Lager or Ale?

[broon]

eh, that's a lie perpetrated by the Cantillon brewery.

Yeast is everywhere. leave some milk out on the stove and you'll get yogurt in a few days.

say, why does that fruit on your counter start smelling a little acrid after a few days? that's natural fermentation.

It's a myth that keeps them relevant. BUT, they make awesome, awesome lambics. it's a cool place to visit, too.

You are right...yeast is everywhere. But there are different strains of yeast and the one that gives a real lambic it's characteristics only exists in that part of the world. I can buy a yeast strain similar and make a lambic but not in the way it was originally made.

 

[zinfamous]

You are right...yeast is everywhere. But there are different strains of yeast and the one that gives a real lambic it's characteristics only exists in that part of the world. I can buy a yeast strain similar and make a lambic but not in the way it was originally made.

and what is that strain?

this is also a lie. the dude that guided the tour at Cantillon basically mentioned this, heh.

 

[xSauronx]

a majority of what i drink are ales, but t hat doesnt stop me from liking lagers.

if i had to pick one it would be ales, since porters/stouts are my favorite beers

 

[Apathetic]

You guys are making me thirsty! I tend to have a lot more ales in my refridgerator than lagers.

Dave

 

[Wyndru]

So you prefer maybe Guinness Extra Stout on a 90 degree day and a Dos Equis while you're watching the snow fall?

No, I'm a Sammy man, Winter Lager in the winter, Summer Ale in the summer, they even have labels to tell me when it's appropriate to drink them! :awe:

 

[Squisher]

eh, that's a lie perpetrated by the Cantillon brewery.

Yeast is everywhere. leave some milk out on the stove and you'll get yogurt in a few days.

say, why does that fruit on your counter start smelling a little acrid after a few days? that's natural fermentation.

It's a myth that keeps them relevant. BUT, they make awesome, awesome lambics. it's a cool place to visit, too.

Why do you say that? Is it far fetched that there are more than one kind of yeast and each is more common to a certain area? In bread baking, of which I'm a little more familiar than brewing, it is pretty well established that sourdoughs from each region have their own taste. If not the yeast, maybe the other microorganisms that affect fermentation.


btw-I like my beer dark and thick so more of the ales for me.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Ales are mmmm.
Lagers are meh.

 

[Avalon]

and what is that strain?

this is also a lie. the dude that guided the tour at Cantillon basically mentioned this, heh.

B. Lambicus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettanomyces_lambicus

 

[bignateyk]

If I'm drinking alot of something I go with lagers. They seem to have less sugars in them, which leads to night sweats and heart palpitations for me. If I'm just having one or two of something I'd go for ales.

 

[Scotteq]

It puts the beer in the 'still and makes whisky.



..or else it gets the hose again

 

[Saint Nick]

I just drink what I like and enjoy it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

IPAs. :shudder:
I can't do them. But typically, I can't do anything hoppy.

I've rarely looked at the beer family kingdom as ale and lager. I've always looked at it as Barley and Hops. Many hops over barley/malt? I feel like I'm drinking something that belongs in a household surface cleaner, one IPA even tasted like what I imagine pinesol might taste like. (yes, I've tried more than one. two to be exact. Dogfish head's 60 minute IPA was indeed the better of the two (the other being Columbus Brewery's IPA - aka pinesol), because it wasn't gag-inducing, but it wasn't enjoyable either.

Are you me?

I tried a Bell's Two Hearted once because it got rave reviews and it was terrible. It was like they had liquefied a Christmas tree.

Since then I've avoided pale ales. I'm usually fine with the darker stuff, to a point, and I love wheat beer, bocks, and many types of lager. Sam Adams is pretty good.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Ale more in Winter, Lager more in Summer. I like both and live a five minute walk from a Hall & Woodhouse pub:

http://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk/beers/badgerales/index.asp

So Ale is always the top option there unless I'm really in the mood for Lager.

 

[ConwayJim]

Your right, Ale are heavy, but have all the flavour, lager is Fab on hot summer days!, and Stout for the winter!

