Beer and ale: description and how do they differ? What is Irish ale: characteristics, varieties, reviews Ale drink history.

El (English ale)

Ale is a dark, bittersweet alcoholic beverage brewed similarly to beer, using barley malt, top-fermenting yeast and a special blend of herbs for preservation. Now ale is produced in England, Ireland, Belgium and the USA.

liquid bread

Until the 15th century, the word "ale" was used to refer to a drink similar to beer, but without the use of hops. The hops brought from Holland for the preservation of beer significantly changed the composition and taste of the drink, made it possible to brew light beers. The production process of ale is closest to what the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians did. In the Middle Ages, ale became as essential as water, and its long-term persistence and excellent energy value made ale famous under the name "liquid bread".

origin of name

The word ale most likely comes from the Old English ealu, but some scholars argue that it goes back to the Indo-European root alut, which means magic, intoxication or sorcery. Perhaps there is some truth in this, especially since ale contains a large number of herbs and spices with psychotropic, tonic and aphrodisiac effects.

Gruit

The main difference between ale is that a fundamentally different yeast culture is used in a qualitatively different preservative. Hops are used in the production of light beers for flavor balance and to stop the growth of microorganisms. Hops are a very good preservative, and their bitter taste balances out the malty sweetness. For the same purpose, ale uses a special mixture of herbs and spices called gruit. The composition of the mixture includes wormwood, myrtle, heather, yarrow, ledum, ginger, juniper berries, cumin, spruce resin, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. In the Middle Ages, gruit was made in the form of a dry mixture, which only merchants approved by the Catholic Church were allowed to sell. By the 16th century, gruit was banned in Germany due to inconsistency with the "beer purity law." Gruit is now used in Ireland and some English breweries.

Ale types

Modern ale is a dark, rather strong drink with a fruity aroma, with a contrasting bittersweet taste.

• Brown Ale is a weak (3-3.5%) ale based on dark barley malt, with a sweet taste and nutty aroma. Brewed in England since 1900.
• Scotch Ale is made in Scotland. The color is dark due to the use of roasted malt to enhance the caramel notes on the palate.
• Mild Ale or soft ale meant a previously unripe ale. Now this term can refer to the light brown color of the drink.
• Burton Ale is a dark, sweet and strong ale that has been aged for a year or more. Due to the extreme strength in its pure form, it is practically not used.
• Old Ale is an aged English ale that acquires a high strength and sour taste over the year.
• Belgian Ales - Belgian ales are brewed differently than English ales. As a rule, they are light in color and very strong due to their use in the production of sugar.

Ales

The ability to use a special mixture of herbs and spices (gruit) instead of hops, several types of malt roasting and long aging allow for a variety of flavors and aromas in the production of ale. Dividing into several types, ale forms many varieties with characteristic features.

Brown Ale

It has been prepared only on the basis of dark roasted malt in England, Belgium and the USA since the beginning of the 20th century. This ancient type of beer, due to complex production, had practically disappeared by the beginning of the 19th century, but was restored a century later by enthusiasts from the Mann brewery. Brown Ale is a medium-strength type of ale: from 3 to 4% alcohol. The taste of the drink has moderate bitterness and sweetness and varies depending on the region of preparation. In the south of England, as a rule, Brown Ale is sweeter, lighter, with fruity notes in taste and darker in color, in the north-east, ale is lighter in light and strong with chocolate undertones. In the United States, ale is brewed with a dry, bitter taste due to the use of hops in the production.

Mild Ale

Ale with a pronounced malty taste, with soft sweetish notes, pale brown color and low alcohol content (3-3.6% vol.). Chocolate and other dark malts and brewing sugar are used. This type of ale originated in England in the 17th century and was in decline by the middle of the 20th century, but thanks to the general interest in old beers, it was not forgotten, and now there are more than 20 varieties of this type of ale. The term mild is used to mean young or unseasoned. This is the most popular type of beer in Wales. It is known as a drink for miners.

