What is lager beer? Ale vs Lager Lager ale porter stout unfiltered differences

Sometimes I come across this question: what is the difference between ale and beer? Honestly, at first, such a question put me in a stupor, until I began to answer that ale is beer, just ale... There is Ale and lager, and both beers... Then what is the difference between ale and lager?

I propose once and for all to understand the question of how ale differs from lager.

The difference between ale and lager.

First, it’s worth understanding that beer is just a drink that can be prepared in a variety of ways and using different ingredients. The only difference between ale and lager is the yeast.

More precisely, their strain. Ales are fermented using top yeast, and lagers are fermented with bottom yeast. By and large, this is all the difference. However, it entails much more than just a word.

Top yeast.

The Internet is full of people claiming that top yeast is yeast that creates a foamy head, or those that work at high temperatures and that’s why they are called top yeast.. NO!

Top yeast is yeast that is active near the surface of the beer or wort. they are physically located in the top layer - hence the name. There is naturally a foam cap, and the temperature at which fermentation occurs is relatively high, but this is not what determines their name.

Grassroots yeast.

As you already understand, grassroots yeast is most active in the lower layers of liquid. Fermentation with bottom yeast occurs at lower temperatures, hence the less vigorous fermentation process and less foamy head.

Is ale beer?

Do, ale and lager are both beer. Simply, ale is fermented with top yeast, and lager is fermented with bottom yeast.

At home brewing, lagers are prepared in the refrigerator, and ales can be prepared simply in the cellar or pantry.

What else is the difference between ale and lager?

Ales have thicker bodies and richer aromas, but this is not the definition of ale. It's more like a legacy.

Is there a dark ale?

Do and ale and lager can be dark or light. Also, both types can be strong or not very strong.
Color, strength, taste, aroma, etc. - this is not an indicator of whether the beer you are looking at is lager or ale.

Which beer is better: Ale or Lager?

No one can give you the answer to this question. It all depends on your taste preferences. I personally prefer ales, and I have one simple explanation for this - they are easier to prepare.

When brewing at home, and here I’m talking specifically about home brewing, it’s easier to ferment at 18 degrees than to have a separate refrigerator for beer. But if you have a free refrigerator and a desire to make lager, that’s your right. Just buy your lager yeast ahead of time!

Lastly.

Finally, I repeat once again - ale and lager are beer, the difference between them is only in the type of yeast used, everything else is heresy!

Is ale beer or not? What about lager? Is lager a light beer? Is dark ale or porter? Or maybe ale is beer without hops?

If you surf the Internet, bypassing special sites, you can read dozens of different answers to these questions, and most of them will be nonsense. But these are basic concepts in brewing.

Without answers to these questions, reading articles about beer will be of little use; the terms will only become completely confused in your head. Therefore, it is first very important to remember that beer is classified according to a hierarchical principle.

Hierarchy of beer and classification

• First level, type of beer (lagers, ales, spontaneously fermented beer, hybrid beer);
• Second level, types are divided into beer styles (pilsner, stout, porter);
• The third level, within styles, brewers brew varieties.

To bring the diversity of the beer world into a system, experts are developing classifications of styles. The most famous and popular of them is the international classification BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program), in its 2015 edition there are more than 120 styles ().

In addition to international classifications, there are also national traditions. They sometimes give rise to styles that do not fall into international classifications: traditional Russian pozhigny and black beer, numerous historical European, Asian, Latin American styles, etc.

In Russia, there is also a practice of classifying beer by color. This is partly due to the fact that the vast majority of beer in the USSR and, until recently, Russia were Czech-German style lagers. Now that ales are becoming more popular, classification by color is completely losing its meaning. Baltic porter is a lager, stout is an ale, but both are dark beer. We must remember that light or dark is not a style of beer, but only its characteristics.

What is ale?

God created beer, and beer was ale, because up to a certain point all beer was ale.

Ale is a top-fermented beer. In its production, yeast strains are used, which during fermentation form a yeast cap on the wort. Fermentation of the wort takes place at high temperatures from +15 to +24 degrees.

