Hello Untappd Community!

We're excited to share the latest updates from another successful style voting process, conducted with the invaluable help of our dedicated global moderators. A heartfelt thank you to all the moderators for their thoughtful contributions and the time they dedicated to this process. Your insights and expertise continue to shape the Untappd experience, making it more reflective of the evolving beer landscape.

At Untappd, we're constantly looking for emerging trends and changes in the brewing industry. We aim to ensure that the Untappd experience remains dynamic, accurate, and enjoyable for everyone. This means regularly reviewing and updating our beer styles to keep pace with the industry's creativity and innovation.

We're pleased to announce that we made these style changes live as of January 2, 2024. While we're applying these new styles to beers across our platform, please note that it may take some time to see these changes reflected everywhere. Rest assured, we've already updated badges and criteria for these new styles.

Cheers to exploring these new styles together!

Style Updates

New Styles Added

• Altbier - Sticke: Sticke is a stronger, specialty German beer style from Düsseldorf. Known for its higher alcohol content (usually 6-7.5% ABV), a rich malt sweetness with caramel and toffee notes, and a hop balance, Sticke beers are typically available seasonally, offering a unique twist on the classic Altbier. Sticke beers have a deep copper to dark brown color, and they showcase a blend of malt and hop flavors with a clean ale yeast fermentation. They are highly regarded in the Düsseldorf region for their complex and well-balanced profile. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Cider - Applewine: A style of cider with a higher ABV, achieved by fermenting fruit pulp instead of juice, often with added sugar. This leads to a more potent final product with more pronounced flavors. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Cider - Basque: Basque cider is an apple cider originating from the Basque region of Europe, where it is served at sagardotegi (cider houses). Known locally as Sagardoa, this cider is flat (non-carbonated) and poured from bottles at height. Apple harvesting starts in September and October to prepare the raw materials for barrel fermentation before the cider ferments up to the middle of spring. Spontaneous fermentation is the preferred way to produce the Basque style of cider, as opposed to using commercial yeast. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Cream Ale - Imperial / Double: A twist on traditional American cream ales, the imperial versions take the silky base of the lager/ale hybrid style and turn up the flavor and ABV. While standard cream ales are rarely adjuncted, imperial cream ales are almost always full of added ingredients such as coffee, chocolate, vanilla, or fruit, and some breweries will even barrel-age their version. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Farmhouse Ale - Brett: Any farmhouse ale fermented with Brettanomyces or a mixture of Brettanomyces and other yeasts. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Farmhouse Ale - Kornøl: A traditional beer from northwestern Norway, Kornøl is pale, hazy, sweet, fruity, and typically features juniper and kveik flavors. It's known for its grainy, juniper, and fruity flavors, with light carbonation and an alcohol strength of 6-8% ABV. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Lager - American Pre-Prohibition: A rediscovery of a pre-Prohibition beer style in the U.S., this lager includes adjuncts like corn, rice, or sugar and hopped with domestic and imported hops. It's darker than modern American lagers, with robust bitterness and a hoppy character. (Source: BYO Article)
• Lager - Polotmavé (Czech Amber): An amber lager from Czechia with a malt-driven profile and varying hop character, polomavéflavors range from bready and biscuity to caramelly. These Czech lagers are distinguished by their slightly fuller body and more complex flavor profile. (Source: BJCP)
• Lager - Rotbier: Nürnberger Rotbier, a traditional German beer from Nuremberg, is known for its reddish hue and rich malt-forward taste, featuring caramel, toffee, and nutty notes. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Lager - Smoked: A lager made with a portion of smoked malts. The base style can vary, including pale lager, Helles, Pilsner, or other lager styles. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Lager - Světlé (Czech Pale): A light-bodied, refreshing, hoppy, and bitter pale Czech lager with flavors similar to the stronger Czech Premium Pale Lager but in a lower alcohol, lighter-bodied format. (Source: BJCP)
• Lager - Tmavé (Czech Dark): Rich, dark, malty Czech lagers with a roast character ranging from almost absent to quite prominent, offering an interesting and complex flavor profile. (Source: BJCP)
• Pale Ale - Fruited: Fruited Pale Ales are, as the name suggests, pale ales containing a proportion of fruit. Typically this will be in the form of purées or juices that have been added during the brewing process. Zest, peel, or even whole fruits may also be used. Fruit may be added at the end of the boil so that it is present during fermentation. Alternatively, fruit may be added post-fermentation when a fresher fruit character is desired. A fruited pale ale should not contain any lactose (or vanilla if used as a vegan-friendly alternative) as this would be classed as a Pale Ale - Milkshake.
• Porter - Smoked: A dark beer with a significant roasted malt character and a smoky depth thanks to wood-smoked malt. Different woods lend different flavors to the finished product. (Source: CraftBeer)
• Sour - Catharina: Originating from Santa Catarina, Brazil, Catharina Sour is known for using fresh fruits that dominate the beer's flavor and aroma, including Brazilian fruits like jabuticaba and acerola cherry. (Source: Catharina Sour)
• Sour - Tomato / Vegetable Gose: A variation of the classic Gose with the addition of tomatoes or other vegetables, popular in Eastern Europe. It can mimic popular cocktails or soups, and the tomato component is added during fermentation. (Source: Moderator Crafted)
• Wheat Beer - Fruited: Fruited Wheat Beers are, as the name suggests, wheat beers (including Hefeweizen and Witbier) containing a proportion of fruit. Typically this will be in the form of purées, juices, or whole fruits that have been added during the brewing process. Fruit may be added at the end of the boil so that it is present during fermentation. Alternatively, fruit may be added post-fermentation when a fresher fruit character is desired.