Pale Ale

This is a light type of ale, prepared on the basis of top-fermenting yeast, which distinguishes it from simple light beers (from the English word pale - pale, light). The peculiarity of this type of ale is the use of hops and the maturation of beer in bottles, which gives the drink a very interesting spicy taste, for which beer lovers appreciate this type of ale.

The name old or old applies to all aged varieties and means aged. It is typically a dark or very dark brown ale brewed with caramel-roasted barley malt and aged for a year or more. Beer is obtained with a rich thick taste, dark color, often with fruity notes, with the aroma of herbs and spices. This is a strong beer with an alcohol content of 6 to 10% vol.

Burton Ale

Very dark, strong, over a year old ale. Only a few varieties are produced, the best being Bass No.1 and Fullers Golden Pride. The taste of this famous type of ale is distinguished by a subtle fruity flavor of apple, clover honey and pear.

Interesting Facts

A few years ago, mini-breweries appeared, designed to produce beer and ale at home. A small volume of 8 liters allows you to touch the beer production process, and special brewer's yeast from famous English breweries helps you get closer to the legendary ales.

Ale calories

Ale calories - 50 kcal.

The most popular question that owners, bartenders and regulars hear is: how is ale different from beer? There is no answer to it, because the question itself is fundamentally wrong. To understand this, you have to dive into the topic of varieties of foamy drink.

Traditionally, the inhabitants of Russia associate beer with a light lager, therefore, when tasting ale, they ask the question indicated above. In fact, ale, like lager, is one of the types of beer, so asking how it differs from a foamy drink is not entirely correct.

Distinctive features of ale

So what is the difference between ale and beer in our usual sense? Here are a few main points:

• Ale is made using top fermentation technology. Brewer's yeast is light enough to float up and form a head. Lager, on the other hand, is prepared differently, using heavier fungi that settle to the bottom of the barrel.
• Light yeast loves heat, so ale fermentation occurs at a temperature of +15 to +24 degrees. Such conditions cause intense release of essential compounds and natural flavors. This makes the beer richer but less stable.
• Classic ale stays alive to the last drop. It is neither filtered nor pasteurized. That is why the drink has such a bright unforgettable taste.
• Ale contains much less alcohol than lager. The fact is that initially this type of beer was used to quench thirst, and it became an alcoholic drink much later. The technology of preparation has remained unchanged, therefore, in comparison with the lager, ale contains less carbon dioxide.

Ale types

In order to never confuse ale and lager, it is enough just to remember which drinks exactly belong to the ale family:

• Bitter, pale, Indian, soft, brown, strong ales;
• barley wine;
• Scottish ale;
• Porters;
• Stouts;
• Trappist beer.

Want to see for yourself the difference between ale and top-fermented beer? Check out the German pub Jager Haus!

It is difficult to imagine medieval Europe without a tavern and a mug of ale. Now this drink has lost its leadership to many others, but in the 15th century in England, ale was so popular that it was considered an essential product at the table. In more southern countries they drank wine, but in the north everything was bad with vineyards, and therefore the harsh islanders brewed ale.

In fact, its history goes back even further, like all brewing. There is evidence that the Sumerians had something similar in composition, but the drink known to us now began to be brewed in the British Isles. And this is England and, of course, Ireland.

Ale and wine will not compare. These drinks are very different. But it is worth mentioning what is the difference between ale and beer. Here I would like to warn that the question itself, on the one hand, may not be entirely correct. Because ale is a type of beer. But on the other hand, somehow it still stands out from the rest of the assortment, and therefore there is a difference between ale and beer (lager). Which is what the story is about now.

Ale prepared according to the classical technology does not contain hops. Thanks to this, it acquires a mild sweetish aftertaste, and in general it cooks much faster than a lager. Unlike other beers, ale is produced exclusively by top-fermentation. That is, in the cooking process, a special type of yeast is used, which eventually forms a characteristic hat on the surface.

However, with the spread of hops throughout modern Britain, a number of ales still got a bitter aftertaste, as brewers began to add seeds from the cones of this plant to the composition.

