Beer 101

Beer is essentially a mixture of natural ingredients: Water, Malted Barley, Hops, and Brewer's Yeast. Beers fall into two broad categories: Those that are produced by top-fermenting yeasts (ales) and those that are made with bottom-fermenting yeasts (lagers).  Atkinson Beer Distributors of Pittsburgh offers a wide variety of ales, lagers, and draft beers from all over the world.

Ales
Ales include everything with ale in the name (pale ale, amber ale, etc.), porters, stouts, Belgian specialty beers, and wheat beers. They generally have a more robust taste, are more complex and are best consumed cool (50F or a bit warmer) rather than cold.

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Lagers
Lagers include pilseners, bocks and dopplebocks, Maerzens/Oktoberfests, Dortmunders and a few other styles found mostly in Germany. They are best consumed at a cooler temperature than ales, although anything served at less than 38F will lose most of its flavor.

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Draft Beer

Draft beer is served in kegs, which must be kept cold because unlike the beer in most bottles and cans, the beer inside of kegs is not pasteurized. This gives it a much fresher taste but also makes it much more delicate. It has a shorter shelf life and is more sensitive to temperature changes.