{"id":2933,"date":"2016-01-15T07:52:19","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T07:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/?p=2933"},"modified":"2020-09-29T22:52:28","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T22:52:28","slug":"the-beer-syndicate-guide-to-the-ten-most-commonly-mispronounced-beer-styles-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/the-beer-syndicate-guide-to-the-ten-most-commonly-mispronounced-beer-styles-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beer Syndicate Guide to the Ten Most Commonly Mispronounced Beer Styles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"10<\/p>\n

As a result of the booming beer renaissance, not only do we have a tasty abundance of easy-to-pronounce beers like IPA, porter, and stout on tap, but indeed other increasingly popular traditional beer styles from around the world that many people are still trying to figure out how to say. <\/span>But not to worry.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this brief beer-style pronunciation guide, we take a quick look at the correct way to say ten commonly mispronounced beer styles (including some audio clips<\/strong>) so that the next time you see one of these delicious brews on the draft list, you can order it with confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Beer Syndicate Guide to…<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Pronouncing Beer Styles<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Maerzen\"<\/p>\n

M\u00e4rzen<\/strong><\/span>: In 1553, a Bavarian brewing ordnance decreed that beer may only be brewed between Sept. 29 and April 23.\u00a0 M\u00e4rzen was brewed in March (the German word for March is \u201cM\u00e4rz\u201d, hence the beer style \u201cM\u00e4rzen\u201d), and was designed to last the summer months with the last bottles being served during the Oktoberfest celebration towards the end of September.\u00a0 This is why the M\u00e4rzen beer style is sometimes also called \u201cOktoberfestbier\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The wrong way to say \u201cM\u00e4rzen\u201d is like this: \u201cMars-in\u201d (like a hotel on Mars: The Mars Inn).\u00a0 The more accurate way is like this = \u201cMare-Tsen\u201d where \u201cMare\u201d is pronounced like the English word \u201cmare\u201d (an adult female horse).\u00a0Remember it like this: \u201cThe old mare loves M\u00e4rzen\u201d.\u00a0(Audio clip below.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hefe-Weizen\"<\/p>\n

Hefeweizen<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 This popular, albeit often mispronounced, beer style originated centuries ago in Germany and literally translates as \u201cYeast (Hefe) Wheat (Weizen)\u201d; the name refers to the fact that the yeast is left unfiltered in this cloudy wheat based beer.\u00a0 You might hear some English speakers refer to this beer as \u201chef\u201d (the official drink of the Playboy Mansion), which of course is shorthand for how the whole word is typically mispronounced: \u201cHeffa-Why-Zen.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Good beer.\u00a0 Bad pronunciation.\u00a0 Try this instead: \u201cHay-Fa-Vy-T\u2019sen\u201d where the \u201cVy\u201d is like \u201cEye\u201d with a \u201cV\u201d in front of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Weissbier\"However,\u00a0most Germans refer to Hefeweizen as “Weissbier” or “Wei\u00dfbier” (White Beer). \u00a0Both spellings of “Weissbier” are acceptable and both words are pronounced the same: “Vice Bee-Eh”. That capital \u201cB\u201d looking symbol in the word \u201cWei\u00dfbier\u201d (\u00df) is called an \u201cEszett\u201d or \u201cscharfes S\u201d (sharp S), and can either be written as \u201c\u00df\u201d or \u201css\u201d, and is sometimes referred to in English as a \u201clong s\u201d.]<\/span><\/p>\n

Berliner Weisse<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 Speaking of popular German beer styles, the tart Berliner Weisse beer style has been making a big splash in the U.S. as of late, but are you saying it correctly?<\/em> \u00a0Many English speakers say it the wrong way, like this: \u201cBurr-Len-Er Whys\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Here\u2019s how it\u2019s actually pronounced: \u201cBear-Lean-Er Vice-Eh\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lambic\/Lambiek<\/strong><\/span>: On the subject of sour beer, you might hear a lot of people pronouncing \u201cLambic\u201d as, well<\/em>, \u201cLam-Bic\u201d.\u00a0 But in Belgium (the place where the Lambic beer style originated), Lambic is brewed by both French and Dutch speakers, and in either language, Lambic is pronounced closer to \u201cLahm-Beek\u201d (\u201cbeek\u201d like a bird\u2019s beak).\u00a0 In fact, in Dutch it\u2019s spelled \u201cLambiek\u201d where the \u201cbiek\u201d part of the pronunciation becomes all the more apparent (listen below).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\nK\u00f6lsch (Koelsh)<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 This light and refreshing ale comes to us from the German city of Cologne (or K\u00f6ln<\/u> in German— hence the name of the beer style), and is admittedly a tough one to pronounce because there is no sound equivalent in English for the two little dots (umlaut) over the letter \u201co\u201d that looks like a little surprised face in the word \u201cK\u00f6lsch\u201d. \u00a0Even so, this is how to say it wrong: \u201cCoal-Sh\u201d.\u00a0 This is closer to correct: \u201cK\u2019ul-Sh\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nBut you might see why someone would pronounce the word \u201cK\u00f6lsch\u201d with emphasis on the \u201cO\u201d because it\u2019s almost as if the little \u201c\u00f6\u201d in the word is subliminally prompting you to make an \u201cO\u201d shape with your mouth.\u00a0 I mean if the little surprised face (\u00f6 ) is doing it, we should too, right? \u00a0Ohhhhhh<\/em>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Gueuze\/Geuze<\/span>:<\/strong> This sour beer style hails from Belgium, the land of predominately French and Dutch speakers.\u00a0 But in this case, not only are there two common spellings for this word, but also two different ways to pronounce it, neither of which are \u201cGoo-zz\u201d. The easier of the two variations to pronounce is the French version spelled \u201cgueuze\u201d and pronounced \u201cG\u2019ugh-zz\u201d. \u00a0(Audio clip below.)<\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe Dutch spell it \u201cgeuze\u201d and the pronunciation is a little trickier for English speakers, but give it a try: \u201cHeww-Za\u201d, where the \u201ceww\u201d part is pronounced like when a little kid expresses disgust as with \u201cEww<\/u> gross<\/em>!\u201d (Audio clip below.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"geuze<\/p>\n

