Our guide to bold craft beer styles for every palate

With a wave of bespoke breweries pushing beer boundaries, craft beer is redefining how we drink beer. Forget predictable pilsners and lacklustre lagers – brewers are turning out a whole new world of styles, giving beer lovers a wide range to explore. Light, refreshing, or bitter and bold, there’s a craft beer waiting to hit the spot. Discover the brew that’s perfect for you in our guide to popular craft beer styles. 

Pale Ale – The everyday hero

Pale ale is like the classic rock of craft beer - accessible, enjoyable, and works for just about any occasion. An amber-hued brew that balances malt sweetness with a mild level of hop bitterness, it’s crisp, refreshing, and perfect for just about any occasion. Australian pale ales are known for their vibrant hop character, often featuring tropical fruit, citrus, and floral notes. 

Extra pale ales – Your zesty bestie 

Lighter in colour and body to pale ales, extra pale ales focus more on the hop profile, offering bright, zesty flavours that are often tropical or citrusy, with a subtle malt base. With just enough zing to keep things interesting without KO’ing you, it’s the perfect brew for a long Sunday afternoon at the pub. 

IPA (India pale ale) – Big on attitude 

If you like your beer with swagger, an IPA might be just the ticket. These bad boys are bold, bitter, and typically higher in alcohol content. You’ll find a wide range of IPA substyles in Australia with flavours that range from piney and resinous to fruity and floral, but they all share one thing in common, lots of hops. 

New England India pale ales (NEIPAs) – The smooth operator 

If regular IPAs are the rebels, New England IPAs, known for their juicy, fruity profiles and cloudy appearance, are their laid-back cousins. High on hops but low on bitterness, NEIPAs have a soft mouthfeel that makes them smoother and more accessible - perfect if you’re looking for something with refreshing fruity flavours. 

Lagers – The old faithful 

Brewed with bottom-fermenting yeast at cooler temperatures, lagers are like that reliable mate who always shows up on time, doesn’t make a fuss, and likes to hang out over a barbecue. A refreshing, easy-drinking beer, they are generally less fruity than ales, with a more subdued malt taste. 

Porters – The dark, brooding type 

Porters are the dark horses of the beer world – literally. Rich and full-bodied, these deep, dark brews are malty as hell, with roasted notes of chocolate, coffee, and caramel and a subtle bitterness that balances out the maltiness. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a glass of red wine with your steak, the porter’s your beer. 

Stout – Back to black 

Deeply dark, with intense flavours of coffee, chocolate, and roasted barley, craft breweries often experiment with stouts, adding everything from vanilla to coconut to create unique flavour profiles. Rich, smooth, and a little mysterious, stouts are a brew for winter nights or whenever you feel like treating yourself to something indulgent. 

Sour beer – The oddball 

Sours are a unique and experimental style of beer, prized for their tart and tangy flavour profiles. Fermented with wild yeast strains or bacteria’s such as Lactobacillus, flavours can vary widely, from fruity notes like cherry to funky, barnyard aromas. Sours aren’t for everyone, but for the adventurous drinker, it can be an intriguing brew. 

Japanese-style rice lagers – The lighter side 

These lagers are all about balance. Light and crisp, the rice adds a clean, almost dry finish that makes them super refreshing. These lagers tend to have a delicate malt sweetness with a mild hop bitterness and are often lower in alcohol content, making them great for hot summer days.