For every style of beer, there is a gateway label. Blue Moon is typically the first step that people take into Belgians, Heineken and Samuel Adams Boston Lagers opens the door to the various styles of lagers, and Guinness to stouts. Ales are different. Ales are many. Ales have geographic tendencies and different hop contents.

Even IPAs are different. Order an India Pale Ale from an Eastern brewery like Dogfish Head or Southern Tier, and put it up against one from Stone or Lagunitas. The differences will be stark. Both have hop-forward flavors, and hints of citrus. The Eastern beers will likely have a full, more complex malt profile to complement the fruity, floral hops. Out west, you will get a highly bitter hoppy beer with piney, citrusy flavor construction.

So, back to gateways. Sierra Nevada is likely providing new beer drinkers with the gateway to hoppy western beer styles. Its Pale Ale is a bar stalwart and — I would guess — among the best-selling craft beers in the country.

With the gate open, one has a myriad of choices in front of them. But, what if its Pale Ale was a gateway beer for the rest of its range? Most beer drinkers automatically associate Sierra Nevada with the wintertime Celebration fresh hop ale. Spring 2015 gave birth to three new beers: Nooner, a lower ABV pilsner; Hoppy Lager, a cross between a pale ale and a lager; and the Hop Hunter IPA, an India Pale Ale that employs hop oil for bitterness. They are three distinctly different beers spread across the style, hop and alcohol spectrums.

My first experience with Nooner was on tap at a local bar and I immediately thought it was awful. Upon further review, I’m chalking that up to the bar’s hardware. Out of the bottle, this was much better. A bready, grainy pilsner with a nice malty character. You might expect a beer advertising itself as a session pilsner to be lighter in body, but this was more medium-bodied.

Moving down the line to the middle beer is what might be considered an India Pale Lager. I have consumed offerings by Samuel Adams and Magic Hat, but they have largely been confusing in flavor. Nothing has meshed with these beers. They either taste like overly-hopped lagers or really malty ales. Sierra Nevada got it right with the Hoppy Lager. A product of its Beer Camp, this was a collaboration between Sierra and Ballast Point. Subtle flavors with a combination, not competition, of bread and grapefruit. Everything just balances out nicely here.

The Hop Hunter is not really the hop bomb I was expecting. Bravo hops bitter this beer, while a trio of hops are used at the finished. What’s unique here is use of oils extracted from the hops and added to the brewing processes. I thought the oil might add more bitterness here, but instead it was the exact opposite — a balanced IPA without the hoppy punch. Much more enjoyable than I was expecting.

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Beer: Nooner

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 5.2% IBU: 38

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Price: n/a (purchased as part of a mixed six) Point of Purchase: Wegmans, Syracuse

To The Eye: Golden and clear. A fluffy head that disappeared quickly.

To The Nose: Typical pilsener/lager smells of bread and biscuit.

To The Palate: Medium-bodied and moderate in intensity. Bready and sweeter than you may expect from a Sierra Nevada beer.

Aftertaste: A little bit of a hoppy flavor at the end, but the sweetness remains.

Boozy Factor: Nothing remarkable.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 7

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Beer: Beer Camp: Hoppy Lager

Style: India Pale Lager

ABV: 7.0% IBU: 55

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Price: n/a (purchased as part of a mixed six) Point of Purchase: Wegmans, Syracuse

To The Eye: Amber and clear. A nice head that lingers through the better part of this beer.

To The Nose: Grapefruit and lemon with hints of malt. Pleasant.

To The Palate: Mostly a lager profile — bread and malt — but with hop characteristics throughout.

Aftertaste: Dry and crisp on the back end. Just a smooth beer.

Boozy Factor: Well-hidden.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 8

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Beer: Hop Hunter IPA

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.2% IBU: 60

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Price: n/a (purchased as part of a mixed six) Point of Purchase: Wegmans, Syracuse

To The Eye: Golden with a thin, white head

To The Nose: Grapefruit with a dank herbal smell.

To The Palate: Citrusy and crisp. The dank carried through here.

Aftertaste: Crisp and dry

Boozy Factor: Non-factor.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 7