Ale vs Beer
Difference between ale and beer can be simply explained as this. Ale is one of the kinds of beer that is made by brewing barley in the malted form. This is prepared with the use of warm fermentation process of a strain of brewers’ yeast. This helps beer to be fermented quickly, which gives it a rich and bright taste. Ale drinks available these days include hops, which help in the preservation of beer. Hops also help in imparting an herbal flavor, which is a little bitter. This bitterness helps in balancing the sweetness of the malt.
What is Beer?
Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages that is most widely consumed. After water and tea, beer is the most popular drink in the world. Beer is produced by brewing and fermentation of starches, which are mainly obtained from the grains of cereal. The commonly used cereal is malted barley. Other grains used widely are wheat, maize, and rice. Most of the time beer gets the flavor from hops. That means hops not only add bitterness, but also add significant flavors to beer. Also, hops help in preserving the beer for a long time with natural abilities. Other flavorings such as herbs and fruit are also included to it sometimes.
Beer comes with 5 to 14 percent of strength of alcohol by volume. Beer is a famous alcoholic beverage across the world and there are numerous kinds of beer. Mostly, beer is broken into two basic types which are Lager and Ale. Beer is a part of the culture of nations where beer is a social drink. It is also associated with social traditions like beer festivals, pub culture, pub crawling, pub games, and bar billiards as well.
What is Ale?
Ale is one of the main types of beer. Major difference between Ale and Beer is in the way they are brewed and the way the fermentation of yeast is carried out. Prior to the time of introduction of hops in European areas, Ale was created by avoiding hops. So, when breweries started using hops for ales as well, it appeared like the difference between beer and ale did no longer exist. This was because ale too now had the bitter taste given by hops.
Ale makes uses of the yeast that comes on the top. The process of making Ale and Beer in the rest of the industrial journey is the same. A grain of some type, mostly malted barley is taken. To which, brewers’ yeast is added to allow quicker fermentation of beverage. This is mostly done in a short time allowing a low chance for the malt to spoil. Afterwards, the hops and other ingredients are added for the purpose of increasing the flavor of the drink and also for reducing the sweet taste of the drink.
Fermentation of Ale is done at the mid range room temperature. This helps in quick maturing as compared to other types of alcoholic beverages. While the process of fermentation is carried out, yeast comes on to the top and creates a mass of yeast bubbles on the mouth of the container of the beer. The yeast settles down on lower portion of cask while beer is matured. Traditionally, brewing process of Ale was carried out in caves in German, making it quite cool in winter season.
What is the difference between Ale and Beer?
• Ale is a kind of beer.
• Different types of beer is fermented at different temperatures. Ale is normally fermented in mid-range room temperature.
• Brewers in most of the areas started the differentiation of Ale and Beer on basis of the place where fermentation of yeast occurs in the container. Ale makes uses of the yeast that comes on the top while beer makes use of yeast which starts fermenting at the base.
• Taste is another category where Beer and Ale can be differentiated. Ale comes with a bright, richer and more aggressive taste with hops flavor. Beer comes with a nice flavor which is not too strong. Also, it comes with clear and clean finish.
• Alcohol content of beer is between 5% to 14% alcohol by volume. Alcohol content of ale is 4% to 6% alcohol by volume. This changes with the type of ale.
Images Courtesy:
- India Pale Ale by Tom k&e (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Beer via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