The right yeast strains and high temperatures produce a variety of esters, flavors and aroma products. This beer tends to have bright flavors and aromas: fruity, berry, ethereal, and in some dark styles, winey.

Ales include many interesting and varied styles: light American Pale Ale, stouts, almost all wheat beers.

For a long time, all beer was brewed by top-fermentation, but in the 15th century, lagers began to appear on the scene, and by the 20th century, ale brewing had almost died out.

Nowadays, ale has become popular again thanks to the craft beer revolution. The complex, ethereal flavors and aromas were ideal for small American brewers looking for creative expression. And the most fashionable style of fashionable ale was India Pale Ale, originally an English style that became very friendly with American and New Zealand hops.

What is lager?

Lager is a bottom-fermented beer, that is, its production uses yeast strains that settle at the bottom of the wort container. Fermentation of the wort takes place at low temperatures from +8 to +14 degrees.

This is a relatively young type of beer. It appeared in medieval Europe around the beginning of the fifteenth century, but with the invention of refrigeration machines in the 19th century, it quickly spread, displacing ale from the pedestal of popularity. Nowadays, the share of lagers in global drink consumption reaches 80%.

The popularity of lager was ensured by its dry, clean, refreshing taste. At the same time, based on interest in craft brewing, a prejudice has grown that lager always tastes “poorer” than ale. But this is not true at all: pilsners, rauchbiers, bocks and many other lager styles have a clean, powerful, distinct taste.

And recently, IPL, India Pale Lager, named after India Pale Ale, has been gaining popularity. This is a lager with powerful hopping, including American hops, with an emphasis on American style, close in taste to craft ales.

Beer of spontaneous (wild, natural) fermentation

Contamination of beer with wild yeast or bacteria almost always results in tragedy for the brewer. This drink is often undrinkable. But some craftsmen have been able to use beer contamination to create unusual flavors and aromas. This is how gueuze and lambic were born in Belgium, and gose in Germany.

The main feature of the technology is clear from the name. The brewer allows the beer to become infected with wild yeast or bacteria rather than using cultured yeast. In such beer, bacterial contamination can also occur.

The result is refreshing. sour taste, wild or soaked apples in taste and aroma, hay, the so-called “barnyard”, complex shades, champagne dryness and carbonation and many other pleasant moments. At the same time, beer turns out to be very “geographical” - every country, every region, every city and village, and even every building has its own set of wild yeasts and bacteria. It won't be possible to repeat it.

Sour beer has recently become a real hit in craft brewing. In this regard, in addition to the classic “wild” beer, a virtually new style has appeared, sour ale or sour ale. It is obtained if the brewer does not wait for the beer to pick up wild yeast or bacteria from the environment, but introduces them into the wort himself. This kind of beer is easier to brew, and the result can be no less interesting.

And it's all?

To complete the picture, it should be noted that the brewers did not stop there. Who came up with the idea to mix two technologies in one is still unknown, but hybrid beer exists, and it is worthy of mentioning.

A hybrid beer is an ale that is aged at lager temperatures (German Kölsch and Altbier), or a lager at ale temperatures (American steam beer). As you can understand, this brewing gives ales lager tones, and lagers ale-like tones.

What allows beer to be classified not only as ale and lager, but as a specific style?

• Beer density (initial wort extractivity) is the concentration of the mass fraction of dry substances in the initial wort. That is, this is how much there was not water in the wort, but substances that give the water the taste of beer.
• Alcohol content;
• Bitterness factor, measured in IBU units. The higher the IBU, the bitterer the beer, although laboratory bitterness and subjective sensations may not be the same;
• Other flavor or aroma characteristics;
• The color of beer is measured on the SRM scale. The higher the number, the darker the beer;
• Raw materials used;
• Country or even city of production and historical traditions;
• The mood of the brewer or classifier, the phase of the moon, the flapping of a butterfly's wing on the other side of the globe (especially often used in craft brewing).

Substyles

Sometimes another level is distinguished in the hierarchy - substyles. For example, dry, oatmeal, milk, and Russian imperial stouts are not called styles, but substyles of the “stout” style. Depending on the classification, Russian imperial stout can be called both a style and a substyle - the taste will not change from this.

