Every winter, at the end of January, the UK hosts the Winter Ale Festival. This event annually attracts thousands of people, residents of not only England, Scotland and Ireland, but also tourists from all over the world. For these people, the Ale Festival has become a traditional holiday, but in Russia few people know how ordinary beer differs from ale, and ale, in turn, from cider.

In search of answers, we went to the Irish pub “Trinity”, where guests are offered not only traditional alcoholic drinks, but also mysterious beers that are new to us. We were greeted by the bar manager Alexander Stukalov.

What is ale and how is it different from regular beer?

Ale is a special type of beer that is produced by top fermentation. This is such a special way of fermenting wort, because of which it turns out exactly this drink. It is characterized by strength and slight sweetness, because according to different recipes, it is added to various variations caramel, sugar. This is a pretty tasty drink!

This is interesting: The first attempt by British brewers to sell their light ale abroad, to India, ended in failure, as the drink had deteriorated during the long journey. To solve this small problem, manufacturers increased the alcohol and hop content in the drink. That's how it appeared at that moment new variety ale – “India Pale Ale” (Indian light ale).

Have the residents of Vladivostok managed to fall in love with ale? Is it more often ordered than, say, regular beer?

Ale certainly has its fans. Of course, I won’t single it out among the most popular varieties, because we have Irish pub, the most popular here are Irish beers, but in terms of sales it is doing quite well. Our guests are usually people over 25 years old. If a person already knows the taste of this drink and loves it, then age does not play any role. Guests who come to our establishment for the first time most often just want to try ale. At the same time, their opinion is divided into 2 camps, some like it, some don’t. The specifics of ale are slightly different. It is not like our usual one, because it is not carbonated in the same way as beer. When carbonating beer, carbon dioxide is used, but when carbonating ale, a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen is used, so this makes it less carbonated.

There is another drink that is interesting to us - cider. Tell us a little about him?

Cider is apple beer. It's fermented Apple juice, carbonated, low alcohol, within 5 degrees, no stronger than regular beer.
This is interesting: In Russia, cider became popular only in 1890. Noble rich people drank this drink instead of champagne. This was considered not only an example healthy image life, but also an indicator of good manners.

There are rumors that, despite the fact that all alcohol is harmful, drinking drinks such as ale and cider is still preferable to the body than anything else. Is it so? Are, say, hangovers caused by these drinks easier to bear?

Any alcohol you take will not cause a hangover if consumed in moderation. In general, I would advise everyone to drink exclusively “Essentuki” (smiles).

Everyone knows that when drinking, for example, tequila, it is customary to lubricate it with your hand, then lick it off and take a bite of alcohol. Are there any similar traditions when drinking ale or cider?

Both ale and cider are drunk simply like regular alcoholic drinks, without any rituals. But when drinking ale, sometimes they add either a slice or. But this is not such a common method. It is believed that these fruits slightly acidify the drink.

Do you have any events at your pub? themed parties or festivals that could become a tradition for the residents of Vladivostok?

Yes, we did something similar a couple of times. Firstly, there are themed Irish holidays, known throughout the world - St. Patrick's Day, Arthur Guinness Day - the man in whose honor the Irish beer Guinness is named, the author of the book of records. In addition, every beer bar organizes beer festivals, for example, “Octoberfest” is a German beer festival.

But life is unpredictable, there will certainly be a reason for other events!

The most popular alcoholic drink in the world is beer. A simple technological scheme, the absence of specific raw materials and expensive specialized equipment led to the rapid spread and emergence of a large number of private breweries. The history of beer is as rich as the number of its types.

According to the European classification, there are two main directions: bottom-fermented beer (lager) and top-fermented beer. It is to the second category that ale belongs.

Definition

El– a type of beer produced by high alcoholic fermentation of malt wort. This type of processing has a clear difference from other cooking methods.

Beer– the general name for all types of drinks obtained from the alcoholic fermentation of malt wort. The beer category includes lager, ale, porter, wheat beer, and stout.

