ALES & LAGERS - BREW ?'s
BLB...@psuvm.psu.edu
process of brewing, or taste?
I know that ale's consist of pale ale, porter, and stout - but what's the
major differences between them? Are there any other ale-types?
Pilsner style beers are similar to standard American beers like Busch, Bud,
etc... Are there any other types of lager beers besides Pilsner.
If you have any other comments on general beer info please feel free to tell
mebecause I am doing a informative speech on beer types and would be
grateful foryour help. Please send direct to blb...@psuvm.psu.edu
-BRUCE BOOTH-
lenahan,grant f
> What's the difference between ale and lager? Is it in the appearance,
> process of brewing, or taste?
Well, if there was no taste difference, why would anyone care?
Ales are made from Ale yeast (top fermenting") and lagers from
lager yeast ("bottom fermenting"). There are countless styles
of each, not just those you list below.
>
> I know that ale's consist of pale ale, porter, and stout - but what's the
> major differences between them? Are there any other ale-types?
The differences derrive from ingredients (type and quantity of malt and hops),
predominantly.
>
> Pilsner style beers are similar to standard American beers like Busch, Bud,
> etc... Are there any other types of lager beers besides Pilsner.
American Standard Beer is a pretty far cry from anything made in
Pilzn, Czech. Pilseners are but one style of lagers. Hundereds
of other styles exists (many similar to each other) that vary from
the light, thin American light beers, through full bodied light
colored pilseners and bavarian lagers, to deep amber vienna and
Octoberfest styles, and finally to rich, dark dopplebocks.
> If you have any other comments on general beer info please feel free to tell
> mebecause I am doing a informative speech on beer types and would be
> grateful foryour help. Please send direct to blb...@psuvm.psu.edu
If you are going to lecture on the topic, you'd do well to read up
on the topic more thoroughly: try Michael Jackson's New WOrld Guide
to Beer. The terminology of beer is tossed around freely, and is
by and large meaningless to 99% of the public. Too bad.
A key message is that US producers have commoditized beer to a
point where is has lost its variety, flavor, respect. Beer is
rich in styles, each suited to a different food, occasion, or
preference. Like wine, its beyond the "red or white", and to
be really enjoyed, the differences should be experienced.
>
> -BRUCE BOOTH-
David P. Brockington
>Bruce Booth writes:
>> What's the difference between ale and lager? Is it in the appearance,
>> process of brewing, or taste?
All of the above, actually. The following is a post that I wrote
up to reply to the many similar questions that get posted to the UW's
bb once every couple of months. I hope this helps.
I would *strongly* urge you to check out the reading list at the
end of the file, especially Jackson's _New World Guide to Beer_, if
you are giving a talk on beer.
The method of fermentation is what determines whether a beer is one
of the two broad classifications of beer -- Ale or Lager. An Ale uses
one of the many top-fermenting Ale yeasts available (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae), ferments between 55F and 70F, and generally ferments for
no longer than two weeks. A Lager uses a bottom-fermenting yeast
(Saccharomyces uvarum), ferments between 40F and 55F for two weeks to a
month, and conditions (lagers) at 33F for up to six months. The yeast
strains are further refined to match the particular style of ale or
lager being brewed, and there are a couple of hybrid strains which
create unique styles that are difficult to pigeonhole, such as Steam Beer
which utilizes a lager strain but ferments at ale temperatures, and
Saccharomyces delbrukii, which is a special strain of yeast used alone
or in tandem with S. cerevisiae to create the unique flavor profile found
in Bavarian Weizens.
(There is a noted dissenter to this method, by the name of Fred Eckhardt,
who wrote the book entitled: _ T_ h_ e _ E_ s_ s_ e_ n_ t_ i_ a_ l_ s _ o_ f _ B_ e_ e_ r _ S_ t_ y_ l_ e_ . He classifies
beers by their color rather than the method described above. My opinion
is that Eckhardt's method is simplistic, and I prefer the standard
convention. Method of fermentation and yeast have a much larger impact on
beer flavor than color.)
