Beer Basics:

Ales vs. Lagers

Basic beer classification. Part of the "Beer Fundamentals" series of articles

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Welcome to the first in a periodic series of short articles on the basics of beer. I've entitled this series "Beer Fundamentals." These articles are designed to be brief, easy to understand installments on the basics of what makes beer ...beer. They're designed to heighten the reader's enjoyment of this great beverage and make discovering new flavors and styles much easier and more rewarding. We'll look at the different styles of beer, beer and food pairings and some of what goes into the brewing process itself. My hope is that these fundamentals will help guide those who are just discovering better beer into a deeper, more fulfilling (and filling) experience all the way around. Let's get started, shall we? In this installment, we'll look at the basic classifications of beer.

Basically, there are two classifications for beer - ales and lagers. Most every beer you'll come across falls into one of these two classifications. Contrary to semi-popular belief, both ales and lagers are indeed beer. This may sound overly simplistic, but you'd be surprised how many times I've heard, "oh, I didn't realize that ale is the same as beer." An ale is a beer and a lager is a beer. But as we'll see next, they really can be quite different.

Both ales and lagers are defined by the type of yeast used in the brewing process. Ales use strains of yeast that are active at warmer temperatures and rise to the top of the wort (the pre-fermented liquid made from boiling malts, hops and any other ingredients that might be in the beer recipe) during the fermentation process. The time it takes for ale to ferment is only a matter of days.

Lagers, on the other hand, use strains of yeast that are active at colder temperatures and the yeast resides at the bottom of the tank. These beers take a longer time to ferment - sometimes a month or more. The word "lager," is the German word meaning "to store" or "lay aside."

Easy enough, huh?

These two classifications of beer are further defined, or distinguished, by their finished characteristics as well. Ales tend to be richer, fruitier, and more robust in flavor and smell with a complex range of colors and a body ranging from light to heavy. Ales are generally best served at temperatures ranging between 50-60 degrees. Ales are also often somewhat higher in ABV (alcohol by volume) than their cooler cousins. Lagers are generally lighter, cleaner tasting beers with more subtle flavor profiles that are high in drinkability. Lagers are most often served at somewhat colder temperatures between 40-50 degrees. Most all of the typical beers you think of as being popular, especially in America, are a type of lager known appropriately enough as an "American Light lager." You'll probably know them as Budweiser, Miller or Coors.

As is true with most everything, there are exceptions to these rules of course. There are beers, for example, that are technically lagers (because of the type of yeast that used to brew them), but they are brewed at temperatures that are generally reserved only for ales. "Steam beer" is an example of this hybrid style. For the most past though, these basic classifications hold regardless of whether you're talking about an oatmeal stout (an ale), a German Pilsner (a lager) or a Belgian Tripel (an ale).

This is a very basic introduction to beer classification and we haven't even gotten into the myriad of styles available in both the lager and ale categories. We'll save that discussion for another time. At this point, though, you can now go impress your friends by ordering a lager and explaining why it's called a lager and what makes it different from an ale. A good start by any account!

2008 beerphilosopher.com