Not many people know that all beer falls into one of two categories, Ale or a Lager. There are however many different types of beer under those two classifications. For example some types of Ales are I.P.A., Porter, and Pale Ale. Some types of lagers are Pilsner, Bock, and American Lager.
So lets get down the the basics. An Ale is classified as a beer that it's yeast has been cultured to ferment at the top of the batch at warmer temperatures, around 60 degrees to 75 degree F. This creates a situation where the batch ferments in about a week.
Yeasts used in a Lager, are cultured to ferment at the bottom of the batch and it is kept at a much lower temperature, around 34 F to 50 F. Lagers generally take longer to ferment and can take up to a few months, the word Lager comes from the German word "to store", hence the longer storage time.
That is the absolute basics of Ale VS Lager. It does get a little more complicated once you deal with flavor profiles and deciding what strain of yeast to use, but I will talk more about that in another post.
Till next time, enjoy life and good beer!
Prosit!!!! (German for good health! cheers!!)
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