Ales and Lagers: Two Major Types Of Beers

ales and lagers beer

There are two major types of beer – ALES and LAGERS.

While some will argue that there is no true difference between these two major beer types from a consumption standpoint, there is a major difference between these two beer styles from a homebrewer’s perspective – as can be seen by some of the popular Internet searches on the subject – “ales and lagers“.

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Ales and Lagers: What’s The Difference?

In a broad sense, there are only two main types of beer – Ales and Lagers – and these two types of beer are determined by the temperature at which they ferment.

Ales, for example, are fermented at temperatures close to room temperature (or slightly above) and fermentation usually lasts no longer than two weeks. Lagers, on the other hand, ferment for much longer periods of time and at much cooler temperatures, sometimes just above freezing, but not as high as with drinks made with ale yeast.

With so many different factors playing a role in the production of a final beer beverage, no one ingredient is more temperamental and easily influenced than the yeast. And one of the most important conditions for successful yeast activity is temperature.

In the brewing days of old, brewers weren’t fortunate enough to have the modern convenience of refrigeration or space heaters and they based their beers on that understanding while letting the fermentation process run its natural course. Operating under these limitations, brewers frequently found themselves working to produce one of two major beer types – ales or lagers.

While temperature is important in understand the difference between ales and lagers, it is also important to know that lager yeasts usually referred to as “bottom fermenting” yeasts, whereas ale yeasts are “top fermenting.” This means that the primary activity of the yeast occurs either at the top or the bottom of the fermentation vessel.

LESSON FOR HOMEBREWERS: If you can ferment your beer in a cold basement or root cellar, you may wish to use a lager yeast in your brew. But if you’re operating at or near room temperature, an ale yeast may be your best bet when making your next beer.

While modern brewing technology has helped commercial breweries adapt to climatological differences and brew beers of different styles in a single location, it’s important to understand that you, as a homebrewer, will likely be limited to the environment around you.

So don’t worry if you can’t duplicate the mass-produced slop that’s put out by some of the world’s largest beer manufacturers. Instead, I encourage you to celebrate what you can do in your own environment. You probably won’t be able to change the temperature of the environment in which you are brewing your beers, nor will you be able to recreate a beer that has been crafted by scientists with fancy equipment and millions of dollars. But you can create beers that are distinctively your own! And that’s the mentality that, as a fellow homebrewer, I will happily raise my glass to!

That being said, fermenting beer is an organic process that, in conjunction with the right environment, clean instruments, and quality ingredients, will ultimately take on a life of its own and do what it wants when it wants to do it. Your environment, the tools you have available to you, and the ingredients you choose to use play a major role in how your beer turns out, but there is a part of the beer-making process that is entirely out of your control.

What do you say about Ales and Lagers?

What do you think about ales and lagers? Can you tell the difference between and ale and lager from a consumer standpoint? Do you know which beer styles are ales and which beer styles are lagers? And now that you understand that the difference between ales and lagers has to do with both the yeast that is used in those beers and the temperature at which the beer ferments, which type of beer will you be able to brew in your own home? Ales? Lagers? Or both ales and lagers?

If you have any questions about the difference between ales and lagers, please write a letter in the box below. Dr. Homebrew is happy to answer any questions you might have about the difference between ales and lagers and which of these beer styles is best to brew in various locations and under varying conditions.

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