A basic guide to beer

With a selection of stouts, sours and India pale ales, Andrew Russell had trouble choosing one of 50 tap beers at Slackers Thursday afternoon.

He finally settled on an India pale ale on his third try, the style is a new favorite. Thursday was Russell’s first trip to Slackers, which for most would be unremarkable, but he teaches a course at Northern State University called Biology of Beer.

The class is taught online during the summer. This year is the second year it’s been offered, Russell said. Students learn about why and how beer becomes beer, and its effects on the body.

“Most of the people who take the class don’t have much experience with craft beer,” Russell said. “Their idea is just whatever they see in commercials. ... So they’re really surprised by the amount of variety there is, once they get out and experience it.”

Macro brew

Macro brew refers to beers brewed in mass quantity to please the most people. Think Bud Light, Miller Lite or Coors, Russell said.

“When they create something, they deliberately try to make something pretty bland,” Russell said. “Anytime you add bold flavors, you automatically eliminate a certain portion of the population that doesn’t like that flavor.”

The style is simple with a low alcohol content, drawing people to drink to quench their thirst, rather than slowly sip and savor, Russell said.

“That’s what they’re going for,” he said. “What’s going to be the most appealing to the most people.”

A big part of their popularity can be attributed to the brilliance of marketing, Russell said.

Microbrew

Part of the appeal of microbrews and craft beer is experiencing local flavors, Russell said.

“People who like craft brews, when they go travel somewhere, they want to taste a beer from that region,” Russell said. “You feel like you’re getting the local flavor of the culture and the economy.”

Wheat and barely from the Plains, apples from Washington and citrus from Florida all make their way into the flavors of beer, he said.

But selecting one can be intimidating.

“Just keep trying things until you find something you like,” Russell said.

Often, people will try one stout or one India pale ale and write off the whole category, Russell said, but they didn’t try the right beer for them.

“You can’t just judge a style based on one experience,” he said. “You have to continue to find something that you like.”

Home brew

Aberdeen has an active home brewing community.

“A lot of us got into doing the home brewing thing because — part of it is that you can make a beer that tastes a little more like a craft beer for a lot less money,” said Terry Beckler, a member of Aberdeen Brewers and Vintners.

They also like to play with the flavors, Beckler said.

“We can make it taste like we want it, instead of going, ‘Well, that’s not quite what I want,’ when you buy it at Kessler’s, ‘I want it to taste more like this,’” he said.

But the club isn’t dedicated to one style of beer, Beckler said. People play with darker and lighter beers.

They mostly brew ales, which are fermented at room temperature, as opposed to lagers, which are fermented cold, Beckler said.

“Those are easier, you don’t have to have as much refrigeration equipment,” Beckler said. “Bud Light and Coors Light and all those are lagers.”

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Tasting at Arts in the Park

• 2-3 p.m. Sunday, Melgaard Park.

• Hosted by Aberdeen Brewers and Vintners.

• Taste beer and wine made by locally in small batches by amateur brewers.

"We do it just for an hour," said Terry Beckler, one of the administrators of the Aberdeen Brewers and Vintners. "The equipment is almost exactly the same when you're making beer or wine, so a lot of us dabble in both."

For the tasting, everybody shares what they've got ready for Arts in the Park, Beckler said.

"It's a pretty wide variety of things," he said.

The event is open to everyone 21 and older, and club members will be on hand to answer questions.

Six types of craft beer you might see this summer:

• India pale ale: Floral, fruity, citrus-like and all about hop flavor, aroma and bitterness.

• Sour: The sour flavor is naturally developed with acidified malt in the mash.

• Saison: Fruity, horsey, goaty and leather-like aromas and flavors.

• Gose: A variety of herbal, spice, floral or fruity aromas.

• Stout: A coffee- and chocolate-forward ale, with a hop aroma and flavor, often from a citrus-forward variety.

• Hefeweizen: Made with at least 50 percent malted wheat.

Source: craftbeer.com.