Beer Quiz
Hops, lagers, IPAs and a 9,000 year lease: 15 questions on how beer is brewed and who brews it best.
In which German city is the original Oktoberfest held every year?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Munich
Oktoberfest began in Munich in 1810 as a public celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, and it is still held on the same meadow, the Theresienwiese, named after his bride.
Despite the name, most of Oktoberfest takes place in September, and only beer brewed within Munich's city limits may be served.
Which plant's cones give beer its bitterness and much of its aroma?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Hops
Hops are the flower cones of the Humulus lupulus vine. Their resins add bitterness to balance malt sweetness, their oils add citrus, pine or floral aromas, and they also help preserve beer.
Hops are a close botanical relative of cannabis, since both plants belong to the same family, Cannabaceae, and share similar aromatic compounds.
In which city was the Guinness brewery founded in 1759?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Dublin
Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the disused St. James's Gate brewery in Dublin on December 31, 1759, at a rent of 45 pounds a year, and began brewing porter there.
The lease became moot long ago because the company eventually bought the land outright, but the signed document is still displayed at the Guinness Storehouse.
What does the abbreviation IPA stand for?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
India Pale Ale
India Pale Ale was a strongly hopped pale ale shipped from Britain to colonial India in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the extra hops and alcohol helping it survive the long sea voyage.
The American craft beer boom revived the style, and hazy New England IPAs full of tropical fruit aromas became a craze in the 2010s.
Heineken, with its red star logo, comes from which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Netherlands
Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery in Amsterdam in 1864 and the lager that bears his name became the Netherlands' most famous export beer, still brewed with the company's own A-yeast strain.
The three letter e's in the Heineken logo are tilted slightly backward so they appear to be smiling.
Hefeweizen is a cloudy Bavarian beer brewed with a large proportion of which grain?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Wheat
Hefeweizen means yeast wheat: German law requires at least 50 percent malted wheat, and the beer is left unfiltered so the yeast stays in suspension, giving its hazy look and banana and clove flavors.
Those banana and clove notes come from the special yeast, not from any added fruit or spice.
Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser, is headquartered in which American city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
St. Louis
Anheuser-Busch has brewed in St. Louis, Missouri, since the 1850s, and Adolphus Busch launched Budweiser there in 1876. The historic brewery complex is still the company's flagship.
The company's famous Clydesdale horses first appeared in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition.
In brewing, what is the name for the sweet liquid extracted from mashed grains before it is fermented?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Wort
Wort is the sugary liquid drained from the mash tun after hot water has converted the malt's starches into sugars. It is boiled with hops and then cooled before yeast is added to ferment it into beer.
Trub is the sediment of proteins and hop debris left after the boil, and krausen is the foamy head that forms during fermentation.
The pilsner style was first brewed in 1842 in a town that lies in which modern country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Czech Republic
Pilsner was created in the Bohemian town of Plzeň, now in the Czech Republic, where Bavarian brewer Josef Groll produced the first clear golden lager in 1842. It is still sold as Pilsner Urquell.
The Czech Republic has long had the highest beer consumption per person in the world, well ahead of Germany and Austria.
Which dark beer style takes its name from the street and river workers of 18th century London?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Porter
Porter was a dark, well hopped brown beer that became hugely popular with London's porters, the men who carried goods around the city, and it was the first beer style brewed on an industrial scale.
Stout began life as simply a stronger porter, which is why Guinness was originally sold as Extra Stout Porter.
What is the main difference between a lager and an ale?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
It is fermented with yeast at cooler temperatures
Lagers use bottom fermenting yeast that works slowly at cool temperatures and are then stored cold, which is what the German word lagern, to store, means. Ales use top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures.
Lager yeast is a hybrid species, and genetic studies suggest one of its parents came from Patagonia.
Which abbreviation measures the bitterness of a beer?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
IBU
IBU stands for International Bitterness Units and measures the concentration of bittering compounds from hops. A light lager may score under 10 while a double IPA can top 100.
ABV is alcohol by volume, SRM is a color scale and OG is original gravity, a measure of the sugar in the wort before fermentation.
Which Belgian beer style is fermented spontaneously with wild yeast from the open air?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lambic
Lambic is brewed around Brussels by leaving the wort in open vessels so wild yeasts and bacteria from the air can ferment it, producing a dry, sour beer that is aged in barrels for years.
Gueuze blends young and old lambics for a second fermentation in the bottle, while kriek is lambic refermented with sour cherries.
In which year did Bavaria issue the Reinheitsgebot, its famous beer purity law?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
1516
The Reinheitsgebot was decreed in Ingolstadt in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria and limited beer ingredients to water, barley and hops. Yeast was added to the list once its role was understood.
One aim of the law was to keep wheat and rye for bakers, which is why Bavarian wheat beer long required a special ducal privilege.
Which Bavarian brewery cites 1040 as its founding year and bills itself as the world's oldest?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan, a former Benedictine abbey brewery in Freising near Munich, cites 1040 as the year the monks were licensed to brew, a claim that rests on a document historians consider doubtful.
Weihenstephan is now owned by the Bavarian state and shares its hill with the Technical University of Munich's famous brewing school.
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All Food and Drink quizzes →About the Beer Quiz
Beer is the world's most popular alcoholic drink and one of its oldest. A Bavarian brewery traces its roots to 1040, a 1516 purity law still shapes German brewing, and Arthur Guinness was so confident in 1759 that he signed a 9,000 year lease on his Dublin brewery. The golden lager most of the world drinks today was born in a single Bohemian town in 1842.