Features of the production of classic ale

The top-fermenting method is generally less technically demanding and it is therefore quite possible to make ale at home or in a small brewery.

Varieties and varieties of ale

To have a general idea of ​​​​what this wonderful drink is, it is also worth considering its main varieties.

Perhaps it is worth starting with the fact that this rather popular question, in its essence, is not entirely correct.

The fact is that beer refers to all low-alcohol drinks obtained as a result of alcoholic fermentation of malt wort. Thus, ale that falls entirely under this category is only one of the varieties of beer.

However, in the beer culture inherent in the post-Soviet space, beer is actually identified with its other variety - lager. Accordingly, by asking the above question, the Russian-speaking lover of low-alcohol malt products really wants to understand for himself how ale differs from lager. And to this question Vzboltay gives an answer ...

Ale varieties

Bitter ale (Bitter)

A pale ale variety that has a very pleasant and pronounced taste.

The drink got its name several centuries ago, when English brewers began to use hops, which give the beer a bitter aftertaste.

A typical bitter ale is a dark copper color, although some specialties range from amber to bronze in color.

Fortress from 3% to 7%

Pale Ale or Pale Ale

One of the main varieties of English beer, as more hops are used in its manufacture, which in the past allowed the beer to better endure long-term transportation to the remote colonies of the British Empire.

The main difference is in the spicy taste and lighter color.

Indian ale (India Pale Ale)

A heavily hopped variety of pale ale.

Hops give the beer a rich aroma and pleasant bitterness.

It is the most sought after style of craft beer in the US.

Mild Ale

This style of beer originated in Britain in the 17th century and is predominantly malty in flavor.

Modern soft ales are mostly dark in color, ranging from 3% to 3.6% ABV, although there are examples of lighter shades, as well as stronger ones, reaching 6% and higher.

Brown Ale

Traditional dark English beer with a strength of 2.8 to 5.4%.

In addition to all shades of brown, it has a strong malt flavor and a characteristic nutty aroma.

Strong Ale

Outperforms paler varieties in terms of body, alcohol content and maltiness.

The taste may have fruity notes or a sour tint.

Old, aged and dark ales are also considered special varieties of strong ale.

Barley wine

A drink often containing more than 10 degrees of alcohol.

Beer made from grain. Color is golden brown to black.

There are two main varieties of barley wine: English barley wine, which has a slight hop bitterness and a wide variety of colors ranging from red-gold to black, and American barley wine, which is more bitter and ranges in color from amber to light brown.

Fortress from 8% to 12%.

Irish Red Ale

It differs in color from amber to dark copper, good transparency. Forms a slight off-white to yellow-brown foam.

It has a mild taste and sweetness of caramel malt, sometimes with a hint of toasted bread and butter or caramel.

Moderate malty aroma with hints of caramel.

Fortress from 4 to 6%.

Scottish ale (Scotch Ale or Wee Heavy)

Originated in Edinburgh in the 1800s. This is a super malty, rich ale full of caramel flavors and aromas.

It has a dark brown, rich color with a high alcohol content (from 6 to 10%).

A slight bitterness may be present on the palate, although strong caramel flavors tend to dominate over noticeable bitterness.

Some Scotch ales may have a slightly peaty taste.

1. Porter

   The national English brand of beer, uniting under its name many subspecies of dark beer.

   It is produced from at least two types of malt, one of which is brown malt.

stout

An Irish derivative of porter, distinguished by the presence of distinct coffee notes and burnt flavors in the flavor bouquet, as well as perfect opacity.

These days, alongside the relatively high-alcohol classic, there are the more popular sour oyster stout, Irish dry stout, its lactose-laden English sweet counterpart, and the transportable imperial and tropical stouts.

In addition, the concept of ale includes such drinks as Trappist beer produced in Belgium, Holland and France (including the famous Quadrupel), red or Burgundy (according to the wine color of the drink) Flanders ale of Belgian origin, Bavarian Wheat beer, as well as Old beer comes from German Düsseldorf.

