Beer Education! For the average beer drinker, the difference between an ale and a lager comes down to how the beer looks, smells, and tastes. Ales tend to be fruity-estery, while lagers are clean-tasting and frequently described as crisp. But to a brewer, the difference is more fundamental than that. Its not color, or flavor, or aroma, or hop/grain/malt varietals or even water hardness that separates a lager from an ale. Simply put, lagers use an entirely different type of yeast during fermentation. All of the knock-on effects -- from different flavors and aromas to decreased fermentation temperatures -- arise from this difference. Youll hear some beer pedants describe the difference as top-fermenting (ale) vs. bottom-fermenting (lager) yeast, which is generally accurate, but useless to those who have no interest or experience with brewing. To find out more visit: bit.ly/1i6pFwK
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 10:00:02 +0000