Gruit or ale?

Gruit is a beer without the addition of hops. Now it’s hard to imagine, but once upon a time humanity did not know that hops could be added to beer, and instead used herbal mixtures: wild rosemary, myrtle, wormwood, yarrow, heather. Hoppy beer in Europe finally defeated gruit around the beginning of the 16th century, and not only taste, but economic, political and even religious reasons played a role in this. Nowadays gruit is cooked very rarely.

There is an outdated interpretation on the Internet that beer without hops is ale. Indeed, at the dawn of time, a fermented drink without hops was called ale, and with hops - beer, but now ale is only top-fermented beer, nothing else.

Created 04/07/2019 13:43

Beer comes in different flavors and varieties, but it is better to purchase high-quality beer not in stores, but in specialized places. There are more and more establishments where you can buy Czech dark beer, as well as light, live and other varieties. By visiting them, you will learn a lot of interesting things about existing types of beer.

Two popular types of beer are ales and lagers. The question arises: ale and lager, what are they?

These are two large groups of beer, which include different varieties. However, it is important to know the difference between lager and ale, then you can choose the right beer that suits your taste.

Ale is a beer that is produced by top fermentation. With this fermentation method, many higher alcohols and esters are released, due to which ales acquire their characteristic taste.

Lager is a type of beer that is produced using bottom fermentation. This method of fermentation appeared later than the top method, but is more popular. Lager beer comes in light, dark and black varieties.

Differences between ales and lagers

If you want to understand beer, it will be useful for you to know the difference between ale and lager.

Fermentation method

As mentioned above, ales are produced through top fermentation, that is, at a temperature of 15-24⁰C. Lager beer is made using bottom fermentation, where the temperature is only 6-12⁰C.

Taste

Lagers have a light taste with a slight bitterness and sweetish notes. They go well with many dishes. The taste of ale is deeper and richer, with tart bitterness, so it is suitable only for certain dishes. Ale may have fruity notes, while lagers may have floral notes.

Beer serving

Serving directly depends on the fermentation temperature: lagers are served chilled, and ales are warmed to room temperature. This is how they reveal their taste properties to the fullest.

Fortress

Alies are stronger than lagers. Lagers range from 3 to 5 percent ABV, while ales range from 4 to 9 percent ABV.

Production volumes

Lager beer, unlike ales, occupies a larger share of the total beer production in the world.

And few people know how these types of beer are prepared, and from what glasses they should be drunk. Today we will shed light on the darkness of this ignorance.

The word “el” came to us from the Indo-European language. The strength of some varieties of such beer reaches a considerable 12% (but there are also ales with a volume of only 3%). The first mentions of the name “ale” date back to the 5th-6th centuries AD. So ale is a beer an order of magnitude older than lager.

Immediately after its appearance, ale immediately became not just popular, but the No. 1 beer product. Causes:

• ale did not spoil quickly and could be stored for an incredibly long time;
• did not require special storage conditions, had excellent taste and the ability to quickly quench thirst.

Interesting fact: there was a time when people drank ale more often than water. It was a pure and proven product, which cannot be said about ordinary water of those times.

Ale is prepared using the top-fermentation method at relatively high temperature— 17-24 °C. The lighter yeast used for ale likes heat and is more comfortable at high temperatures.

But the main feature of such fermentation is the intense release of various essential compounds, due to which the ale has a brighter and richer aroma. Add here several types of aromatic and bitter varieties of hops. This is how the pronounced, easily recognizable and slightly sweet taste of real ale is formed, with a special aftertaste.

The main feature of ale is that it is much more varied than lager, which is why craft breweries love it so much. This is a beer in which the brewer can show his skills 100%. There are several main styles of ale brewing - English and American, and each of them has its own rules, and, of course, its own taste characteristics.

Ale varieties

70% of all beers on the planet are ales. The most popular and advanced varieties:

• pale ale, which includes such famous varieties as American pale ale and amber ale;
• bitter;
• Belgian ale (lambic);
• German ale;
• porter;
• stout;
• strong ale, etc.

