A Beer Backgrounder
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Beer is traditionally made from four ingredients: water, barley malt, hops and yeast.
Barley Malt
Barley is soaked in water until it begins to germinate and is then dried and toasted to stop the grain from sprouting. The more the malt is toasted and caramelized, the darker and richer the beer will be. This is why beer can be as light as pale golden-brown pilsner or as dark as coffee-brown stout. The malt then becomes a mash when it is mixed with water and allowed to ferment.
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Yeast
This is where the difference between Ales and Lagers comes in.
Ale yeasts, also known as top-fermenting yeasts, ferment at warmer temperatures and more quickly than Lager, or bottom-fermenting, yeasts; they can leave behind sugars that result in mellower and fruity flavors. Lager yeasts result in crisper, sharper flavors.
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Hops
The bitterness and some of the important flavor characteristics of beer come from hops. They were originally added to beer to help preserve it. "Hoppy" beers tend to be bitter and crisp.
Other ingredients:
Beer can contain any number of other grains, herbs, spices or fruits to change or enhance its flavor.
ALES
Brown Ale: Rich in malt flavor, brown ales can be sweet or dry depending on type.
Brown Ale: Rich in malt flavor, brown ales can be sweet or dry depending on type.
Cream Ale: North American beers made with warm ale-style fermentation but conditioned after fermentation in a cold lager style. They are refreshing and usually
Pale Ale: Amber-colored ales of British origin that in North America tend to be more aggressively hops-flavored and bitter. India pale ales are pale ales with e
Stout Ale: Available in dry, imperial, oatmeal and sweet varieties, stouts range from toasty and chocolaty to sweet and fruity but are always very dark and rich
Porter is from the same family of beer and can be used in our recipes instead of stout.
Wheat Beer: Light ales, brewed with wheat in mash that often have a citrusy quality.
LAGERS
North American Lager: Much of what is brewed in big breweries falls under this category. It represents any light-color, mild-tasting lager.
Pilsner: Blond-colored lagers that are usually quite hoppy and bitter.
North American Lager: Much of what is brewed in big breweries falls under this category. It represents any light-color, mild-tasting lager.
Pilsner: Blond-colored lagers that are usually quite hoppy and bitter.
SPECIALTY BEERS
Fruity Beer: Any beer that is flavored with fruit or fruit syrup during or after fermentation process.
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cosmicjellybaby says:
8 days ago
Hi, can I just say that I love beer! But seriously, I first learned about the difference between lager and ale some years ago when I visited the Heineken brewery in Cardiff (long since closed because the imported product is far superior to the weak stuff brewed there).
Love the hub...