Renamed Styles

• Altbier to Altbier - Traditional
• Old Ale to Old / Stock Ale: Old / Stock Ales undergo aging, often for years, contributing to a rich, wine-like, sweet oxidation character. They are copper-red to very dark in color. Historically, stock ales were very strong and used for blending to add an "old" quality and perhaps acidity. (Source: Beer and Brewing, Wikipedia)
• Golden Ale - American to Blonde / Golden Ale - American, Golden Ale - English to Blonde / Golden Ale - English, Golden Ale - Other to Blonde / Golden Ale - Other
• Cider - Ice / Applewine to Cider - Ice: Ice cider can be made in two ways, either by cryoconcentration or cryoextraction. Most ice ciders are made by cryoconcentration, meaning apples are harvested in the fall and pressed, and the juice is put outside to freeze during the colder months. Cryoextraction involves leaving apples on the trees during the height of winter and placing them at the mercy of the elements so that the fruit is frozen and dried. They are then picked during this period when the temperatures usually range from -8 °C to 15°C. The extreme weather ensures the apples remain frozen during pressing. Once pressed, the juice is fermented at a low temperature for approximately eight months. (Source: Wikipedia)

Merged Styles

• Merge Blonde Ale into Blonde / Golden Ale - Other

Description Updates

• IPA - White / Wheat: Description remains the same, source updated. (Source: BJCP)
• IPA - Red: The Red IPA is reddish-amber to dark reddish-copper colored, hoppy, bitter, and moderately strong, with caramel, toffee, and dark fruit malt character. (Source: RateBeer)
• Pilsner - Imperial/Double: The Imperial Pilsner is a crisp, clean, medium-bodied, gold-colored lager with a pronounced malt profile and bitterness and higher alcohol content. (Source: RateBeer)
• Strong Ale - American: Description remains the same, source updated. (Source: BJCP)
• Winter Ale: Winter Ale, although not technically a beer style per se, can certainly be considered a widespread brewing tradition. The custom of brewing a stronger-than-normal ale for drinking against the chills of the coldest months of the year is doubtless as old as brewing in Northern Europe itself. Earlier unhopped or lightly hopped ales were particularly suitable for being heated and spiced, giving rise to such winter's drinks as "ale posset", a drink mixing piping hot ale with bread, milk, sugar, ginger, and nutmeg. The rise of hopped beer, which reacts badly to being heated, seems to have meant the decline of hot ale drinks. However, drinkers continued to express a desire for stronger, sweeter, and often darker beers in the winter months. These seasonal beers have an emphasis on darker malts and sometimes use spices alongside hops, recalling the old heated spiced ales. Many winter ales in Europe are dubbed "Christmas ales," and this is an old tradition, although in the United States this is often translated to "holiday ale". (Source: Beer and Brewing)
• Winter Warmer: A winter warmer is a traditional malty-sweet strong ale that is brewed in the winter months. As type of old ale, it is usually quite dark (but not as dark as a stout), with a big malt presence. Sometimes, winter warmers have a few spices, especially in the United States, although spices are not necessarily a required ingredient in a winter warmer ("Winter Ale" would be a more appropriate choice for other seasonal spiced beers). The primary characteristic is strength; while a standard old ale would fall between 5% and 6%, the average winter warmer ranges from 6% to 8% ABV, while some reach 10% ABV or more. