How To Speak Craft With James Squire

PALE ALE

Not necessarily that pale. Rich and malty, fresh and fruity, and guaranteed for cracking refreshment.

GOLDEN ALE

Light, refreshing and highly drinkable. Becoming very popular in recent years thanks to their alluring colour, restrained bitterness and dry finish.

SUMMER ALE

The new kid on the block. Enough body to satisfy a real beer lover but are light enough to go down easy on a hot summer day

INDIA PALE ALE

Strong and hoppy, yet manages to be light, bright and sparkling at the same time. Pretty magical.

LAGER

Craft lager, you say? Absolutely. They’ll be bigger and bolder than their mainstream brothers with more complex flavours.

PORTER

A rich, dark beer that started out on the rainy streets of 18th century London. Look out for interesting notes of coffee and chocolate.

STOUT

Essentially a stronger (or stouter) porter, with more flavours and a higher alcohol content. But be warned – many craft breweries will use the terms porter and stout interchangeably.

AMBER ALE

Amber ales are balanced, rich and effortlessly flavoursome (much like Mr Squire himself) and get their luscious amber complexion from coloured malts like Crystal. Bonus fact: the first modern James Squire beer we ever brewed was an amber ale.

PILSENER

Taking its name from the Czech city of Plzen, where it was first brewed, pilseners can range from bold, spicy and herbaceous to sweet, light and foamy.

HOPS

The flower of a climbing plant that’s a member of the hemp family that grow on bines (not vines). Hops put bitterness and character into a beer and have different flavours, like citrus, pine, floral, fruit and more. They also act as a natural preservative. Common varieties include Cascade, Centennial, Mosaic, Simcoe & Columbus and Citra.

MALT

If hops are the spice of beer, then malt is its soul. Made from barley grains, malt gives a beer all its colour plus plays a part in the flavour, aroma and mouthfeel. And then there’s the really important stuff – malt is the main source of the fermentable sugars that create the alcohol in beer.