Ales

Styles | Products
In modern brewing terms, the word Ale typically refers to a beer that is brewed with "ale" yeast as opposed to lager yeast.

Ale yeast is yeast that works best at warmer temperatures (60-70 degrees F) and which tends to ferment at the top of the fermentation vessel. Lager yeast tends to work best at cooler temperatures (45-55 degrees F) and ferment mostly at the bottom of the fermentation vessel. That is why Ales are sometimes referred to "top fermenting beers" while lagers are sometimes called "bottom fermenting."

Ale yeast tend to produce more complex flavors than lager yeast, often helping to provide a fruity, sweet and full bodied flavor when compared to lagers.

The term "ale" ale has been used differently througout the ages. When hops were first introduced to beer in the 15th century, "ale" referred to beers that didn't contain hops. Today, some states use the term "ale" in a legal sense to mean a strong version of beer.

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Styles Within Ales

  • American Ales

    American Ales are beer styles that evolved in America, but evolved in large part from British beer styles. American Ales are usually distictive in their use of citrusy American hops such as »

  • Belgian & French Ales

    Belgian & French Ales are the historic everyday drinking beers of Belgium and France. This category includes what Belgian brewers might call the "low fermentation" beers, or lower alcohol beers that »

  • Belgian Strong Ales

    Belgian Strong Ales cover a wide range of styles, but are treated as a distinctly different category of beers from the lower alcohol Belgian and French Ales. Belgian style beers at 6-7% or higher in »

  • English Brown Ales

    Typically brown in color, Brown Ales often have an initial malty sweetness followed by a moderate caramel flavor.

    Brown Ales are terrific with many red meats and nutty cheeses.
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  • English Pale Ales

    English Pale Ales are light in color, ranging from golden to a light copper color. The taste is typically hoppy with a clean, crisp finish. English hops are typically more earthy in flavor than »

  • Fruit Beers

    Fruit Beers are beers that are flavored with fruits, fruit extracts or fruit syrups. The flavor of the beer varies with the fruit, but a Fruit Beer should have a relatively balanced between the base »

  • German Wheat & Rye Beers

    The use of wheat grain in addition to barley is a centuries old practice in Europe that has only recently begun to spread in North America. Long before the rest of the world knew what it was missing »

  • India Pale Ales

    India Pale Ales get their name and unique style from British brewers who were making beer for export to India. The hops were used to preserve the beer for the long sea voyage. Not surprisingly, India »

  • Porters

    Porters as a beer style were revolutionary. The tremendous popularity of the Porter style among the general public of 18th century England coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of »

  • Scottish and Irish Style Ales

    The United Kingdom has long been a center of great brewing and many of the beer styles that we recognize today were developed there over the past several centuries. Agriculture, history, tradition »

  • Smoke Flavored & Wood Aged Beers

  • Sour Ales

    Sour Ales are distinctive in the beer world for their basic sour flavor characteristics. Their sourness is typically a product of the yeast strain that helps to ferment the beer; yeast strains that »

  • Specialty Beer

    This is explicitly a catch-all category for any beer that does not fit into an existing style category. No beer is ever "out of style" in this category, unless it fits elsewhere.

    The »

  • Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer

    Spice Herb/Vegetable Beer cover a wide range of styles and include many beers that don't fit into the other styles. Many Spice Herb/Vegetable Beer use spices or ingredients other than the typical »

  • Stouts

    Stouts evolved from the Porter style during the later part of the 19th century in England. Frequently referred to as "Stout Porter," the Stout style of beer promoted as a healthy drink and was often »

  • Strong Ales

    Usually the strongest ale offered by a brewery, and in recent years many commercial examples are now vintage-dated. Normally aged significantly prior to release. Often associated with the winter or »