You know your lager from your porter, don’t you? But what is all this blah about riesling versus chardonnay? Shiraz or cabernet? Surely that grape juice stuff comes in white or red and that’s all you need to know.

Well brace yourself, because there are encyclopedias on the fine details about the who, what, where and when of drinking wine – but leave that to the experts for now.

We’re going back to the starting gate for a first lesson in what wines a dedicated beer drinker might like depending on their taste in brews, from sundowning lager to heavier hopped ales, and wheat beers to dark porters.

(There’s even a place here for cider drinkers and bourbon and coke fans – we don’t discriminate.)

And if you’re a wine sipper but want a reverse road map to the ever expanding world of beer styles, craft and commercial, this handy guide will work for you as well.

Our comparo tips are based on the basic smells, flavours, weight and textures of various beer types and wine varieties.

You can find a lot of similarities, especially flavour wise, in certain beers and wines, says senior McWilliams winemaker Russell Cody.

The weight and power of particular beers and wines mirror each other as well, he says.

Stout drinkers will tend to be big red drinkers. Lighter white wine fans will likely prefer similarly styled beers like lagers and pilsners.

“It’s also got to do with what you feel like at the time,” Russell says.

“Sometimes I feel like a crisp and light Asahi lager. Then there’ll be days when I feel like a Guinness.

“The same goes with wines – there’ll be times when you feel like a nice crisp riesling or semillon, then other times when you want to sit down and have a big Barossa shiraz.”

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Our drinking habits have changed to be more connected to the food we eat as well, so we’re seeing more how comparative wines and beers go really well with varying food styles, from lighter and fresher eats in summer to heavier midwinter meals.

RELATED: Match your food with wine

The trend towards lighter drinks has not just been a wine thing, with more craft beer drinkers these days looking for something refreshing for a Saturday afternoon barbecue, Little Bang Brewery’s Ryan Davidson says.

Based in Adelaide’s inner eastern suburb of Stepney, Ryan and craft brewing partner Fil Kemp make 30 different kinds of Little Bang beers exploring what they see as every colour of the brewing rainbow.

The bigger and bolder Indian Pale Ales, British and American Pale Ales have been a strong force, but often these are now just a single bottle buy, Ryan says.

“If they want to drink craft beers all the time, they’re wanting something a little easier on the palate, a little more mid strength, and a bit more refreshing and balanced,” he says.

“It’s the next frontier for craft brewers,” Ryan says. “It’s not turning up the volumes to 11, but about achieving balance and exploring the nuances and putting out all kinds of beers that are more accessible to the public.”

So let’s start with a light and refreshing lager. Bottoms up!

Lager

Light and easy beers, clearest in appearance, dry palate, refreshing to down, and delicate, some might argue often a little inconsequential flavour-wise, not too hop-bitter, not overly sweet.

Wine:

White wines that have subtle, sometimes almost invisible aromas and flavours, though evenly balanced with a non-scary layer of crunchy grape acidity and with light to medium body weight. Try a pinot grigio (aka pinot gris), or the Italian varieties now grown here like vermentino or fiano.

Pilsner

Still in the crisper and lighter side of the beer spectrum, but with a touch more bitterness from more hop use, which also leaves an impression of fruitier kitchen herb and spice flavours (like chimichurri but not chilli heat). A drier finish as well.

Wine:

Again go for a white wine but perhaps with a bit more of a grassier/herbal sense, and dry finishing. Think here about a dry riesling, a new season semillon, or classic white semillon-sauvignon blanc blend.

Pale Ale

We’re putting the foot down now, a bit more oomph, a touch more hop bitterness, though balanced mostly with a little malt sweetness, enhancing an earthiness, sometimes a woodiness, and a touch of fruitiness. And you might find the alcohol and weight on the up as well compared to the lighter beers.

Wine:

The woody/grassy/earthy feel with an element of lighter to medium bodied structure and mid-rich, redder fruits, suggests you’ll like a more mellow style of red wine like pinot noir, though there might be further pleasure with the Spanish variety tempranillo now grown and finding popularity here.