These 15 questions cover beer styles from pilsner to porter, the brewing basics of hops, wort and yeast, famous breweries on both sides of the Atlantic and a few deeper cuts on Belgian lambics and bitterness units. It suits casual drinkers, homebrewers and anyone who has ever ordered a flight.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What topics does the Beer Quiz cover?
Beer styles such as IPA, pilsner, porter and lambic, brewing terms like wort and IBU, famous brands including Guinness and Heineken, and key dates in beer history.
Is the Beer Quiz difficult?
It is rated Medium. Questions on Oktoberfest, hops and IPA are easy, while the final questions on lambic, the Reinheitsgebot and the oldest brewery will test real enthusiasts.
Do the answers explain the brewing science?
Yes. Each answer comes with a short explanation, for example how lager yeast differs from ale yeast, plus an extra fact to share at the bar.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- In which German city is the original Oktoberfest held every year?
Munich Oktoberfest began in Munich in 1810 as a public celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, and it is still held on the same meadow, the Theresienwiese, named after his bride. Despite the name, most of Oktoberfest takes place in September, and only beer brewed within Munich's city limits may be served. - Which plant's cones give beer its bitterness and much of its aroma?
Hops Hops are the flower cones of the Humulus lupulus vine. Their resins add bitterness to balance malt sweetness, their oils add citrus, pine or floral aromas, and they also help preserve beer. Hops are a close botanical relative of cannabis, since both plants belong to the same family, Cannabaceae, and share similar aromatic compounds. - In which city was the Guinness brewery founded in 1759?
Dublin Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the disused St. James's Gate brewery in Dublin on December 31, 1759, at a rent of 45 pounds a year, and began brewing porter there. The lease became moot long ago because the company eventually bought the land outright, but the signed document is still displayed at the Guinness Storehouse. - What does the abbreviation IPA stand for?
India Pale Ale India Pale Ale was a strongly hopped pale ale shipped from Britain to colonial India in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the extra hops and alcohol helping it survive the long sea voyage. The American craft beer boom revived the style, and hazy New England IPAs full of tropical fruit aromas became a craze in the 2010s. - Heineken, with its red star logo, comes from which country?
Netherlands Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery in Amsterdam in 1864 and the lager that bears his name became the Netherlands' most famous export beer, still brewed with the company's own A-yeast strain. The three letter e's in the Heineken logo are tilted slightly backward so they appear to be smiling. - Hefeweizen is a cloudy Bavarian beer brewed with a large proportion of which grain?
Wheat Hefeweizen means yeast wheat: German law requires at least 50 percent malted wheat, and the beer is left unfiltered so the yeast stays in suspension, giving its hazy look and banana and clove flavors. Those banana and clove notes come from the special yeast, not from any added fruit or spice. - Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser, is headquartered in which American city?
St. Louis Anheuser-Busch has brewed in St. Louis, Missouri, since the 1850s, and Adolphus Busch launched Budweiser there in 1876. The historic brewery complex is still the company's flagship. The company's famous Clydesdale horses first appeared in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition. - In brewing, what is the name for the sweet liquid extracted from mashed grains before it is fermented?
Wort Wort is the sugary liquid drained from the mash tun after hot water has converted the malt's starches into sugars. It is boiled with hops and then cooled before yeast is added to ferment it into beer. Trub is the sediment of proteins and hop debris left after the boil, and krausen is the foamy head that forms during fermentation. - The pilsner style was first brewed in 1842 in a town that lies in which modern country?
Czech Republic Pilsner was created in the Bohemian town of Plzeň, now in the Czech Republic, where Bavarian brewer Josef Groll produced the first clear golden lager in 1842. It is still sold as Pilsner Urquell. The Czech Republic has long had the highest beer consumption per person in the world, well ahead of Germany and Austria. - Which dark beer style takes its name from the street and river workers of 18th century London?
Porter Porter was a dark, well hopped brown beer that became hugely popular with London's porters, the men who carried goods around the city, and it was the first beer style brewed on an industrial scale. Stout began life as simply a stronger porter, which is why Guinness was originally sold as Extra Stout Porter. - What is the main difference between a lager and an ale?
It is fermented with yeast at cooler temperatures Lagers use bottom fermenting yeast that works slowly at cool temperatures and are then stored cold, which is what the German word lagern, to store, means. Ales use top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures. Lager yeast is a hybrid species, and genetic studies suggest one of its parents came from Patagonia. - Which abbreviation measures the bitterness of a beer?
IBU IBU stands for International Bitterness Units and measures the concentration of bittering compounds from hops. A light lager may score under 10 while a double IPA can top 100. ABV is alcohol by volume, SRM is a color scale and OG is original gravity, a measure of the sugar in the wort before fermentation. - Which Belgian beer style is fermented spontaneously with wild yeast from the open air?
Lambic Lambic is brewed around Brussels by leaving the wort in open vessels so wild yeasts and bacteria from the air can ferment it, producing a dry, sour beer that is aged in barrels for years. Gueuze blends young and old lambics for a second fermentation in the bottle, while kriek is lambic refermented with sour cherries. - In which year did Bavaria issue the Reinheitsgebot, its famous beer purity law?
1516 The Reinheitsgebot was decreed in Ingolstadt in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria and limited beer ingredients to water, barley and hops. Yeast was added to the list once its role was understood. One aim of the law was to keep wheat and rye for bakers, which is why Bavarian wheat beer long required a special ducal privilege. - Which Bavarian brewery cites 1040 as its founding year and bills itself as the world's oldest?
Weihenstephan Weihenstephan, a former Benedictine abbey brewery in Freising near Munich, cites 1040 as the year the monks were licensed to brew, a claim that rests on a document historians consider doubtful. Weihenstephan is now owned by the Bavarian state and shares its hill with the Technical University of Munich's famous brewing school.
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