Ales, because of the characteristics of their yeast and the relatively
warm fermentation temperature, tend to be more sophisticated in flavor
than lagers. Ales are often noted by fruity esters and other flavors such
as clove, buttery, or butterscotch notes.
Ales these days are primarily represented by classic styles from Great
Britain or Belgium. The microbrew revolution in the United States
cut its teeth on British Ales, and these beers remain the primary focus of
the microbreweries. This may help us understand why a city as beer
knowledgable as Seattle seems to have rejected Celis White, which
is a Belgian ale that has a flavor profile completely different from
the standard British fare.
British ales include Bitter (in three strength varieties), Pale Ale
(and its stronger brother, IPA), Mild/Brown, Porter, Stout,
Strong Ale, and Barley Wine. Some of the differences in style are rather
strictly defined (for example, the divisions between the three
classifications of Bitter are precise: an Original Specific Gravity of
1.038 will yield a Regular Bitter, while one of 1.043 will jump one all
the way up to the Extra Special Bitter category.) Yet, there is a ton
of overlap between a lot of Pale Ales and English Bitters. Porter is
an extremely vague category; just about any dark British ale ranging between
1.040 and 1.060 can essentially call itself a Porter if it so desires.
Some of the weaker Porters overlap with the stronger Brown Ales.
Stout, which evolved out of Porter, has more specific rules, and is
further separated into four sub styles: Irish Dry, Irish Foreign Style,
English Sweet, and Imperial. The primary dichotomy is between the English
and Irish. The English stouts are smooth, malty, with little aggressive
bitterness; the Irish ought to range from pronounced to exceptional
bitterness. All Stouts draw upon healthy additions of heavily roasted,
unmalted barley to provide their distinct character. Porter can have
this ingredient as well, but too much will push a Porter into the
realm of Stout. Imperial Stout, like the India Pale Ale, was originally
designed to weather a long sea voyage -- in this case, to the Russian
Imperial Court. As such, the Imperial Stout is the "Barleywine of Stouts,"
clocking in with an original gravity range (1.075-1.090) only surpassed
by Barleywines and Dopplebocks. Imperial Stout is a very "big" beer.
Barleywines are at the strong end of the English Ale family. To classify
as a Barleywine, a beer must achieve a minimum O.G. of 1.090 -- very
heavy indeed. (To give one an idea of how difficult this is to achieve,
with my present equipment, the biggest beer I can brew is a 1.095, and that
is really pushing the envelope on the Lauter Tun). This beer is generally
quite malty and is certainly a sipper rather than a quaffer.
The Scots brew their own family of Ales that are moderately related
to their English counterparts, yet with their own stylistic twist.
Scotch Ale often comes with smoky or peaty flavors, which are often the
result of their using the same ingredients as Scotch Whiskey.
The Belgians have easily the most varied and exciting selection of beer
styles the world knows. Belgian Ales range from fruity, sour Lambics
(which are spontaneously fermented with wild yeast present only in the
Senne valley near Brussels) to Flanders Brown Ales, often called Grand Cru.
Other Belgian styles include White, Trappist (of which there are only
six breweries, located in the Abbies of the Trappist Monks), Abby (which
emulate the Trappists), and Saison. I am undoubtedly forgetting something
here, but the neat aspect of Belgian beers is their general disdain for
static parameters which define a style. Trappist beers, for example,
can be *anything* brewed by the Monks, and the six breweries produce
remarkably different beers. The White has been one of my recent favorites.
This style includes roughly half unmalted wheat in the mash, sometimes
10% oats, and is spiced with coriander and orange peel.
Even the Germans brew a couple of Ales, although all of them are somewhat
a derivation of the theme. Alt and Kolsch are brewed with an Ale yeast
strain, yet are aged at cold temperatures the same as a lager.