Comparison

The difference between ale is technological scheme production. The main thing in it is the high (as for beer) fermentation temperature (from 15 to 24°C) and, accordingly, the use of a specific yeast starter. At the same time, an increased amount of esters and other flavoring and aromatic substances are released. Yeast not treated with low temperature is collected in the upper part of the fermentation tank, which gives the technology its name.

Ale, unlike lager, is not pasteurized or filtered. After infusion (from two weeks to two months), it is poured into barrels. Mostly metal ones are used, in some areas wooden ones are used. Sugar is added to the spilled beer to trigger re-fermentation.

Interesting way of drinking. Classically, the moment to drink a keg of ale is determined by the bartender. A tap is driven into the bottom of the barrel, through which the beer will be poured into mugs. A small hole is made in the top of the barrel for air access. The yeast “cap” protects the ale from rapid oxidation, but not for long. To avoid souring of the product, such a barrel should be drained within a couple of days.

Conclusions website

1. Beer - common name low alcohol drink. Ale is a type of beer.
2. Ale is a beer product of top alcoholic fermentation, obtained by elevated temperature fermentation.
3. Ale is not subjected to pasteurization or filtration, which allows for maximum preservation of the taste and aromatic qualities of real beer.

The most popular question that owners, bartenders and regulars hear is: what is the difference between ale and beer? There is no answer to it, because the question itself is fundamentally wrong. To understand this, you will have to dive into the topic of varieties foamy drink.

Traditionally, Russian residents associate beer with light lager, so when trying ale, they ask themselves the question mentioned above. In fact, ale, like lager, is a type of beer, so asking how it differs from a foamy drink is not entirely correct.

Distinctive features of ale

So what is the difference between ale and beer in our usual understanding? Here are a few main points:

• The ale is produced using top-fermentation technology. Brewer's yeast is light enough to float to the top and form a head. Lager is prepared differently, using heavier fungi that settle to the bottom of the barrel.
• Light yeast loves heat, so ale fermentation occurs at temperatures from +15 to +24 degrees. Such conditions cause intense release of ester compounds and natural flavors. This makes the beer richer but less stable.
• Classic ale stays alive until last straw. It is neither filtered nor pasteurized. That is why the drink has such a bright, unforgettable taste.
• Ale contains much less alcohol than lager. The fact is that initially this type of beer was used to quench thirst, and became an alcoholic drink much later. The preparation technology has remained unchanged, therefore, compared to lager, ale contains less carbon dioxide.

Types of ale

To never confuse ale and lager, just remember which drinks exactly belong to the ale family:

• Bitter, pale, India, soft, brown, strong ale;
• Barley wine;
• Scotch ale;
• Porters;
• Stouts;
• Trappist beer.

Want to know for yourself the difference between ale and top-fermented beer? Check out the German pub Jager Haus!

Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks, known back to the times of Ancient Egypt. As a rule, it is made from barley, less often from corn, rice or wheat. Very rare varieties such as African cassava beer, Brazilian potato beer and Mexican agave beer are found.

Beer is divided into three main groups based on the type of yeast used:

• Ale (ale) – this requires “top” yeast
• Lager (lager) – “grassroots” yeast
• Lambic (limbic) – so-called “spontaneous fermentation”

The very name of all these drinks in many languages ​​comes from the word “drink” (for example, Lat. Bibere - drink, beer - beer), perhaps because this is the first drink discovered by man.

The word "El" comes from alu, which means "magical", "divine". This word is used in ancient Egyptian manuscripts, of Proto-Indo-European origin.

“Lager”, from the German “lagern” - “to withstand”, “to store”. The beer is fermented in special containers called lager tanks. This species got its name from them.

“Lambik” was named so because of its place of origin - there is a municipal region of Lembeek near Brussels. Only Belgian wines can be called this way. special varieties beer.

Let's take a closer look at what ales are

Their fermentation must occur at a temperature higher than the beer temperature, and because of this, fruity notes are present in the aroma and taste, and the ale itself has sweetish taste. This drink is especially common in Ireland, Germany, England, Belgium and the USA.

