Ink

Beer is all about choices these days.

The craft-brewing industry grew 9 percent in the first half of this year, even though overall beer sales were down 1.3 percent, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based hub for craft brewers. That means more people are stepping out of their Coors Light comfort zone to try smaller-batch, experimental brews with hard-to-pronounce names such as Hefeweizen, Saison and Belgian witbier.

Still don’t know an IPA from your IP address? Brush up on this list of beer styles.

Ale: beer brewed from malted barley using top-fermenting yeast and hops, which lend a fruity bitterness and a floral aroma. Most beers are either ales or lagers.

Amber ale: an ale with plenty of hops and malts, which lend deeper color and flavor.

American-style ale: a pale lager (similar to a pilsner) made in North America. Coors and Budweiser fall into this category.

Bock: a strong, often dark lager originally brewed in Germany.

Double IPA: like an India Pale Ale, but with even more hops and/or malts. U.S. breweries popularized this style over the last two decades.

Hefeweizen: a cloudy, unfiltered wheat beer that originated in Germany.

India pale ale: A beer invented by British brewers in the 1700s who preserved beer by increasing the amount of hops and alcohol. IPAs often have a bitter taste, with floral aromas.

Kolsch: a clear German beer with a bright-yellow hue. Kolsch beers are easy-drinking, which means you could down several on a hot day.

Lager: a beer brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast. Unlike ales, lagers are stored in cold temperatures for months before they’re served. Lagers range wildly in color and flavor.

Lambic: a cidery Belgian beer with a sour aftertaste.

Maibock: a pale version of traditional bock beer.

Oktoberfest: this beer, named for the autumn festival in Germany, is often more flavorful and more alcoholic than an easy-drinking summer beer such as kolsch, but it usually has a clean, crisp finish. Oktoberfest beer bridges the gap between light summer beers and heavier winter ones.

Pale ale: a beer that’s paler in color than traditional ales, thanks to pale malts.

Pilsner: a pale lager.

Porter: a dark beer made with toasted malts that’s similar to a stout. Some porters have a chocolaty, roasted flavor, kind of like coffee.

Rye beer: any beer that substitutes rye malt for barley.

Saison: a pale ale traditionally brewed in the countyside of French-speaking Belgium.

Steam beer: an effervescent beer made from brewing a lager at higher temperatures. Anchor Steam beer from San Francisco is a good example.

Stout: a dark, roasty, flavorful beer such as Guinness that’s comparatively light in body and alcohol content.

Tripel: brewers use triple the malts of a traditional ale to make this beer, which is high in alcohol and yellow-gold in color.

Yard beer: any variety of a light, American-style lager that’s really cheap. Think Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Style or Schlitz.

Wheat beer: any beer that substitutes wheat malt for barley.

Witbier: a Belgian wheat beer that uses spices such as coriander and orange peel.