The Bavarian Weizens are brewed much like an Ale, fermented like an
Ale, yet use the S. Delbrukii yeast which imparts flavors one would
never want in a Pale Ale. Berliner Weisse, another wheat beer, uses
sour mashing techniques or direct addition of Lactobaccilus bacteria
to achieve what is described (I have never had the pleasure of trying
one) as an aggressively sour taste. So sour, in fact, that it is
tradition in Berlin to add various fruit flavorings to their Weisse
in order to make the beer palatable. One caveat about breweries
is appropriate here. They often lack the knowledge about what they
are brewing, and name it something that it is not. This past July,
at the Oregon Brewers' Festival, one brewery was offering a "Weisse."
I was *real* excited, and rushed right to it, only to be disappointed
when I tasted it and it turned out to be a rather fine Bavarian Weizen.
Lagers, to their credit, are more difficult to brew, and as a result the
brewer often experiences a greater sense of accomplishment when one is
first consumed after several months of aging. Lagers are renowned for
their crisp, clean flavor, which is a function of their being fermented at
cold temperatures and conditioned at even colder temperatures. The esters
which are characteristic of Ales don't get the opportunity to develop
at the cold temperatures for which Lagers are noted.
Classic Lager styles include Pilsner, Vienna, Marzen-Oktoberfest, Municher,
Dortmunder, and Bock (which comes in several strengths and styles).
American industrial beer is a distant relative of Pilsner, a classic Bohemian
Lager. Yet one quaffing a draught Pilsner Urquell over at Murphy's
wouldn't recognize that it is an ancestor of Pabst Blue Ribbon. The
traditional Lagers all hail from either Germany, Austria, or Bohemia.
Lagers are only recently making an impact on the microbrewery movement.
With the exception of Thomas Kemper's, pretty much all microbreweries
brew Ales. This is just starting to change, however, as some micros
gain enough capital to add the extra fermenters required for long lagering.
A noted example is Full Sail Pilsner, which is a fine replication of
a classic pils. Pilsner is noted by a slight maltiness dominated by
the flavor imparted by Saaz hops. This beer is very yummy if done right,
which Thomas Kemper and Full Sail do.
The United States is renowned for contributing two, three, or four distinct
styles to the world's beer repitoir, depending on how one counts. The
most noteworthy is California Common, of which only one commercially
produced example remains. Anchor Steam Beer unique primarily because it
uses a lager yeast at ale temperatures. In addition to California Common,
the United States is responsible for the style known as Cream Ale, of which
Rainier Ale (yes! Rainier Ale) in the green label (The Green Death) is a
better known example (and one of the few true ales to survive the dark ages
of beer in this country).
The microbrewery movement has succeeded in creating what many people
consider two unique styles of beer. The American Wheat beer, pioneered
by Pyramid, Grants, and Red Hook, uses a roughly 50% wheat mash but avoids
any of the aggressive flavors which make Bavarian Weizen, Berliner Weisse,
or Belgian White beers unique. American Wheats appear bland when contrasted
with the three previous examples, but serves as a decent summer quaffer
and as a distinct beer style brought to you by the brewers of the Pacific
Northwest.
Also, many are starting to consider the ubiquitous "Amber Ale"
as a distinct beer style established by Northwest microbrewers, but this
category is a bit more vague. Many Ambers are perfect replications of
English Pale Ale (Pale earned this moniker because, at the time, the
dominant beer was Porter. Many Pales are actually rather amber in shade.)
or can be seen as an English Mild. The jury is still out on this one.
sources: _ T_ h_ e _ N_ e_ w _ W_ o_ r_ l_ d _ G_ u_ i_ d_ e _ t_ o _ B_ e_ e_ r, by Michael Jackson.
_ T_ h_ e _ E_ s_ s_ e_ n_ t_ i_ a_ l_ s _ o_ f _ B_ e_ e_ r _ S_ t_ y_ l_ e by Fred Eckhardt.
