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What is the Difference Between Beer and Ale?
www.delightedcooking.com ^ | July 19, 2023 | Mary McMahon

Posted on 08/03/2023 7:09:56 AM PDT by Red Badger

Beer, a fermented beverage made from grains and yeast, is a popular drink all over the world. There are many different types of beer, although they are usually broken up into two basic categories: ale and lager. The term lager is often interchanged with “beer”, especially outside of Germany, which is why some consumers make a distinction between beer and ale, rather than lager and ale. The difference between beer and ale has to do with the way in which is it brewed, and how the yeast ferments.

Before hops became widespread in Europe, ale was a beer created without the use of hops, while lager combined hops with the other ingredients. As hops began to pervade breweries, however, this distinction between beer and ale no longer applied. Brewers began to differentiate between beer and ale on the basis of where the yeast fermented in the cask: ale uses yeast that gathers on the top, and lager uses yeast that ferments on the bottom.

...Hops, a main ingredient in beer.

Beer and ale both start out in the same way. Barley or another type of grain is malted, which means that it is sprouted in a moist environment and then dried. Brewers yeast is added and it ferments the beverage, usually very quickly, before the malt has a chance to spoil. Other ingredients such as hops are added to increase the depth of the flavor, and to temper the sweetness of the malt.

...Barley, a common ingredient in many beers.

Ale is fermented at a higher temperature, and matures more quickly as a result. The yeast rises to the top as the beer ferments, creating a yeasty froth on the top of the beer cask. Lager is fermented at a lower temperature, and the yeast settles to the bottom as the beer matures. Lagers were traditionally brewed in German caves, which got quite chilly during the winter especially.

...A stout, a brown ale, and a pilsner.

Beer and ale can usually be separated by taste as well as brewing process. Ale has a brighter, rich, more aggressive, hoppy flavor, and often has a higher alcohol content as well. Lager has a smooth and mild flavor with a clear, clean finish. Examples of ale include any sort of beer with “ale” in the name, porters, stouts, and many German specialty beers such as Abbey ales. Lagers include pilsners, dopplebocks, and Oktoberfests.

...Malt extract is known for its use in brewing beer.

Beer and ale also have different distribution patterns. Ale is found in the Belgium, the British Isles, and many former British colonies including the United States and Canada. Lager is widely served in Germany and other European nations, although some German specialty beers are actually ales. Many consumers have difficulty distinguishing between beer and ale on the basis of taste alone, as many modern breweries incorporate a variety of brewing techniques and flavors in their beers.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Health/Medicine; History
KEYWORDS: guinness; ipa; stout
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To: Red Badger

skol!


41 posted on 08/03/2023 8:33:47 AM PDT by texanyankee
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To: Red Badger

I understood what Claude Rains meant in Caesar and Cleopatra
(1945) when he said he would just drink his “barley water” instead of local wines.

I had some Guinness. I noticed it did not say “Beer” anywhere on the bottle except for the importer. It has on it “Product of Ireland/ALE.


42 posted on 08/03/2023 8:43:48 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”)
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To: Red Badger

All I know is that IPA’s SUCK!


43 posted on 08/03/2023 8:48:09 AM PDT by Tommy Revolts
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To: V_TWIN

Well we have already seen what happened during Prohibition. It didn’t work. Only lasted 13 years. My dad became an alcoholic in those 13 years showing the failure of it.

Same for gun control.


44 posted on 08/03/2023 8:49:09 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”)
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To: Boogieman

I am making commentary on the writing in this brief article. Where beer is indicated to be either lager or ale, but then proceeds to mix up usage of beer and lager.


45 posted on 08/03/2023 9:23:40 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: Red Badger

About a $1 per bottle. /sarc


46 posted on 08/03/2023 9:25:44 AM PDT by taxcontrol (The choice is clear - either live as a slave on your knees or die as a free citizen on your feet.)
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To: frogjerk
I made a medieval ale not to long ago based a Cornell recipe that was published. No hops. Was not really sweet and was drinkable.

I read that medieval taverns used to serve a drink made from pears. This sounds good.

47 posted on 08/03/2023 9:26:06 AM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
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To: Red Badger

Pilsner brand in Germany is the best - a county where they don’t have those silly alcohol content restrictions. US import of the brand sucks.


48 posted on 08/03/2023 9:28:48 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: PIF

Germany has their ‘Beer Purity Laws’...............They didn’t invent beer. They perfected it!...............


49 posted on 08/03/2023 9:38:15 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Germany has their ‘Beer Purity Laws’...............They didn’t invent beer. They perfected it!.


And Americans watered it down. In some cases, American beer is indistinguishable from badly flavored water.


50 posted on 08/03/2023 9:46:10 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: PIF

After my trips to Germany for my job, I have no respect for American brews..............


51 posted on 08/03/2023 9:49:01 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

When I was stationed in Germany I was shocked at my fellows who insisted on drinking “Miller Genuine Draft.” I’m not sure what’s wrong with some people!


52 posted on 08/03/2023 10:08:40 AM PDT by Cold_Red_Steel
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To: the OlLine Rebel

Ah, I gotcha. Yes, that’s confusing.


53 posted on 08/03/2023 10:10:42 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Red Badger
STOUTS VS. ALE VS. LAGER: HERE’S EXACTLY HOW THEY’RE DIFFERENT
54 posted on 08/03/2023 10:21:52 AM PDT by x
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To: Red Badger

55 posted on 08/03/2023 10:55:51 AM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: Larry Lucido

56 posted on 08/03/2023 11:03:46 AM PDT by CodeJockey
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To: Red Badger

Our local Aldi has 4 pack of 16oz cans of Wernesgrüner Pilsner for around $5.50. Pretty decent German Pilsner for the price.


57 posted on 08/03/2023 11:12:06 AM PDT by CodeJockey
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To: PIF

The English say American beer is like sex in a canoe....

I drank a lot of duty free beer on leave on the Channel ferry in ‘81 and ‘82 but nothing compared to what the English lads could put away, lol.

I think it was Watney’s Red barrel, which I guess the beer snobs look down on, but it was tastier than American swill and a nice change from Licher and Richer, the local biers in Hessen where I was.


58 posted on 08/03/2023 12:02:22 PM PDT by skepsel ("A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime", Mark Twain.)
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To: skepsel

Tucher, not Richer!
@#$& auto correctum....


59 posted on 08/03/2023 12:03:59 PM PDT by skepsel ("A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime", Mark Twain.)
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To: bobbo666

All I ever brewed at home were ales, because of the temperature issue. I did know a guy who made lager in Tucson in the summertime, because he had a refrigerator just for that.


60 posted on 08/03/2023 12:38:26 PM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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