Other Origin Ale Styles
Ale · Straw to black
Malt sweetness is medium to medium-high with a pronounced malt character.
Reading guide · The complete guideline attributes below preserve the source’s qualifications.2–40+
Straw to black · Illustrative colors on the shared, uneven SRM scale.
Explore styles overlapping this color range6.0–7.0%
Reference scale, not a limit on official guideline values.
20–30
Measured bitterness; perceived bitterness is described in the guideline below.
Brewers Association 2026 · Printed guideline page 33 · PDF page 42. Color graphics are illustrative.
Official style attributes, including what may be present and what should be absent.
Malt sweetness is medium to medium-high with a pronounced malt character. A high proportion of pale or dark wheat malt (as much as 80 percent) is used to brew these beers as well as Pilsener and other pale, toasted, or dark specialty malts. Paler versions may have bready, aromatic biscuit malt attributes. Darker versions may exhibit roast malt bitterness at low levels, and toasted or nutty malt attributes. Caramel-like malt attributes are not present.
Very low
Medium-low to medium
Full
Chill haze is acceptable at low temperatures. Hue may be too dark to perceive clarity in some versions.
Straw to black
Fruity esters may be present as these beers are fermented with ale yeast as opposed to wheat beer yeast. Diacetyl and phenolic aromas and flavors should not be present.
Traditional German wheat beer yeast is not used in this style of beer. When using these guidelines as the basis for evaluating entries at competitions, competition organizers may choose to create subcategories which reflect pale and dark versions.
Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.067-1.072 (16.5-17.5 °Plato) • Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.016-1.024 (4.5-6.1 °Plato) • Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.8%-5.6% (6.0%-7.0%) • Hop Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-40+ (4-80+ EBC)