Guides

Guides

Plain answers to the things a taproom board assumes you already know, and a walkthrough of brewing your own. Style definitions are cited from the BJCP and the American Homebrewers Association. Where an Orlando brewery is named, it’s quoted from that brewery’s own page.

Reading a board

• Beer styles, plainly

  Pilsner, IPA, stout, sour, and the rest — what each word actually promises in the glass.

• Lager vs ale

  One yeast, one temperature. It has nothing to do with colour or strength.

• Hazy IPA vs West Coast IPA

  Two BJCP entries, two very different glasses. How to tell before you order.

• What IBU means on a board

  A bitterness number that only half tells you how bitter a beer tastes.

• How to read a tap list

  Name, style, ABV, and the house-or-guest column most people miss.

• House beer vs guest taps

  What the brewery made itself versus what it bought in to pour.

Brewing and pouring at home

• Homebrew starter kit

  The short list of gear for a first five-gallon batch, and what to skip.

• Homebrew recipes

  Extract vs all-grain, plus two beginner recipes with numbers you can hit.

• Build a home tap

  Keg, gas, regulator, line, shank, faucet — in the order you assemble them.

• Why draft lines change the taste

  Line length, line temperature, and the cleaning schedule behind a good pour.