Beer and their various styles at Vitaille

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Ale

Ale is a simple beer made with top fermenting yeast. Colors range from translucent to opaque. An ale is generally much easier to brew than a lager because the method does not require the precision that bottom fermenting yeast must have.

Pale Ale has an amber color and high bitterness. It is malty with a strong hop aroma. Good examples are Bass and Sierra Nevada.
Brown Ale is sweeter and less bitter than a pale ale, with little hop aroma. Newcastle Brown is the best known example of this brew.
Scotch Ale is similar to brown, but stronger and sweeter. A typical example is MacEwan's.
Light Ale has less of everything. Less color, malt flavor, and aroma than a pale ale.
Cream Ale is a type of beer that has very little hops. The overall flavor is very mellow.
Porters are a lighter version of a stout. Colors range from dark brown to black.
Stout is the beer of real men! Thick, hoppy, and opaque. Guinness is the perfect dry stout, while an Imperial stout is basically a high alcohol sweet stout.

Lager

The lager was born in Bavaria around 1500. There is an upside and a downside to brewing a lager at home. The upside is that a lager, if brewed correctly, will give you a much more clean and crisp beer. The downside is that a lager requires greater attention to detail, and more equipment to brew than an ale.

Pilsners are traditional American brews. Light in body and hops. The "King of Beers" replaces barley malt with rice additives during the brew.
Bock comes in two varieties, the dark one associated with winter, and the pale associated with late spring. This beer is very strong, heavy malty, and sweet.
Dopplebock is a stronger version of the bock. Good examples are Celebrator, and Kulminator.
Octoberfest is also known as Marzen. It is the high gravity, amber lager of the annual celebration.
Munich comes in Helles(light) or Dunkel(dark). This lager is lightly hopped with a full body and flavor. Examples are Paulaner and Spaten.
Specialty Brews can consist of almost anything. Just about any adjunct can be used to create a unique beer for a specific occasion. Popular additives are oats, honey, fruits, and berries.