The Difference between Ales and Lagers

Hello again beer friends.  I've missed you like Willow the Medieval Dwarf misses stolen ginger babies.

Caped, ornery dwarves make me happy

In today's post, we're going to cover an extremely basic concept that many beer drinkers (mostly older ones) just cannot understand: the difference between ales and lagers.  On numerous occasions, I have overheard more grizzled bar patrons distinguish between a lager and an ale by referring to the former as "beer" and the latter as some sort of Satanic, heavy, high-gravity concoction.  Of course this is the equivalence of asking for cheese instead of cheddar, because all beers are either ales or lagers.  No exceptions.

This will make sense soon

So what is the difference between ales and lagers?  As monistat's slogan goes, "It's all about the yeast."  Ale yeast crop or create CO2 bubbles on the top of the fermenting wort and is referred to as a top-fermenter.  Conversely, lager yeast is a bottom fermenter.  Ale yeast is much more climate forgiving, and has an ideal temperature range of about 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit (can go up to about 78 depending on the style).  Lager yeast ferments best at about 55-60 degrees and then must lager (go into storage) in temperatures just above freezing

In terms of taste, lagers finish crisper with less fruity esters than ale yeast strains, but if fermentation and lagering (storage) temperatures aren't correct, lager yeast can develop buttery diacetyl off-flavors that you probably don't want in your beer unless you just love butter like her:

Other than the strain of yeast and the style name, there's really no way you can be 100% sure if your beer is a lager or an ale.  People often assume that if a beer is dark, than it must be an ale for some reason.  However, we all know that doesn't hold up, because we've been sitting on our thinking chairs with suicidal Steve, and we're really really smart.

"To be, or not to be. . ."

Some examples of light ales, both in color and taste, are kolsches and cream/golden ales.  Dark lagers include dopplebocks and black lagers.  ANECDOTE TIME: One of my home brew club members won best in show in a home brew contest when he entered his kolsch (ale) into the pilsener (lager) category, thus proving that even the most discerning BJCP tasters sometimes cannot distinguish between an ale and a lager.  In fact, some styles like an Oktoberfest can be brewed with either ale or lager yeast, and you would be hard-pressed to notice any taste differences between the two.

The following chart does an excellent job breaking down all the many different ale and lager styles that have developed over several millennia of brewing.  It's a little difficult to see, but you can look it up on your own to try to see a better copy.

So that's it folks.  Thank you very much for the opportunity to use photos of Willow the Dwarf, Blue's Clues, and Monistat all in one post.  It truly has been a pleasure.  Until next time, I cheers to you and your kin.