Indian Pale Ale

Stepping up the hop content now, so two things happen. Your beer is going to have a pronounced aroma, be bolder in its bitterness, and have a pretty intense flavour as you drink, and depending on the hop variety used, you may also get an obvious citrus-like element as well.

Wine:

This points to sauvignon blanc, with its unmistakeable herbal/citrus/tropical aromas and intense flavour profile that continues to reflect those impressions as you sip. Both IPA and a crisp savvy also relate well to similar Asian inspired foods.

Wheat Beer

It’s called wheat beer because a decent percentage of the flavour comes from that grain rather than most beers which employ all malted barley. They offer mostly a lighter and brighter approach, often smooth and without great hop bitterness, and flavour suggestions of fruit and spice, from apple and orange to banana and apricot, and even a bubblegum-like note. Clove, coriander, pepper and vanilla are the commonly recognised spice notes.

Wine:

The spice flavours (not chilli heat) point to wines like viognier, marsanne, and roussanne, and also chardonnay, which exhibit complexities beyond straight fruit lines, have a smoother feel but don’t necessarily shock the palate with zinging acidity.

Amber/Red Ale

Known for a richer, maltier, and therefore a touch of sweetness in the drinking, even perhaps a note of toast, toffee or caramel balancing out what can be a wide range of hop bitterness, this genre is a lighter to medium-bodied first step into darker beers.

Wine:

Look for older school, darker and sweeter rosé to start with, and try, too, a medium-bodied style of the red variety grenache, which can have a seam of fruit sweetness through its palate yet still presents with balance and a decent power-to-weight ratio. A softer merlot, too, is a good way to move into the red wine world.

Belgian Ale

We’re stepping into medium to fuller-weighted beers now, with the balance increasingly tense as a more fruit and spice sweetness comes into play. You might start to see mid-dark fruit notes with a spice rack ranging from aromatic pepper and coriander all the way through to richer spices like anise.

Wine:

Darker and richer fruits, spices like anise and pepper – you could almost be writing a tasting note for shiraz, which is taking us further into fuller-bodied red wine territory with a touch more alcohol and therefore a bit more inherent sweetness.

Porter or Stout

We are now in full-bodied, rich, dark beer territory, robust yet tempered by their well roasted dark chocolate, toffee, coffee, mocha, caramel and associated characters. Some styles are even creamy, and give a sense of roasted, toasted sweetness. And just in case you’re tempted, they’re a great match for a chocolate dessert dish.

Wine:

Full bodied, darker fruit and toasty characters, secondary or background sweetness, from fruit and oak components – you’re talking big traditional shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, and blends of both of those major red varieties. And given we’re in such rich, dark surrounds, classic dark beer fans will also love a tawny port, which has similar power and in-built sweetness.

Cider

Cider, both apple and pear driven, can stretch between tart through to sometimes fairly sweet, and its fizz also can vary from lively to just effervescent. It’s a party drink, mostly low in alcohol, and the commercial styles are definitely best served icy cold.

Wine

Your go-to here is moscato, the more commercial brands often sweet, while better local labels, better imported Italians – ask your retailer for advice here – have far more balanced tang. Good moscato has one of the most attractive aromas in the wine world, wafts of jasmine, musk, orange blossom water, honeysuckle, even mint and cinnamon among its attractions. Its flavours can include lemon, mandarin, and even peach and apricot, and alcohol levels are usually 5-7 per cent, with residual sweetness its most obvious impression.

Bourbon and Cola

The overall vibe here is smooth and sweet, the bourbon offering some oak and sweet/sour caramel while the cola, if Coke, is all about a vanilla edge. Other colas change the flavour profile, and can steer toward a cough syrupy impression.

Wine

The oak sweetness and smoothness is your main marker here, so oak-influenced, warmer climate region red wines like shiraz and cabernet sauvignon are bang on target.

Based on an original idea and graphic by McWilliams Wine, mcwilliams.com.au

Graphic animation: Steve Grice.

Assistance from Little Bang Brewery, littlebang.com.au