In simple, laymen's terms, what is the difference between an ale, a pilsner, a lager, etc?

Question

I know they have various brewing methods, yeasts, etc, but what about flavor, alcohol content, etc?

I'm also looking for new flavors to try. I like smooth darker beers like Fat Tire and Black & Tan, with my favorite being Jeremiah Red by B.J.'s brewery. Any suggestions along those lines?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Ales are generally stronger than beer, they bear an appellation all their own. Common choices are: Pale Ale, Golden Ale, and Porter.

Lagers are aged for 6 to 8 weeks. They are light colored, crisp and most are on the low side of alcohol content. English versions of lager are found to be lighter in taste, probably due to the fact theat the Brits drink their brews at room temperature. Within the lager style are several prominent types: Pilsner, Bock, Ice Beer, Light Beer, and Malt Liquor.

Pilsner is a lager beer and is a lighter body with slightly more carbonation than medium grades of beer.

There is also Stout beer which is produced by additional roasting of the barley and lots of hops, which gives it its distinctive bitter taste. Because of this fact, many brands add palatability sweeteners such as milk, sugar, oatmeal, and even fruit essences.

I hope that this helps you understand the difference.

Answer 2

A pilsner is a type of lager originally brewed by Czechs and Germans. Ales are generally stronger than lagers, but with some exceptions. Ales are brewed at room temperature for the most part while lagers are brewed about 20 degrees cooler. So ales are easier to homebrew. IMO some good dark ales are: Unibroue Maudite or Trois Pistoles, Chimay Blue, Ommegang, Trappistes Rochefort 8, Fullers, and Samuel Smith's Imp Stout. Imperial stouts and Belgian style dark ales are the best dark ales IMO.

Answer 3

Beer is the generic term for beverages made from fermented barley malt, generally flavored with hops. Ale and lager are the two main families of beer, the difference being the type of yeast used in fermentation. Ale is made with top-fermenting yeast that floats on top of the brew, works fairly fast, and requires fairly warm temperatures to ferment. Lager yeast sinks to the bottom, works at cold temperatures, and takes several weeks to finish fermenting. Ale is the older style. The fast-fermenting yeast produces a variety of by-products, leading to a fruitier-tasting brew that is often best served at cellar temperature. Lager has a cleaner, dryer flavor and is served cold. Pilsner is a light, hoppy lager of the type brewed in Plzen in the Czech Republic, though the term is widely used for any pale lager. Draught is any type of beer served from a keg, as opposed to bottled beer. Bottled "draught" is just a marketing gimmick and doesn't really mean anything.

Answer 4

Lager is normally drunk by louts, bitter, or ale, is normally drunk by men with beards and has twigs floating in it, stout is normally drunk by those with a harder constitution.

On a more serious note, Bitter from the Uk tends to be weaker, but have a lot more flavour, usually served at a higher tempreture than lagers, it is sometimes clear, but usually cloudy.

Lager, always cold, alot more gas than bitter, ale or stout, and usually higher percentage alcohol.

Pilsner, a strong larger, same rules apply.

Barley wine (often regarded as a dark beer, despite the name) Generally very strong indeed, not the sort of thing to do a session on!

Stout, Black, heavy, as a rule of thumb, between 4 and 4.5% ABV, hard work to drink a lot of.

White beer, usually only found in Belgium and Holland, very sweet, a nice summer drink, but would make you sick after a number of pints.

Answer 5

The different colors and tastes are a direct result of how long the hops is roasted. The longer the roasting process; the darker the color and heartier the taste.

Answer 6

the technical difference is the kind of yeast used. ale is a top fermenting yeast and lager is a bottom fermenting yeast

Answer 7

This is a really useful site:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/

Remember: it's only beer