Differences between ale and beer

In the manufacture of ale, the method of top alcoholic fermentation is used.

It is based on the lightness inherent in yeast fungi growing in the Old World.

In the process of fermentation, such yeast inevitably floats to the surface of the liquid, forming a kind of hat.

Only with the discovery of America, a heavier variety of yeast came to Europe, settling during fermentation at the bottom of a vat or barrel.

Subsequently, it was these yeasts that began to be used in the manufacture of lager (classic beer).

Ale fermentation temperatures range between 15 and 24°C as lighter yeasts prefer heat.

Their overseas counterparts feel much more comfortable at lower temperatures (5-14 ° C, and sometimes even lower).

The latter circumstance makes it possible to reduce the intensity of reproduction in the liquid of various microorganisms, and thereby protect the beer from rapid souring.

However, the possibility of using American yeast on an industrial scale, and hence the introduction of lager into mass production, appeared only with the invention of powerful refrigeration units.

Fermentation at higher temperatures, accompanied by intense release of various ester compounds and natural flavors, makes the ale brighter and richer, although less stable and controllable than lager.

In addition, thanks to the same thermal factor, the process of primary maturation of ale is much faster than in the case of lager. It lasts an average of two weeks to two months.

Classic ale, unlike lager, is not pasteurized or filtered.

Therefore, he continues to wander, as the British say, to the last drop.

Such a "live" drink has an incomparably brighter and more individual taste, but its shelf life is limited to a few days.

Summing up all of the above, it can be noted that the capriciousness and instability of an ale, as a rule, lies in the fact that it can be either good or excellent.

Not for nothing, as one of our readers noted, when blindly tasting various varieties of foamy drink, beer drinkers in the overwhelming majority of cases choose not lager, but ale.

Ale is a favorite low-alcohol drink by many, which is close in production technology to beer, but unlike the latter, it is prepared using top fermentation and has a peculiar sweetish taste. So Stevenson's statement that ale was brewed from mountain heather by dwarves in deep caves is not entirely true.

Ale is different from beer not only by top fermentation, but also by gassing: if for beer it is carbon dioxide, then for ale it is carbon dioxide coupled with nitrogen. And also the fact that ale is not pasteurized and not sterilized.

Ale is different from lager higher fermentation temperature (15-24°C), cooking speed and sweetness, as well as the lack of pasteurization.

How is ale made?

The production technology of this drink has changed since the very beginning of its appearance. In the 7th century, the British made it without hops, calling all fermented drinks “ale”. In the 16th century, hops, brought from the Netherlands, appeared in the composition of ale.

A whole production of ale has already been established. Omitting all the details of preparation, and in short, the drink is prepared for about a month (rarely - 4 months). Long top fermentation (yeast is on the surface, not at the bottom), the lack of pasteurization and sterilization provide the ale with its original taste.

By the way, the sweetness of malt during the manufacturing process is determined not by the presence of hops, but by the spices and herbs (gruit) that are boiled in the wort.

When the drink is ready, it is sent to barrels and bottles, adding sugar to each bit, and corked. Sugar resumes the fermentation process and for another 2-3 weeks the ale matures. All this affects the characteristics of the ale.

Drink characteristics

The taste is soft, not bitter and sweetish, slightly fruity. The light bitterness of the first sip is replaced by the creamy sweetness of toffee.

Color - from light - amber to dark - copper.

The consistency is thick, the foam is not plentiful.

Fortress - depends on exposure, but on average - 2.5-10%.

calories — 50 kilocalories in 100 ml.

Drinks easily and with pleasure.

History of ale

If beer existed among the Sumerians 3 thousand years BC, then ale began to be brewed in England from the 7th century AD, and the word “beer” began to be used only from the 15th-16th century, when hops got into the composition of ale. But it didn’t really take root, as before, most often not hops were added to ale, but gruit - a special collection of wormwood, yarrow, cumin, juniper berries, heather, myrtle, spruce resin, wild rosemary, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, anise and honey. Traders could sell this mixture only with the blessing of the church.