Today, one of the most advanced countries in the production of ales is the USA. The most popular types of ales in the States:

• American pale ale;
• American amber ale;
• American brown ale;
• India pale ale (one of the most popular craft beers in the USA).

American pale ale It has a spicy taste and, compared to other types of ales, has a light color.

American amber ale. It is also called red ale. This variety has a light caramel flavor, it is denser, darker, deeper and balanced in terms of bitterness and malt flavor.

American Brown Ale. The name itself already hints that the beer has a brown color. The main distinguishing feature: caramel flavor with notes of chocolate and nuts, smoothing out hop bitterness. It is worth noting that all North American ales are distinguished by a noticeable, pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste.

Indian pale ale. Another type of ale, heavily charged with hops. Due to this, this beer has a rich aroma and pleasant bitterness. But above all, Indian pale ale is distinguished by “fruity-citrus-pine” flavor notes. That is, this beer is rich in aromas:

Thanks to this technology, lager has become one of the most “tenacious” types of beer - it can be stored for up to two years and still not lose its taste. By the way, about the taste: it is quite soft and has a lot of “shades” (depending on the type of lager).

Lager varieties

Thanks to modern developed technologies, today there are varieties of lager for every taste and color. They are divided among themselves into the following classifications:

1. light;
2. dark;
3. semi-dark.

By groups:

1. European;
2. German;
3. American;
4. pilsner, etc.

Each of the mentioned varieties has a different strength (from 3.5% to 6%). There is even an unfiltered lager. In Ukraine, a wide range of semi-dark (Robert Doms Vidensky) and dark (Robert Doms Munich) lagers are presented. And if you take a look at the local brewpubs, you can find an order of magnitude more.

“It’s a strange question, beer is beer, how else could it be different? They came up with it, in fact... Lager is an ordinary light beer, and ale is also an ordinary dark one,” an inexperienced lover of a foamy drink argues something like this. However, color saturation is only an external sign, sometimes misleading.

Lager ( Lager ) and ale ( Ale ) - two large groups into which all types of modern beer fall. It is safe to say that no matter what the discerning buyer chooses, his mug will contain ale or lager.

There are several so-called hybrid styles around the world that combine features of both lager and ale, but upon closer examination they can be clearly separated by the yeast used for fermentation.

Yeast is the main difference between the two huge beer classes. The ale yeast flocculates (gathers into flakes) at the top of the fermentation tank. This is their character, which is why fermentation is called top fermentation. Ale yeast prefers mild temperatures - 15-22 degrees Celsius. In contrast, aggressive “lager” yeasts are active already at 8-13 degrees, and they gather in the lower part of the fermentation tank (bottom fermentation).

Active lager yeast eats whatever it finds during the fermentation process. As a result, lager contains less residual sweetness and depth of flavor than ale.

Different yeasts are the main criterion, but not the only one, influencing the differences between ale and lager. Each type requires different brewing methods.

After fermentation, young beer is not yet ready to demonstrate all its benefits. The ale is aged for several weeks. Its aging process takes place at a temperature of 4-13 degrees Celsius. The lager is aged a little longer, about a month, but in “Spartan” conditions - at a temperature close to the freezing point of water 0-7 degrees.

What, in the end, happens? The "cold" and efficient fermentation process of lager produces a completely different result than the "warm" and complex process of brewing ale. The differences between them can be somewhat compared to the differences between white and red wines.

Lager is generally a clean, refreshing beer with a typical light aroma and taste. It is certainly served chilled; lager goes well with a huge number of dishes.

Ale has a much more complex taste and aroma. Very often it is served with room temperature, which allows you to reveal all the advantages most fully. Naturally, it is impossible to “match” the complex taste of ale to any food, so choosing a pair for this type of beer is as complex and interesting as “pairing” wine.

It's clear? Take your time with your answer. By and large, all of the above are characteristic, but largely “theoretical” differences.

There are many styles of both lager and ale. Taste and appearance The drink is greatly influenced by the skill of the brewers. Thanks to all the features, it can sometimes be difficult to discern the difference between ale and lager, given the tendency of some producers to be excessively “modest” when designing the label.

How to distinguish lager from ale in practice? Try, try and try again...