Ale is a beer brewed from barley malt with a brewers yeast that ferments quickly, giving a sweet, full body and a fruity, and sometimes a butter-like taste. Most ale contains some herb or spice, usually hops, which imparts a bitter, herbal flavor which balances the malt sweetness.

Ales are very common in Britain, Germany, Canada's eastern provinces, the United States, and Belgium; however, pale lager is the dominant style of beer in almost all other countries.

History of ale

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Before the introduction of hops into England from the Netherlands in the 15th century the name "ale" was exclusively applied to unhopped fermented beverages, the term "beer" being gradually introduced to describe a brew with an infusion of hops. This distinction no longer applies.

Modern ale

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A modern ale is commonly defined by the strain of yeast used and the fermenting temperature.

Ales are normally brewed with top-fermenting yeasts, though a number of British brewers, including Fullers and Weltons, use ale yeast strains that have less pronounced top-fermentation characteristics. The important distinction for ales is that they are fermented at higher temperatures and thus ferment more quickly than lagers. Ale is typically fermented at temperatures between (15 and 24°C, 60 and 75°F). At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result is often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum, or prune. Typical ales have a sweeter, fuller body than "lagers".

Differences between some ales and lagers can be difficult to categorise. Steam beer, Kölsch and some modern British Golden Summer Beers use elements of both lager and ale production. Baltic Porter and Bière de Garde may be produced by either lager or ale methods or a combination of both. However, lager production is perceived to produce cleaner tasting, dryer and lighter beer than ale.

Beers classed as ale use predominantly barley malts, though wheat beers and lambics, which also use wheat, are brewed using the ale brewing methods.

USA legal definition

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In a number of U.S. states, especially in the western United States, "ale" is the term mandated by state law for any beverage fermented from grain with an alcoholic strength above that which can legally be named "beer," without regard to the method of fermentation or the yeast used. This distinction is not obsolete, but it is idiosyncratic.

Varieties of ale

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Pale ale

Pale ales are brewed using a pale barley malt. Strengths vary from under 3% abv to over 20% in some rare barley wines. Hop levels also vary - ranging from barely noticeable to over 100 IBUs in some examples of the American India Pale Ale. Amber ale is a slightly darker type of pale ale.

Brown ale

Brown ales are brewed using a somewhat darker barley malt than amber. They tend to be lightly hopped, and fairly mildly flavored--generally they are flavorful, but without strong offensive flavors. Many have a nutty taste. They are mostly common in English brewing, with Newcastle being the flagship brown ale.

Dark ale

Dark ales are brewed using dark-roasted barley malts. Stout, oud bruin and mild ale are examples.

Belgian ales

Belgium produces a wide variety of specialty ales that elude easy classification. In addition to making a variety of blonde ale, common classifications for these specialty beers may be dubbel (malty-complex with a red hue) and tripel (a high-alcohol, lightly-gold colored beer).

Some specialty beers are based on monastic brewing recipes. The best known among them are the Trappist beers, which are brewed under direct control of the monks themselves. Only six Trappist monasteries in Belgium brew this beer. Similar styled ales, brewed by commercial breweries (sometimes under licence of an actual monastery) are called Abbey beer.

See also

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• Beer style
• Lager
• Wheat beer

External Links

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• Michael Jackson on Ale and Porter

Beer styles

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