What's the difference between stout, ale, porter, lager, pilsner, and the other types of beer?

All beer can be classified as either a lager or an ale. The differences begin during the brewing process. Whether the beer is an ale or lager is defined by the type of yeast used in the brew and the temperature at which fermentation takes place. Ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeast which allows for rapid fermentation at warmer temperatures;
Lagers are brewed with bottom-fermenting yeast which ferments more slowly and at colder temperatures.

Lagers
- Lager means to store or put aside.
- This beer is made with bottom yeast, so-called because it flocculates to the bottom of the vat.
- Traditionally bottom yeast will ferment at cold temperatures less than 10 deg C. Now fermentation takes place at 12 to 18 deg C. This cold or deep fermentation allows the malt and hops to assert their fine flavours.
- Lager tends to be paler, drier and less alcoholic than ales.
- Pilsener or pils beer originated in Bohemia where brewers first found beer that was over-wintered or lagered improved if stored in cool caves and kept on ice.
- German lagers, including beers such as bock and marzen, are made according to the Bavarian Purity Laws of 1516 to ensure the beer is all-malt (no sugar) and hopped with bitter and aromatic varieties (noble hops).
- Some German-style beers are described as "helles" meaning pale or blonde. Pale beers grew in popularity following the adoption of the glass for drinking in the 19th Century.

Ales
- Ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeasts at temperatures from 15 to 25 deg C.
- Ales are matured for shorter periods and at warmer temperatures.
- Ales include a wide range of beer styles from porters and stouts (porter is a heavy beer of pronounced bitterness, reddish-brown to a very dark brown, but is usually lighter in body and malt character than stout) to pale ales and wheat beer.
- Generally, ales are higher in alcohol, more robust and complex than lagers.

"Ale
The English-language term for a brew made with a top-fermenting yeast, which should impart to it a distinctive fruitiness.
Bitter
English term for a well-hopped ale, most often on draught.
Bock
The German term for a strong beer. If unqualified, it indicates a bottom-fermenting brew from barley malt.
Brown Ale
In the south of England, a dark-brown ale, sweet in palate, low in alcohol.In the northeast, a reddish-brown ale, drier.
India Pale Ale
British pale ales for the Indian Empire were made to a higher than normal strength, and given more hops, to protect them on the journey.
Lager
Any beer made by bottom-fermentation. In Britain, lagers are usually golden in colour, but in continental Europe they can also be dark.
Mild
English term indicating an ale that is only lightly hopped. Some Milds are copper in colour, but most are dark brown.
Pale Ale
Pale in this instance means bronze or copper-coloured, as opposed to dark brown. Pale ale is a term used by some English brewers to identify their premium bitters.
Pilsner
Loosely, any golden-coloured, dry, bottom fermenting beer of conventional strength might be described as such (in its various spellings abbreviations) though this most famous designation properly belongs only to a product of "super-premium" quality.
Porter
A London style that became extinct, though it has recently been revived. It was a lighter-bodied companion to stout,
Scotch Ale
The term "Scotch ale" is something used specifically to identify a very strong, and often extremely dark, malt-accented speciality from that country.
Stout
An extra-dark, almost black, top-fermenting brew, made with highly roasted malts.
Definitions for styles of beers were taken from: Michael Jackson's Beer Styles"
Source and further information:
http://www.dougcoppock.com/dougcoppock/beer.html

Further information:
http://www.beerhunter.com/beerstyles.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer#Varieties_of_beer

Hey,

Okay, beer breaks down into two main categories, a lager and an ale. The difference between the beer styles is the type of yeast they use.

A lager uses a bottom fermenting yeast that works at cooler temps. Overall lager is a style of beer. The word lager is from the German word meaning "to store". Refers to a traditionally "bottom fermented" beer at temperatures of 40-50 degrees F (4-10 C) and stored for several weeks or months at cold temperatures (close to 0 degrees C /32 degrees F).

Compared to an ale, which uses a top-fermenting yeast and works at warmer temps than yeasts used to brew lager beer, and their byproducts are more evident in taste and aroma. Fruitiness and esters are often part of an ale's character. Also, referred to as "top fermenting" yeast, because of ability to form a layer of yeast on surface during fermentation.