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Porter - American: Inspired by the storied English Porter, the American Porter tends to make its own rules. With plenty of innovation, brewers in the US have taken this style to a new level, whether it's highly hopping the brew or adding chocolate to complement the highly roasted and burnt flavor associated with this type of beer. The color could be medium brown to inky black and the range of hop bitterness is also quite wide, but most are balanced. Quite a few easy drinking session Porters can be found as well. (Source: BeerAdvocate)
• Kellerbier / Zwickelbier: Kellerbier is a type of German beer, an unfiltered lager originating in Franconia. Kellerbier contains more of its original brewing yeast, held in suspension. As a result, it is distinctly cloudy, and is described in German as naturtrüb (naturally cloudy). Kellerbier is often served directly from the barrel in a beer garden, but may be bottled as well. The term Zwickelbier, regionally Zwickel or Zwickl, refers to a weaker and less full-flavored variant of Kellerbier. Originally, it was used to refer to the small amount of beer taken by a brewmaster from the barrel with the aid of a special siphon called the Zwickelhahn. It is less hoppy, and typically not left to age as long as Kellerbier. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Specialty Grain: The Specialty Grain beer is a catch-all style for beers enhanced by or featuring the character of additional grain or grains, other than the more traditional barley, wheat and rye grains. The color and specific character of the beer depends greatly on the character of the added grains. Examples of these alternative grains are Oats, Buckwheat, Spelt, Quinoa, or other historical grains like Einkorn or Emmer, all of which are added or used exclusively. Ales made with Rice can also be included here as long as it is not intended to be used as an adjunct to reduce the beer brewing costs, but to rather showcase the Rice grain. Note that if the specialty grain is a minor addition and does not provide a noticeable distinguishable character to the beer, it should go in the base style of the beer. (Source: RateBeer)

Badge Updates

The following badges have been updated with the new styles which now qualify for those badges:

2X

• Cream Ale - Imperial / Double

Cream of the Crop

• Cream Ale - Imperial / Double

Down in Smoke

• Porter - Smoked
• Lager - Smoked

Fruits of Your Labor

• Pale Ale - Fruited
• Wheat Beer - Fruited
• Sour - Catharina

Heavy Weight

• Porter - Smoked

Johnny Appleseed

• Cider - Basque
• Cider - Applewine

Lager Jack

• Lager - Rotbier
• Lager - American Pre-Prohibition
• Lager - Světlé (Czech Pale)
• Lager - Polotmavé (Czech Amber)
• Lager - Tmavé (Czech Dark)
• Lager - Smoked

Paint the Town Red

• Lager - Rotbier
• Lager - Polotmavé (Czech Amber)

Pale as the Moon

• Pale Ale - Fruited

Pucker Up

• Sour - Tomato / Vegetable Gose
• Sour - Catharina

Schwarz-buckler

• Lager - Tmavé (Czech Dark)

The Dark Side

• Lager - Tmavé (Czech Dark)

To the Alt

• Altbier - Sticke

To the Port

• Porter - Smoked

Trip to the Farm

• Farmhouse Ale - Brett
• Farmhouse Ale - Kornøl

What Gose Round

• Sour - Tomato / Vegetable Gose

Wit, Weiss, and Weizen

• Wheat Beer - Fruited

You Don't Know Brett

• Farmhouse Ale - Brett

This increases our total active style count to 270 (excluding "Other" which does not qualify), which will allow for Level 54 as the maximum level for the Wheel of Styles badge. To level up your badge, you must check-in a beer of a style that you haven't had in the last 5 check-ins.