Altbier: A traditional style of beer brewed mainly in Dusseldorf. The German word alt means old and refers to the traditional method of top fermentation. Alt beers are dark, copper colored, brewed from dark malts, well hopped.

Belgian Ales To accuse Belgian ales of belonging to a distinct family is almost an impertinence. Belgians brew many kinds of ale, some of which are close cousins to British ales, others of which can properly be described as, in the best sense of the word, eccentric. Belgian brewers are individualists, and they produce some of the world's great beers. Belgian ales are seldom understated. Quite a number are as strong as barley wines, and they demand great feats of balance on the part of their brewmasters. Trappist Ales are strong, vinous ales produced in Cistercian abbeys in Belgium and the Netherlands. A number of Belgian commercial brewers imitate the style initiated by these abbeys.

Berliner Weisse: Berlin's "white" beer is brewed from a mash that is three-quarters barley, one-quarter wheat. The use of wheat as an adjunct produces an astringent, refreshing palate characteristic of all wheat beers. Berliners add a little raspberry syrup or essence of woodruff to the brew, to take the edge off its sharpness.

Bock: The word beck is a shortened form of Ziegenbock, "billy goat," and it is used to designate a strong bottom-fermented beer that was first brewed in Saxony but is now chiefly associated with Bavaria -- though bocks are brewed in other countries, too. The majority are dark, though many German brewers have light versions as well. All tend to have a pronounced malty character.

Dark Bock: A bock beer brewed with dark roasted malt.

Doppelbock: A stronger bock beer (up to 12%), though not necessarily double the strength. The original of the style was brewed by the Italian monks of the order of St. Francis of Paula, in Bavaria.

Dunkelweizen: A dark wheat beer.

Hefeweizen: An unfiltered wheat beer.

Helles Similar in style to pilsener, but maltier and less vigorously hopped, this is the everyday pale beer of Bavaria.

Marzenbier: In Germany, before the advent of refrigeration, beer was brewed in winter and the last batch, brewed in March, was made especially strong to survive the many months of maturation before it was drunk at the end of summer.

Oktoberfest (or Fest): A bottom-fermented Vienna- or marzen-style beer, orginally brewed for Germany's Oktoberfest celebration. Copper-colored, malty, and sweet.

Pilsner (or Pils): A general name for pale, golden-hued, highly hopped, bottom-fermented beers. The original was first brewed in the Bohemian town of Pilsen in 1842.

Weissbier: In Germany, a generic name for wheat beers. Weisse means white, and such beers are usually very pale and cloudy, with a white foam.

Weizenbier: Weizenbier is the wheat beer of southern Germany, a quite different brew from Berliner Weisse, being made from a higher original gravity and with a larger proportion of wheat in the mash. Compared with Berliner Weisse, the result is fuller bodied and more potent, yet this is still a very refreshing drink. often drunk with a dash of lemon juice.

Weizenbock: In Germany, a wheat beer of bock strength.

Wheat Beer: Any beer containing a high proportion of malted wheat. All wheat beers are top-fermented and many are bottle conditioned. (see also Weizenbier and Hefe Weizen)

Wirtshaus: A local pub or inn.

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