You can check out my website http://aroundthebar.com/articles/beer_knowledge/beer_style.php about many beer styles and other beer info like beer reviews and events.

So, to answer the other part of your question (difference between a pilsner and a stout) .
A stout, Known as the Black ales that owe their color and taste to the roasted barley and flavorable hops. There are several styles of Stouts: Imperial, sweet, oatmeal and the dry stout.
The dry stout is the most popular (the classic Guinness Stout). Often low starting gravities, low alcohol content, and clean bitterness but no hop flavor or aroma.

And a pilsner (there are two different styles of Pilsner Czech and German):

The Czech pilsner remains original with its pale, golden and refreshing. A creamy dense head well carbonated brew accent the rich, sweet malt.

Called "Pils" for short, this style is an offspring of the Czech style. This beer is also a lager beer brewed with bottom fermenting yeast at temperatures below 50 degrees F (10 C). This beer has more bitterness and a drier, less malty character than the Czech style.

http://aroundthebar.com/articles/beer_knowledge/beer_style.php you can click the styles of beers and find commercial examples of them. Go try them and then you can share your opinion on the web site http://aroundthebar.com/review/ . Thanks

J

Ale: An ale is a beer that uses ale yeast. Ale yeast is a top fermenting yeast that requires warmer temperatures. Ales tend to have a fuller body.

Lager: A lager is a beer that uses lager yeast. Lager yeast are a bottom fermenting yeast that require cooler temperatures. While most modern lagers are fermented in large refrigerated rooms, in the old days they used to use caves. Lagers tend to have a crisper/cleaner taste.

A stout is an ale, and is very similar to a porter. Both are dark due to the dark roasting of the grains. Stouts and porters are so close that some companies call their stouts porters, while others call their porters stouts. Basically a porter uses just roasted malt while a stout uses roasted malt and roasted barley.

A pilsner is a light stout. Most light American beers are pilsners. They gained popularity because they were light enough to be enjoyed after a long hot day at work. They were a great alternative to drinking a heavy beer.

A cream stout is a stout that has had lactose added to it for sweetness. If you added other sweeteners like sugar or honey the yeast would simply convert that into alchol. Yeast cannot convert lactose into alcohol, so the sweetness remains.

An IPA (India Pale Ale) is an ale created by the British. Regular beer would spoil on the 6 month trip to India, so brewers created a beer with more alcohol and more hops, each of which helped to preserve the beer on the long hot journey.

Steam beer is a beer that uses lager yeast, but at warmer temperatures. Old San Francisco brewers lacked refrigeration and caves so they were forced to make their lagers in warm temperatures, resulting in steam beer.

A wheat beer uses wheat malt.

A mead isn't a beer, but is one of the earliest alcoholic beverages. A mead is basically water, yeast, honey, and maybe some fruit juice. There's no cooking, you just let it sit and ferment.

Lager is a pale beer that originated in Germany. Pilsener is a specific type of lager that originated in a specific place - Pilsen, Czech Republic. Stout is a a very dark, almost black beer that originated in Ireland - Guinness and Murphy's are two good examples. Beer or ale is, of course, superior to them all ;-)

Ingredients, brewing methods, brew time and what its aged in.

ale:beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide
Lager:beer fermented in cool environments.Lager yeast is a cool bottom-fermenting yeast and typically undergoes primary fermentation at 7–12°C (45–55°F) (the fermentation phase), and then is given a long secondary fermentation at 0–4°C (32–40°F) (the lagering phase). During the secondary stage, the lager clears and mellows. The cooler conditions also inhibit the natural production of esters and other byproducts, resulting in a "cleaner"-tasting beer.[
Stout:dark beers made using roasted malts or roast barley
Stout:dark beers made using roasted malts or roast barley.The name Porter was first used in 1721 to describe a dark beer popular with street and river porters of London that had been made with roasted malts
Pilsner: A bavarian style, top-fermenting pale coloured lager, also cool fermented

Ingredients and brewing methods.

There are drastic differences between types of ale, stout, lagers...etc. Less significant differences between brands and different versions of each type.

I'm sure someone more helpful will elaborate....