In the Middle Ages, any beer was considered ale, and only after the widespread use of hops began to distinguish between beer itself (with hops) and ale (without hops). But over time, this difference was erased again.

Due to the development of technology, it is now difficult to distinguish lager (light beer) from ale, and some breweries even use combined production technology, so it is often difficult to say for sure.

In turn, ale is also divided into groups:

1. Pale ale made from light malt, the alcohol percentage ranges from 3 to 20. The bitterness of the drink can also vary greatly - from barely noticeable to “intolerable”. Bitter ale also has its own name - bitter.
2. Brown ale uses caramel malt, which gives this type its unique color. The taste of this drink should be soft, non-aggressive, rich, with a nutty note. Most often found in the UK.
3. Dark ale It is made from burnt malt, and the beer is almost black in color. There is extremely a large number of varieties, and the amount of alcohol can be either very small or large.

Belgian ales are a special group. All of them belong to white ale, and can contain double or triple the alcohol level. They also contain a large amount of sugar, which helps keep the taste neutral. Oddly enough, this species became widespread in monasteries.

Germany is considered the birthplace of lager, but ales are also brewed here, special ales are German ales.

Cologne and Dusseldorf - two competing cities, brew ale that is more different from the Belgian rich taste. In Cologne they brew a light, “Cologne” type of ale (Kolsch), and in Düsseldrof they brew a semi-dark one, like weakly brewed black tea (Altbeer).

Don’t forget about German wheat ales, which, by the way, are related to beer only in terms of production technology:

1. With fruity aroma
2. WITH spicy aroma
3. With a neutral yeast odor.

Peculiarity wheat beer– you will never find it filtered, and “top” yeast is used for fermentation. Try new types of ales and enjoy their taste with Keggers!

In the minds of most domestic beer lovers, there is a common belief that this is some kind of semi-mystical drink that Irish leprechauns and hairy hobbits brewed in their small breweries, which Tolkien told the whole world about in his books. Yes, along with rum, pirates of various stripes loved to drink on their ships during voyages. And real connoisseurs of the foamy drink are often stunned when they are asked about the difference between ale and ordinary beer.

We propose to understand this issue by dotting the i’s once and for all. To do this, you should first of all turn directly to the technology of beer production.

As almost everyone knows, in order to get beer from water, it is necessary to carry out a number of mandatory operations, one of which is. there are two types:

• – when the yeast rises to the surface during the process;
• AND – when these microorganisms sink to the bottom;

In accordance with the above options, the output is products with some differences, some of which are of significant importance to the end consumer. Moreover, in addition to the differences in properties, and beer are divided into two large categories:

• beer is called "" ;
• A beer is classified as "ale" .

Thus, we can give an absolutely accurate answer to the question of how ale differs from beer - absolutely nothing . - this is beer, but such beer was prepared using a special yeast culture.

Surely many will be surprised by this answer; some may even suggest that the benefits or harm to the body from drinking are much greater than from the usual types of beer. It is quite possible that someone will come up with the idea that riding yeast is dangerous organisms(worse than any GMO products), bred by mad scientists in special laboratories. However all this has nothing to do with reality.

They were very much pushed out in the 20th century. Unfortunately, this ultimately led to the monotony of beer tastes with a huge range of varieties from different breweries. Only in Great Britain has traditionally been preferred, despite all global trends.

At the same time, in Russia it was quite difficult to purchase beer in a grocery store just a few years ago. There was an opinion, which still exists in some heads today, that it is impossible to cook in our country. Fortunately, the situation is gradually changing for the better, and Today you can freely buy it in any medium and large supermarket. And the myth about inept Russian brewers is practically dispelled.

We cannot talk about what is worse or better - both categories must exist and delight us with new solutions and tastes. Yet There are some differences that every beer lover should be aware of:

1. much more intense esters, as well as other secondary flavor and aroma compounds. This makes it taste richer, however It should be used when more high temperature , how . Optimal temperature considered range from 12 to 16°C ;