In the Middle Ages, ale enjoyed the same popularity with the British as bread, becoming an integral part of life. In those years, it was often called "liquid bread."

Ale varieties began to appear not only for a variety of taste, but also in connection with some life situations. So, ale delivered from England to India deteriorated, which affected the increase in alcohol in it. This variant was called "India Pale Ale".

Now the popularity of the ancient English drink is not weakening. Evidence of this is both its demand in many countries of the world, and regularly held holidays dedicated to this alcohol. For example, in England there is an annual winter "Festival of Ale".

Ale is currently brewed in the UK, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Belgium. And in each of these countries it has its own characteristics and varieties. In general, over 17 varieties of ale are known, which will be discussed now.

Ale varieties

"Bitter"(Bitter/bitter). It is not bitter, but sweetish - fruity, they just used hops before others, so they called it "bitter". Its shades can range from bronze to dark copper. The most popular. In 15th century England, it was present at lunchtime on every table.

"Pale Ale"(Pale). Light, with a piquant spicy taste.

"Mild Ale"(soft). Light, bright taste, malty, low alcohol content (3–3.6%). The variety is considered young and unseasoned. This is the miners' ale, the most beloved in Wales.

"Brown ale"(brown). Dark, low-strength (3–4%), nutty flavor, moderate bitterness, and a sweet, sometimes slightly chocolate flavor. The American version is more dry and bitter in taste.

"stout"(stout). Irish ale brought by Catherine II to Russia. Among the types of drink, the world-famous dark Guinness (7% alcohol) and red Kilkenny (4% alcohol) can be noted.

"Old ale"(seasoned). Dark, strength - high (6-10%), taste - sour, thick, with a hint of fruit, herbs and spices, aging - from 1 year. Prepared in England.

Alt(alto). Prepared in Düsseldorf (Germany).

"Burton Ale"(barton). The best varieties are "Fullers Golden Pride" and "Bass No. 1". The color of the ale is dark, the taste is sweetish, with apple, pear and honey notes, the strength is high (therefore it is almost always diluted), aging is from 1 year.

"Scotch Ale"(scotch). A dark colored Scottish ale with a hint of caramel. Cooked in the north differs from the south in a nutty flavor and notes of smoke in the aroma.

"Belgian Ales"(Belgian). Light, fortress - very high. Prepared in Belgium according to their own technology (using sugar).

Trappist beer. It was prepared back in the Middle Ages by the Belgian monks of the Trappist Order. Experiments with additives allowed the appearance of such varieties as "Rhine Kölsch", "Double", "", "Triple", "Fathers of the Trappists" in which you can feel raspberry, cherry, banana and many other flavors.

In addition to the above, there are also such varieties of ale as "Porter" (porter), "India Pale Ale" (Indian light), "Dark ale" (dark), "Light Ale" (light), "Strong ale" (strong), "Barley wine" (barleywine).

How to drink such wonderful alcohol?
Everything is very simple - like regular beer. Some gourmets dip pieces of citrus into a glass of ale. But this is done very rarely, since ale in this case acquires a fair amount of sourness.

What do they drink with?

Light and golden varieties their freshness perfectly complements spicy, salty and spicy dishes, Indian, Thai or Mexican cuisine. Pairs well with sushi and cream cheese.

Amber varieties are almost universal. They can be washed down with almost all dishes - from rich soups to sandwiches, pizza and barbecue. Blue cheeses are considered an excellent snack. Do not drink them only with sweet dishes that interrupt the taste of drinks.

Dark varieties- ideal with chicken, game, sausages, hamburgers, aged cheddar cheese and mushroom sauces. It is interesting to combine such drinks with chocolate desserts (for example, Irish Sacher cake) or mousses.

In general, ale is in perfect harmony with cheese, seafood, meat. But the drink will not lose anything if it is eaten with crackers or nuts.