ale.

Question 63

17D: Straight (Unblended) Lambic, overall impression?

Answer 63

Overall Impression: Complex, sour/acidic, pale, wheat-based ale fermented by a variety of Belgian microbiota.

Question 64

17E: Gueuze, overall impression?

Answer 64

Overall Impression: Complex, pleasantly sour/acidic, balanced, pale, wheat-based ale fermented by a variety of Belgian microbiota.

Question 65

17F: Fruit Lambic, overall impression?

Answer 65

Overall Impression: Complex, fruity, pleasantly sour/acidic, balanced, pale, wheat-based ale fermented by a variety of Belgian microbiota. A lambic with fruit, not just a fruit beer.

Question 66

18A: Belgian Blond Ale, overall impression?

Answer 66

Overall Impression: A moderate-strength golden ale that has a subtle Belgian complexity, slightly sweet flavor, and dry finish.

Question 67

18B: Belgian Dubbel, overall impression?

Answer 67

Overall Impression: : A deep reddish, moderately strong, malty, complex Belgian ale.

Question 68

18C: Belgian Tripel, overall impression?

Answer 68

Overall Impression: Strongly resembles a Strong Golden Ale but slightly darker and somewhat fuller-bodied. Usually has a more rounded malt flavor but should not be sweet.

Question 69

18D: Belgian Golden Strong Ale, overall impression?

Answer 69

Overall Impression: A golden, complex, effervescent, strong Belgian-style ale.

Question 70

18E: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, overall impression?

Answer 70

Overall Impression: A dark, very rich, complex, very strong Belgian ale. Complex, rich, smooth and dangerous.

Question 71

19A: Old Ale, overall impression?

Answer 71

Overall Impression: An ale of significant alcoholic strength, bigger than strong bitters and brown porters, though usually not as strong or rich as barleywine. Usually tilted toward a sweeter, maltier balance. 'It should be a warming beer of the type that is best drunk in half pints by a warm fire on a cold winter's night' – Michael Jackson.

Question 72

19B: English Barleywine, overall impression?

Answer 72

Overall Impression: The richest and strongest of the English Ales. A showcase of malty richness and complex, intense flavors. The character of these ales can change significantly over time; both young and old versions should be appreciated for what they are. The malt profile can vary widely; not all examples will have all possible flavors or aromas.

Question 73

19C: American Barleywine, overall impression?

Answer 73

Overall Impression: A well-hopped American interpretation of the richest and strongest of the English ales. The hop character should be evident throughout, but does not have to be unbalanced. The alcohol strength and hop bitterness often combine to leave a very long finish.

Question 74

20A: FRUIT BEER, overall impression?

Answer 74

Overall Impression: A harmonious marriage of fruit and beer. The key attributes of the underlying style will be different with the addition of fruit; do not expect the base beer to taste the same as the unadulterated version. Judge the beer based on the pleasantness and balance of the resulting combination.

Question 75

21A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer, overall impression?

Answer 75

Overall Impression: A harmonious marriage of spices, herbs and/or vegetables and beer. The key attributes of the underlying style will be different with the addition of spices, herbs and/or vegetables; do not expect the base beer to taste the same as the unadulterated version. Judge the beer based on the pleasantness and balance of the resulting combination.

Question 76

21B: Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer, overall impression?

Answer 76

Overall Impression: A stronger, darker, spiced beer that often has a rich body and warming finish suggesting a good accompaniment for the cold winter season.

Question 77

22A: Classic Rauchbier, overall impression?

Answer 77

Overall Impression: Märzen/Oktoberfest-style (see 3B) beer with a sweet, smoky aroma and flavor and a somewhat darker color.

Question 78

22B: Other Smoked Beer, overall impression?

Answer 78

Overall Impression: This is any beer that is exhibiting smoke as a principle flavor and aroma characteristic other than the Bamberg-style Rauchbier (i.e., beechwood-smoked Märzen). Balance in the use of smoke, hops and malt character is exhibited by the better examples.

Question 79

22C: Wood-Aged Beer, overall impression?

Answer 79

Overall Impression: A harmonious blend of the base beer style with characteristics from aging in contact with wood (including any alcoholic products previously in contact with the wood). The best examples will be smooth, flavorful, well-balanced and well-aged. Beers made using either limited wood aging or products that only provide a subtle background character may be entered in the base beer style categories as long as the wood character isn't prominently featured.

Question 80

23A: Specialty Beer, overall impression?

Answer 80

Overall Impression: A harmonious marriage of ingredients, processes and beer. The key attributes of the underlying style (if declared) will be atypical due to the addition of special ingredients or techniques; do not expect the base beer to taste the same as the unadulterated version. Judge the beer based on the pleasantness and harmony of the resulting combination. The overall uniqueness of the process, ingredients used, and creativity should be considered. The overall rating of the beer depends heavily on the inherently subjective assessment of distinctiveness and drinkability.