2O11 STYLE GUIDELINES

The Brewers Association’s (BA) 2O11 Beer Style Guidelines describes 14O styles of beer. Updated annually, it is used in various beer competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. This year, one beer style has been added, and another has been renamed – American-Style Brett Ale is now a recognized ale style, and American-Style Black Ale is the new name for American-Style India Black Ale, and it too has updated style guidelines. Since 1979 the BA has provided beer style descriptions as a reference for brewers and beer competition organizers. The guidelines developed by the BA use sources from the commercial brewing industry, beer analyses and consultations with beer industry experts and knowledgeable beer enthusiasts as resources. Much of the early work was based on the assistance and contributions of beer journalist Michael Jackson. For 2O11, revisions were aided by over 15O comments and suggestions from Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup judges, as well as other beer industry members. The complete 2O11 Beer Style Guidelines is available for download in the ‘Publications’ section of brewersassociation.org.