be a beer connoisseur

I went to a local bar Friday night and, to try to show off my newly aquired beer knowledge, I asked if some unknown beer was a ale or a lager. The bar tender didn’t know, but another guy at the bar told me it was a pilsner.
A pilsner?
What’s a pilsner?
A more confident person would have asked, but feeling idiotic having shown revealed my exceptionally limited knowledge of beer, I didn’t persue it.
Anyone know what a pilsner is?

Because things are just darm slow at work, I decided to spend time checking things off the list. Today, I am learning more about beer.
I went to the Brewers Association website and have learned some very interesting tid-bits.
*The difference between a ale and a lager is the type of yeast used. Ale yeast works at a higher temperature than lager and makes adds flavor. Lager adds very little flavor.
*Hops are flowers added to bitter up the beer and counter act the malt.
*Michael Jackson is apparently a UK based writer, who is an authority on beer and serval books on the subject including “Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide”, and “Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion”

I then check out the Beer Advocate site, which was also very interesting. They have a nice glossary of terms including top-brewing (ale yeast) and bottom brewing (lager yeast), and suggested ways to evaluate beers. I learned about oatmeal stouts, whihc are sweeter than regular stouts, and I learned that stouts are infact ales! (Gasp! My self-image is shot!) I liked the site so much, I joined. It makes me feel a little like a poser to join; I am kinda only researching beer to look cool; but hey, maybe it’ll be good for me.