_ Z_ y_ m_ u_ r_ g_ y special issue 1991: Traditional Beer Styles (and how to
brew them)
in addition to those, especially Michael Jackson's book, I would
recommend the following:
_ T_ h_ e _ G_ r_ e_ a_ t _ B_ e_ e_ r_ s _ o_ f _ B_ e_ l_ g_ i_ u_ m, by Michael Jackson.
Any of the following books in the Classic Beer Style Series,
published by Brewers Publications (and still growing):
1. _ P_ a_ l_ e _ A_ l_ e, by Terry Foster.
2. _ C_ o_ n_ t_ i_ n_ e_ n_ t_ a_ l _ P_ i_ l_ s_ n_ e_ r, by Dave Miller.
3. _ L_ a_ m_ b_ i_ c, by Jean-Xaiver Guinard.
4. _ V_ i_ e_ n_ n_ a_ , _ M_ a_ r_ z_ e_ n_ , _ O_ k_ t_ o_ b_ e_ r_ f_ e_ s_ t, by George and Laurie Fix.
5. _ P_ o_ r_ t_ e_ r, by Terry Foster.
6. _ B_ e_ l_ g_ i_ a_ n _ A_ l_ e, by Pierre Rajotte.
7. _ G_ e_ r_ m_ a_ n _ W_ h_ e_ a_ t _ B_ e_ e_ r, by Eric Warner.
8. _ S_ c_ o_ t_ c_ h _ A_ l_ e, by Gregory Noonan.
David P. Brockington
bron...@u.washington.edu
Alison Scott
>
>The following is a post that I wrote
>up to reply to the many similar questions that get posted to the UW's
>bb once every couple of months. I hope this helps.
>
>British ales include Bitter (in three strength varieties),
Actually a continuous range from about 1035 to about 1055, and quite a few
stronger beers are still called bitter.
>Pale Ale
>(and its stronger brother, IPA)
Cask-conditioned IPA is generally considerably weaker than bottled pale ale,
having changed a great deal from the original IPAs.
>Some of the differences in style are rather
>strictly defined (for example, the divisions between the three
>classifications of Bitter are precise: an Original Specific Gravity of
>1.038 will yield a Regular Bitter, while one of 1.043 will jump one all
>the way up to the Extra Special Bitter category.)
This sounds like information from a brewing competition - beers of any
strength and practically any bitterness can be described as 'Best Bitter',
and often are. One expects something described as ESB to be strong, but
that still leaves quite a range.
Yet, there is a ton
>of overlap between a lot of Pale Ales and English Bitters. Porter is
>an extremely vague category; just about any dark British ale ranging between
>1.040 and 1.060 can essentially call itself a Porter if it so desires.
This is the key to the whole business. Any brewer can call any beer anything
he likes. Lots of beers that aren't bitter are called bitter, for example.
>Some of the weaker Porters overlap with the stronger Brown Ales.
Didn't really understand this. I don't think of Brown Ale as being cask-
conditioned, most beers of this style are called Mild. Sarah Hughes Original
Dark Ruby Mild would probably be described by most people as a porter.
>Barleywines are at the strong end of the English Ale family. To classify
>as a Barleywine, a beer must achieve a minimum O.G. of 1.090 -- very
>heavy indeed. (To give one an idea of how difficult this is to achieve,
>with my present equipment, the biggest beer I can brew is a 1.095, and that
>is really pushing the envelope on the Lauter Tun). This beer is generally
>quite malty and is certainly a sipper rather than a quaffer.
Again, a number of beers of much lower OG than this are called Barley Wines,
and when you do see beers of this strength on sale, they tend to be given
names like 'Old Floorthumper'. And with good reason.
--
Alison Scott [Ali...@moose.demon.co.uk]
Chester, England
Confabulation is the 1995 British National SF convention (Eastercon).
Location: Docklands, London. For details Email Con...@moose.demon.co.uk