Ales Vs. Lagers: What's the Difference?

The last piece of basic beer knowledge I want to share before moving into my style tastings is the difference between ales and lagers, which are the two main categories of beer. You've seen me use the terms in my previous post "The Life of Beer", but what exactly is the difference between them? Some of you may be thinking "ales are dark and stronger tasting, while lagers are light and crisp tasting", and you would be somewhat right, but that's not the fundamental difference. In fact, there are styles of lagers that are as black as night with a strong flavour, just as there are styles of ales that are pale in colour and fairly mild in flavour (if you look at the picture to the right, the dark beer is actually a lager called a 'schwarzbier', and the light beer is a 'blonde ale'). Would you believe me if I were to tell you that you could take two identical mixtures of grains, hops, and water, and by only adding one different ingredient into each of those mixtures, one would come out a big and flavourful ale, while the other would come out a clean, crisp lager? Well it's true, and this one different ingredient is what makes a beer either a big flavourful ale or a subtle and crisp lager. So what is this all-important ingredient you ask? ...

Yeast 

Magnified Saccharomyces cerevisae

That's right, yeast: the tiny microorganisms that convert the sugars from malted barley into ethanol (fermentation), turning sugary barley water into beer! Ale yeast (scientific name Saccharomyces cerevisiae) can be found in nature and is the yeast that has been responsible for the fermentation of barley into beer since our hunter gatherer ancestors first accidentally stumbled across the process 12,000 years ago. Lager yeast (scientific name Saccharomyces pastorianus) is a much newer kind of yeast, and is actually a hybrid of both ale yeast and another kind of wild yeast. It can't be found in nature, and instead needs to be propagated by brewers in order to use it, which is why lager beers have only been around for the last 400 years or so. Though a lot of speculation and educated guesses have been made, no one knows exactly how or when the initial hybridization to create lager yeast actually happened.

So what is the difference between these two types of yeast? Well, ale yeast does it's best fermentation work at warmer temperatures (between 15 - 25 degrees celsius), any higher or lower than that and the yeast will either die or go dormant. By comparison, lager yeast ferments at colder temperatures (5 - 10 degrees celsius). Whereas ale yeast can ferment a beer in nearly 7 days, a lager yeast can take nearly a month to fully ferment a beer, which is why "lager" - being the German word for "storage" - is an appropriate name. Also, when ale yeast is fermenting the beer, it creates fruity "esters" (aromas / tastes) that will remain in the final beer, while lager yeast ferments very cleanly and doesn't add much flavour or aroma to the beer. Ale yeast also doesn't tend to consume quite as much of the sugars in the beer as lager yeast, which is why ales are usually sweeter tasting and lagers are more dry and crisp. And finally, though of little importance to the drinker, ale yeast will float at the top of the beer while fermenting, while lager yeast sinks to the bottom of the beer and ferments.

So what does this actually mean for the beer?

But enough science talk, what does this actually mean for the differences between ales and lagers? Well this means that, as a general rule, ales are going to be a lot more flavourful and varied, with flavours that are sweet and fruity and bold, and more or less "in your face". Lagers, on the other hand, will be dryer, crisper, and more subtle in their flavours and aromas. And this is where the whole "ice cold beer" misconception (and also the misconception that British people drink their beer "warm") comes into play. You generally want to drink a well crafted ale anywhere from slightly warmer than fridge temperature all the way up to room temperature, because the colder a beer is, the less your tongue and nose can actually register the great flavours and smells that are on display in a good ale (hence why the big brand beer companies promote "ice cold beer", because as we all know, their "filler"-laden beers taste awful once you can actually TASTE them). Britain's beer of choice has traditionally been ale, this is why there is the misconception that they just drink all their beer "warm". Lagers should generally be served slightly colder than ales, as it showcases that nice crisp, clean, and refreshing aspect of the beer, though a well-crafted lager can be just as easily drunk and enjoyed at room temperature with the best of ales, and will still taste just as good.

Ales definitely have the much larger variety of styles and range of flavours and experimentation when it comes to brewing them currently, while lagers have a comparatively few different styles, most of which don't vary greatly. Pale ales, IPAs, porters and stouts, wheat beers, belgian ales and everything in between are all examples of ales, as well as limitless "sub-styles" where brewers add any and all ingredients under the sun to make unique and flavourful ales of their own creation (like pumpkin ales, cranberry wheats, and even oyster stouts!). Most of the big brand name beers like Coors Light, Budweiser, Miller Genuine Draft, and Molson Canadian are all examples of light lagers (albeit, FAR from how light lagers are intended to taste), but there are other styles such as the dryer, hoppier Pilsner, the sweeter Oktoberfest lagers, or even dark and smokey schwarzbiers. I know I may sound like I'm not a fan of lagers, but I am, and there's nothing better than a nice craft-brewed lager with all it's crisp, subtle, refreshing flavours on a nice, hot, sunny day. But we'll get into that, as well as all of the other styles of beer, in all of my subsequent posts from here on out, as I taste my way through the huge world of beer styles!!!

Most of the styles and sub-styles of ales and lagers. As you can see, there are far more styles of ale.

Join me next time, as I taste an assortment of different craft lagers (and an as-yet-undecided-upon big brand lager), and we'll discover some of the different tastes that can be found in the style! Until next time...  

Enjoy a craft brew!

- Sid Ryzebol -