Beer styles were never codified to my knowledge. Think of how beer has changed in just your lifetime. And if you are as old as I am you remember a time when the term craft beer was non existent.
Going back the 1800's, many of what became styles were actually just descriptions of a beers condition. Stout for example originally meant any stronger than normal beer. There were stout pale ales and stout porters. The term Mild simply meant young. Any beer served fresh from the brewery was called a mild. The word had nothing to do with strength or bitterness. The early days of IPA were confusing since different brewers were quite apt to use different terms for what was basically the same beer. Some simply kept the name Pale Ale or some variant while just a few were calling it India Pale Ale.
The BJCP tries to label them every 7 to 10 years but even their definitions evolve and change over time. Beer styles have and still are ever evolving.
Going back the 1800's, many of what became styles were actually just descriptions of a beers condition. Stout for example originally meant any stronger than normal beer. There were stout pale ales and stout porters. The term Mild simply meant young. Any beer served fresh from the brewery was called a mild. The word had nothing to do with strength or bitterness. The early days of IPA were confusing since different brewers were quite apt to use different terms for what was basically the same beer. Some simply kept the name Pale Ale or some variant while just a few were calling it India Pale Ale.
The BJCP tries to label them every 7 to 10 years but even their definitions evolve and change over time. Beer styles have and still are ever evolving.
