8 Beers for an Ideal Beer Tasting

Ayinger Bräu-Weisse (eye-ing-gr brau-vise-uh) The name sounds like the beer tastes: fresh, lively, original. Here is a top-fermented beer made from 40% wheat and 60% barley that personifies classic Bavarian yeast wheat beer. The beautiful golden color is hazy with yeast (hefe) in suspension. For tasting, the bottle may be decanted to mix the yeast evenly. The beer is packed with fruity and complex flavors of citrus and vanilla. Wheat beers are not heavily hopped and make excellent apertifs. Serve at lager temperature.

Ayinger Jahrhunert-Bier (yar-hun-durt) A golden, malty lager, first brewed to celebrate a century of brewing at Ayinger. Jahrhundert ("one hundred" in German) has a very big herby bouquet of Hallertau hops, a soft medium body, and a long lingering finish with lots of dry hoppy tones. There is quite a zesty finish to this relatively weighty beer.

Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale is a beer that captures the imagination of classic England: the marvelously understated style, the meticulous attention to detail, the overwhelming devotion to quality. This is the world standard Pale Ale and the beer by which others of this type are judged and compared. The color of this classic Pale Ale reflects the polished copper brewing vessel at The Old Brewery. A judicious blend of roasted malt and liquor fermented in Slate Squares produce the Cabernet Sauvignon of the beer world.

Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale Often called "mild" if it is on draft, brown ale is a walnut-colored specialty of the North of England. A festive-occasion beer, brown ale is one of the oldest English brewing styles, mentioned in literature in the 16th century. Beers brewed at the Old Brewery have a round, nutty flavor because of the Yorkshire square system of fermentation.

Samuel Smith-The Famous Taddy Porter Porter is the style of beer upon which the British brewing industry was established and built. It was also the drink of Colonial America and remained dominant in America for the first 50 years after independence, eventually yielding in popularity to the Pale Ale style. Porter has its name from the train porters who dispensed beer in early railroad stations.

Orval Trappist Ale Orval, which means golden valley, refers to a Trappist monastery that brews one of the world's most complex beers. Bottle-conditioned, Orval is as beautiful as it is delicious. The famous head, which leaves "Belgian lace" on the glass, tops a turbid beer that improves with age. A strong nose of hops and a fresh dry maltiness, along with yeast distinct to Orval, yields a beer like no other.

Celebrator Dopplebock (dop-pull-bok) Celebrator Doppelbock evokes the spirit of life of the heartland of Bavaria. The Aying Brewery, a true Bavarian country brewery, has earned the reputation of producing what is, perhaps, the finest doppelbock in Germany. Celebrator Doppelbock is brewed from a recipe which has been in continuous use for over 150 years. Celebrator is a strong, rich, profoundly dark beer that will make any occasion special. In spite of its richness, it has a faintly smoky dryness in the finish. Double Bock is a traditional Christmas beer in Bavaria.

Lindemans Framboise Lambic (fram-bwaz) Without a doubt the world's rarest and most unusual, some say best, beer is Lambic. Singly in the world of brewing, no yeast is added to this beer. Rather, a wild microflora that abounds in Belgium naturally ferments the beer. Lindemans Farm Brewery is considered to produce the most traditional and finest lambics available. After one and one half years of aging in wooden casks, fresh raspberries are added to the beer. Framboise Lambic is a delightful pink ale with a perfume of fresh raspberries and a complex taste of barley, wheat and of course-raspberries. Its sparkling, champagne-like qualities make it the perfect companion to fine dining.