Gose<\/strong><\/span>: This now popular salty sour treat originates from the city of Goslar in Northern Germany.\u00a0 The commonly wrong way to say it is like this: \u201cGoes\u201d or \u201cGohs\u201d, like in the sentence \u201cJoe goes<\/u> to the bar.\u201d\u00a0 The right way is \u201cGohs-Eh\u201d, with emphasis on the \u201cO\u201d like the healthy breakfast beverage Mimo<\/u><\/strong>sa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Biere<\/p>\n

Bi\u00e8re de Garde<\/strong><\/span><\/span>: \u00a0One of the very few beer styles of French origin, Bi\u00e8re de Garde means “beer for\u00a0keeping\/storing” (beer for guarding), and was traditionally a farmhouse ale from Northern France which was\u00a0brewed to a stronger alcohol content at the end of the brewing season and thus could be stored or kept (guarded) for subsequent distribution during the warmer months.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The wrong way to pronounce\u00a0this historical beer\u00a0is \u201cBeer Day Guard\u201d.\u00a0 The closer way to say it is like this: \u201cBee-Y\u2019Air D\u2019Guard\u201d, where \u201cBi\u00e8re\u201d sounds like the French name \u201cPierre\u201d, like the former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre<\/em> Trudeau.\u00a0 The French word \u201cde\u201d, which usually means \u201cof\u201d but is here translated as “for”, sounds more like \u201cduh\u201d than \u201cday\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rauchbier_Text\"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rauchbier<\/span><\/span>:<\/strong> Classical Rauchbier is a historical specialty smoked beer originating from Bamberg, Germany, with the Schlenkerla brewery producing the gold standard of the style.\u00a0 Literally translated as \u201csmoke beer\u201d, the beer style is traditionally made with malt smoked over beech wood, and the beer itself can vary from somewhat smoky to bbq in your mouth, depending on the proportion of smoked malt used (sometimes up to 100%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to pronouncing the style, the wrong way is like this: \u201cRausch Beer\u201d.\u00a0 Closer to correct is like this: \u201cRauk Bee-Eh\u201d where the \u201cR\u201d in \u201cRauch\u201d is rolled like in Spanish. \u00a0But if you really want to sound like a native speaker, try pronouncing “Rauch” like this: “Rau” (roll that “R”), and then make a noise like you would when you’re about to hock a small loogie. \u00a0(Audio clip below.)<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPiwo Grodziskie<\/span><\/span>:<\/strong> Speaking of smoked beer, this once well-known oak-smoked light wheat beer originated from the town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski, which is located in modern day western Poland.\u00a0 \u00a0When it comes to the Polish language, the tricky part, at least for most English speakers, is that letters in Polish words don\u2019t always behave like they do in English.\u00a0 Take for example the Polish word for \u201cbeer\u201d which is \u201cPiwo\u201d.\u00a0 It\u2019s not pronounced \u201cPee-Woah\u201d, but rather \u201cPee Voh\u201d (which, by the way, is how you say \u201cbeer\u201d in many other Slavic languages including Russian, Croatian, Bosnian, Czech, Serbian, Ukrainian, and a few others).<\/span><\/p>\n

So now we\u2019ve got the first word down.\u00a0 \u201cGrodziskie\u201d, on the other hand, is a little tougher because you have to remember to roll the \u201cr\u201d like you would in Spanish, but also because of the \u201cdz\u201d letter combination which in Polish turns out sounding closer to how you might say \u201cgee\u201d in English as in \u201cGee, Polish is tricky\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s put it altogether: \u00a0\u201cPee-Voh Grow-Jees-K\u2019ya\u201d. (Did you remember to roll the \u201cr\u201d?<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Still a little\u00a0tricky?<\/em>\u00a0 Luckily there’s an equally acceptable alternative name for Pivo\u00a0Grodziskie commonly used in German-speaking countries. \u00a0That\u00a0name is\u00a0“Gr\u00e4tzer” and is pronounced “Great-Sir”. (One of the rare occasions that a German word is the easier way to go, and probably the name you’ll see being used to call this beer in most English-speaking countries too.)
\n<\/span>
\n[Fun fact<\/strong>: The linguistic term for the \u201cdz\u201d sound in Polish is called the \u201cvoiced alveolo-palatal sibilant affricate\u201d and is transcribed as d\u0361\u0291.\u00a0 Try saying that term ten times fast.\u00a0 Or even once.]<\/span><\/p>\n

DIPA<\/strong><\/span>: DIPA, or “Double IPA” (not “Dark IPA), is one of the more popular American contributions to the beer styles, but since we’ve heard it pronounced as “Dip-Ah”, “Dee-Pah”, and also spoken out as “Double IPA”, we’ll leave it up to the public to decide.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>\n

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