Beer Style Chart

Light and session styles

American light lager: OG 1.028-1.040, FG 0.998-1.008, ABV 2.8-4.2%. Deliberately low-gravity and highly attenuated for a clean, easy-drinking result.

American pale ale: OG 1.045-1.060, FG 1.010-1.015, ABV 4.5-6.2%. A moderate-strength style built around hop character rather than malt sweetness.

English/British bitter (ordinary): OG 1.030-1.039, FG 1.007-1.011, ABV 3.2-3.8%. A genuinely session-strength style meant for drinking multiple pints in a sitting.

BJCP: official beer style guidelines →

Medium-strength ales

American IPA: OG 1.056-1.070, FG 1.008-1.014, ABV 5.5-7.5%. Higher gravity than pale ale to support the bigger hop character and body the style calls for.

American amber ale: OG 1.045-1.060, FG 1.010-1.015, ABV 4.5-6.2%. Sits in a similar gravity range to pale ale but with more caramel malt character.

Belgian dubbel: OG 1.062-1.075, FG 1.008-1.018, ABV 6.3-7.6%. Higher gravity paired with a very dry finish from Belgian yeast strains that attenuate aggressively despite the malt-forward profile.

High-gravity and strong styles

Russian imperial stout: OG 1.075-1.115, FG 1.018-1.030, ABV 8-12%. One of the highest-gravity common homebrew styles, needing a robust yeast strain and often extended fermentation to handle the alcohol tolerance required.

Belgian tripel: OG 1.075-1.085, FG 1.008-1.014, ABV 7.5-9.5%. Combines high starting gravity with very high attenuation, producing a beer that finishes surprisingly light-bodied despite its strength.

Barleywine: OG 1.090-1.120, FG 1.016-1.030, ABV 8-12%. Among the strongest common homebrew styles, frequently requiring a yeast starter and patience for a long, slow fermentation to finish properly.

Using this chart to plan a recipe

Calculate expected ABV as (OG minus FG) times roughly 131.3, then compare your recipe's target OG and expected attenuation against the style range to check you are in the right neighborhood before you brew, since missing a style's gravity range by a wide margin usually means the beer will taste thin or overly heavy relative to what the style calls for.

Yeast strain and fermentation temperature affect final gravity and attenuation percentage as much as your grain bill does, so two brewers hitting the identical original gravity can land at meaningfully different final gravities and ABV depending on yeast choice, which is why the BJCP ranges are deliberately wide rather than a single fixed number.