If you’re familiar with the various sour ales of Belgium, you might already be rolling your eyes and thinking, “Aren’t Flanders Red and Browns and Oud Bruins all the same?” Yes and No, is about as exact as we’ll get on that classification, suffice it to say that it’s complicated. So here’s a bit of what each are, what they’re not and we'll let you decide.

Origination stories for beer styles can often times be convoluted, so naturally the conception of the Russian Imperial Stout is just as complicated, if not more so.

Hey even though we act like it, we admit we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Every beer style has its own backstory, a hometown, and [...]

As the days and blades of grass grow longer, so too grows our need to stay hydrated whilst pushing heavy machines across the yard. Yet having a beer called a Cream Ale doesn't exactly sound like the best option to satisfy that thirst. Or does it?

Hey even though we act like it, we admit, we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Each beer style has a back-story - a reason why it came about - and from time to time, we'll be sharing with you some of what we know.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series..."What the Hell Is aKölsch?"

We, the Average Joes at ACB, may not have full-time jobs brewing, selling or judging beer, yet if you knew just how awesome some of our real jobs are, you'd better understand why we spend so much of our free time drinking beer.  And in case you haven't noticed, it's pretty damn hot outside these days, so we felt it merited an investigation into one of the most refreshing styles around today.

Without further ado, let's drink in yet another chapter in our series, "What the Hell is a Radler?"

Although the Session IPA name is an oxymoron unto itself, we just couldn't help ourselves in tackling one of the more complex and controversial beers today. So we're going all in on one of the world's most popular styles: the Session IPA or India Pale Ale, 

We, the Average Joes at ACB, may not have full-time jobs brewing, selling, or judging beer, yet if you knew just how AWESOME some of our real jobs are, you'd better understand why we spend so much of our free time drinking beer. It all goes to show that we take our research quite seriously and wish to impart the wisdom we've stumbled upon, in the hopes of making your free time as rich as ours.

Without further ado, let's drink in yet another chapter in our series, "What the Hell is a Berliner Weisse?" 

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we're still learning just like you. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing exactly what it is you've decided to put in your mouth.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell is a Maibock?"

Hey we just realized that Monday was International Gruit Day...and some of you might not even be sure what a Gruit is. So welcome to another in our ongoing "What The Hell Is? series... And this one's positively pagan.

We, the Average Joes at ACB, may not have full-time jobs brewing, selling or judging beer, yet if you knew just how AWESOME some of our real jobs are, you'd better understand why we spend so much of our free time drinking beer. It all goes to show that we take our research quite seriously and wish to impart the wisdom we've stumbled upon, in the hopes of making your free time as rich as ours.

Without further ado, let's drink in yet another chapter in our series, "What the Hell is a Cascadian Dark Ale?"

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we're still learning, just like you. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing what exactly it is you've decided to pour in your mouth.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is An Oud Bruin?"

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we're still learning just like you. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink. It's our goal to protect you from the embarrassment of not knowing exactly what it is you've decided to put in your mouth or even worse, what you stick in someone else's...

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell is a Winter Warmer?"

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we're still learning, just like anybody else. And it's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beers we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing what exactly it is you've decided to pour in your mouth.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is a Lambic?"

Hey even though we act like it, we admit we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Every beer style has its own backstory, a hometown, and a reason why it came about. It's all part of a beer's DNA and we think it matters.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is a Brown Ale?"

To the uninitiated this story may seem to pose a stupid question. Yes... it's an ale featuring pumpkin and yes, it's now a more defined style as set by the BJCP's 2014 Guidelines (Spiced Beer: Autumn Seasonal) than ever before, but vagueness has never stopped us before and we're dead set on finding out what the hell makes this beer tick. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing exactly what it is you've decided to put in your mouth. So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell is a Pumpkin Ale?"

Hey even though we act like it, we admit, we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Every beer style has its own back-story, a hometown and a reason why it came about. It's all part of a beer's DNA and we think it can matter.

So welcome to another in our ongoing series (Drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is a Helles?"

We, the Average Joes at ACB, may not have full-time jobs brewing, selling or judging beer, yet if you knew just how AWESOME some of our real jobs are, you'd better understand why we spend so much of our free time drinking beer. It all goes to show that we take our research quite seriously and wish to impart the wisdom we've stumbled upon, in the hopes of making your free time as rich as ours.

Although it's the darling of the craft beer movement, the IPA style is anything but the new kid on the block and boasts a history as complex and mysterious as its variations available today. So we're going all in on one of the world's most popular styles: the IPA or India Pale Ale.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell is an IPA?"

Hey even though we act like it, we admit, we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Each beer style has a back-story - a reason that they came about - and we'll be bringing you what we know, in the first of this ongoing series.

So (drum roll please...) on to "What the Hell Is a Kölsch?" 

Hey even though we act like it, we admit we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Every craft beer style has its own backstory, a hometown, and a reason why it came about. It's all part of a beer's DNA and we think that matters.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is a Helles?"

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer--yet we're still learning, just like you. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing what exactly it is you've decided to pour in your mouth.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is A Gose?"

We, the Average Joes at ACB, may not have full-time jobs brewing, selling, or judging beer, yet if you knew just how AWESOME some of our real jobs are, you'd better understand why we spend so much of our free time drinking beer. It all goes to show that we take our research quite seriously and wish to impart the wisdom we've stumbled upon, in the hopes of making your free time as rich as ours.

Without further ado, let's drink in yet another chapter in our series, "What the Hell is a Barleywine?"

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we're still learning just like you. It's this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink, thus protecting you from the embarrassment of not knowing exactly what it is you've decided to put in your mouth.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell is a Wassail?"

Hey, even though we act like it, we admit we don't know everything. And one thing that's cool to know more about is the kind of beer that you're drinking. Every beer style has a back-story, a hometown, and a reason why it came about. It all plays a role in a beer's DNA and we think that matters.

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please...) "What the Hell Is a Märzen?"

Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't - but various takes on the classic Bière de Garde style are popping up all over the country. And even though some of you might have come across this term on occasion, we're betting that many of you (like many of us at the American Craft Beer compound) aren't really sure what a Bière de Garde really is. Not to worry - we've done some research and we think we've got it now...so get ready to become an instant expert.

Ok, so maybe it's not the strangest beer style out there, but have you really stopped to think about what a milk stout is? Does it have milk in it, or is it milky in texture? Is Guinness a milk stout? Come to think of it, what makes anything a milk stout? Admit it...You've been drinking these beers for years and you now realize that you're not exactly sure just what you're drinking. Well don't worry, your thirst for knowledge is about to be satiated.

Welcome to What the Hell is a Milk Stout...

A few weeks ago, I introduced Reuben's Brews to the ACB community by calling out the fact that the brewery's first commercial batch was a Roggenbier...which begs the question, what the hell is a Roggenbier? I'm here to answer that question with the fifth installment in our new series on beer styles. Thanks for the inspiration, Reuben's!

We've all been there, when the waiter comes around and you want to order the "Say-zohn." "Oh... the Sigh-zon?" says the waiter. "Uh... Yes, the... Zey-zun," you reply and point to the menu in an attempt to end the horrible, impromptu Monty Python sketch you just wandered into. Truth is, we don't think anyone really knows how to pronounce this one except the Belgians, and we have it on good authority that they're just making it up as they go along.

If you've been following our new series so far, you've already studied up on "What the hell is a Kölsch" and you're probably feeling pretty accomplished now that you've enhanced your craft beer IQ. Well, time to stop doing your victory dance, pull the needle off your Kool & The Gang 'Celebrate Good Times' record, and get ready for another healthy dose of beer knowledge.