Why the distinction between Beer and Ale?

Because ale is perceived as being stronger and heavier than run of the mill macro lagers by the masses. It drives me nuts when I see this but I figure the people that just stick to macro swill don't really care about the nomenclature.

 

I think in the past century that 'beer' was a generic word that essentially meant Bud, Millers, Schlitz, PBR, etc. to 99% of beer drinkers. All of these were 'lagers', but that descriptive word was not needed until something different became available. The one percent of drinkers that wanted an 'ale' needed to be able to find their choice so bars included the use of that word in their signs and advertising, but never changed 'beer' to 'lager' to differentiate that type of beer from ales. Even today most beer drinkers of BMC stuff do not know (or care) that they are drinking a lager beer.

 

Back in the day, "beer" and "ale" were two different drinks. Beer was hopped. Ale wasn't. Times have changed. I'm guessing the sign in question is not quite old-fashioned enough to have anything to do with this distinction.

 

interesting info there...

my guess would have been LAGER v ALE... lager being a german word, of course i suppose bier is a german word... where's jesskidden?

 

I was originally referring to the muddy evolution of names in England over the centuries... but as far as the sign goes, if it is from the 40s, then it could be reflective of post-prohibition labeling legalities or conventions (but I am no historian, I only know what I had to drink today).

 

Advertising.

 

Nope

Nope

This is truth

No need, zid nailed it.

 

It was a jok...never mind. *sigh*

 

Ale and beer of course have different roots and initially ale wasn't hopped. Eventually British brewing was divided into two camps; ale and porter which basically continues to this day unless you are an American homebrewer.Also in the US;

Porters would be considered to be descendents of the "beer" family though by now beer had become a catch all term. Lagers were becoming common in the US by then and Germans of course simply used "bier"

 

"Beer" in the US by that time meant "(Lager) Beer" both within the industry and legally. Here are the early definitions of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, enacted a few years after Repeal:

Today, the TTB's definition is even less specific for what they term these two "classes" of "malt beverages" (< their legal general term for all "beer"):

And that usage within the industry was how it was in the US right up into the "Craft Era" - I'm always surprised when the topic comes up (and it comes up frequently) that newer beer drinkers are taken aback by the terminology.

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Thanks, but truthfully, I was just contributing to the chatter until jesskidden time.

 

That powerful shadowy cabal of American Homebrewers have gotten to CAMRA!

"Ales, which includes bitters, milds, stouts, porters, barley wines, golden ales and old ales, use top-fermenting yeast. The yeast forms a thick head on the top of the fermenting vessel and the process is shorter, more vigorous and carried out at higher temperatures than lager. This is the traditional method of brewing British beer."

http://www.camra.org.uk/ABOUTALE

 

Yes, the inability of the CAMRA style gurus to get things right is a source of great embarassment. Ron had a go at them a couple of years ago and Martyn published this recently.It's as bad as the Oxford Beer Companion, shoddy and ill researched writing from a source which should be unimpeachable.
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/201...ill-getting-beer-history-so-very-badly-wrong/

 

the above post is great but for a quick answer see this page
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style

its not 100% accurate but its closer than it used to be.
in general in USA beer = lager

copied from that page
What's an Ale?
This category of beer uses yeast that ferments at the "top" of the fermentation vessel, and typically at higher temperatures than lager yeast (60°-75°F), which, as a result, makes for a quicker fermentation period (7-8 days, or even less). Ale yeast are known to produce by-products called esters, which are "flowery" and "fruity" aromas ranging, but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, grass, hay, plum, and prune.
What's a Lager?
The word lager comes from the German word lagern which means, "to store". A perfect description as lagers are brewed with bottom fermenting yeast that work slowly at around 34 degrees F, and are often further stored at cool temperature to mature. Lager yeast produce fewer by-product characters than ale yeast which allows for other flavors to pull through, such as hops.

 

That's fine except that it ignores the whole background and provenance of ales.They represent one thread of British brewing and don't apply to top fermented beers from say Germany , some of which are lagers.
It's like defining Americans as all those living south of the 49th parallel. Broadly OK but those people from Alaska might not be happy. That's what comes of not doing proper research before copy and pasting , going for over simplification without regard for details.

 

yep and I knew that before I posted it. still I did it for one reason, most on here do not care, and most want a simple USA answer. I could be wrong...

facts and history just get in the way for many....tis sad but true.

humor what a concept.

 

This just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
Fine representation...fine.