Ale
A modern ale is commonly defined by the strain of yeast used and the fermenting temperature.
Ales are normally brewed with top-fermenting yeasts (most commonly Saccharomyces cerevisiae), though a number of British brewers, including Fullers and Weltons, use ale yeast strains that have less-pronounced top-fermentation characteristics. The important distinction for ales is that they are fermented at higher temperatures and thus ferment more quickly than lagers.
Ale is typically fermented at temperatures between 15 and 24°C (60 and 75°F). At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavor and aroma products, and the result is often a beer with slightly “fruity” compounds resembling apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum, or prune, among others. Typically, ales have a sweeter, fuller body than lagers.
Before the introduction of hops into England from the Netherlands in the 15th century, the name ale was exclusively applied to unhopped fermented beverages, the term beer being gradually introduced to describe a brew with an infusion of hops. This distinction no longer applies. The word ale may come from the Old English ealu, in turn from the Proto-Indo-European base *alut-, which holds connotations of “sorcery, magic, possession, intoxication”.
Real ale is the term coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in 1973 for “beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide”. It is applied both to bottle conditioned and cask conditioned beers.
Lambic, a beer of Belgium, is naturally fermented using wild yeasts, rather than cultivated. Many of these are not strains of brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and may have significant differences in aroma and sourness. Yeast varieties such as Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Brettanomyces lambicus are quite common in lambics. In addition, other organisms such as Lactobacillus bacteria produce acids which contribute to the sourness.
Look out for the next article on Lager.
Reference / Source of information: Wikipedia.org
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