This!

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Ales.

Dark lagers always seem like a watered down stout.

 

[Paladin]

Ales, definitely
<---- see avatar

though right now I do have some Sam Adams Noble Pils in the frige, wanted something lighter this week.

 

[vi edit]

IPAs. :shudder: I can't do them. But typically, I can't do anything hoppy. I've rarely looked at the beer family kingdom as ale and lager. I've always looked at it as Barley and Hops. Many hops over barley/malt? I feel like I'm drinking something that belongs in a household surface cleaner, one IPA even tasted like what I imagine pinesol might taste like. (yes, I've tried more than one. two to be exact. Dogfish head's 60 minute IPA was indeed the better of the two (the other being Columbus Brewery's IPA - aka pinesol), because it wasn't gag-inducing, but it wasn't enjoyable either.

I'm not a big hop guy at all either, but if you have a place that does a cask aged IPA on the old pull pump give it a shot. It'll change your opinion of the style. It's a very mellow brew without the pinesol'y aftertaste.

 

[Ninjahedge]

Depends on a LOT of things, really, although I do prefer Ale to Lager.

Things that matter:

1. Room temp (is it 30 or 90 degrees out?)
2. Accompanyment (are you eating Salt and Vinegar chips, or a porterhouse?)
3. RATE OF CONSUMPTION. Is this a quick drink or a sipper/movie/etc?
4. Mood. Do you want a Black Chocolate Stout, or do you want more of a Brooklyn Lager? Sometimes you are just in more of a mood for a lighter crisper fare.
5. What type/brand. Seriously, bud = rice beer. They SAY lager, but c'mahn! Really?


Hope that is enough. Now I really want a brew.

 

[destrekor]

You are right...yeast is everywhere. But there are different strains of yeast and the one that gives a real lambic it's characteristics only exists in that part of the world. I can buy a yeast strain similar and make a lambic but not in the way it was originally made.

As far as beer goes, I'm inclined to believe that as true. It makes sense, considering the exact same approach is used with sourdough. When you set up your starter, you are tapping into the local flora of yeast and bacteria... so sourdoughs made in one part of the world can have distinctly different flavors from another.

There are definitely species of yeast that are only found in specific locations.

 

[vi edit]

The crazy (sad?) thing is that ales account for like 90&#37; of all styles of beer. But Lagers account for like 90% of all sales.

 

[silverpig]

Eh?

There isn't a single lager that I could think of that I would actually miss.

I normally would agree with you, but I had Brooklyn Lager once and it is quite enjoyable. I would miss that. Oh, and Grolsch as well.

But yeah, 95% of the beers I really like are ales.

 

[Ninjahedge]

The crazy (sad?) thing is that ales account for like 90% of all styles of beer. But Lagers account for like 90% of all sales.

White bread will always outsell sourdough, rye, pumpernickel, french, and just about ALL other bread types combined (in the US that is. I think you wuld find most europeans choking themselves to death before munching on Wonder Bread...).

When properly marketed and drunk by your father and your father's father, even Pisswater can be drunk more than all the best combined.

 

[mrkun]

Imperial Stout/Porter > all

Right now I've got a Victory at Sea, two Speedway Stout's and I managed to reserve two bottles of Parabola when it gets released.

 

[vi edit]

Imperial Stout/Porter > all

Right now I've got a Victory at Sea, two Speedway Stout's and I managed to reserve two bottles of Parabola when it gets released.

They just don't sound good at all when it's 90 degrees and humid. Gimme a Belgian wit or an American traditional wheat and now we're talking during the summer.

 

[mrkun]

They just don't sound good at all when it's 90 degrees and humid. Gimme a Belgian wit or an American traditional wheat and now we're talking during the summer.

It's all about the Saisons then. I'm getting shitfaced on Hennepin for the 4th of July.

Also, here on the West Coast it's not necessarily hot if you live close to the ocean, and certainly not at night. It's weird, but San Diego and San Francisco don't get hot in the summer, but LA does somehow.