All Beer Is Ale or Lager

Published on Monday, October 6, 2008, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

All Beer Is Ale or Lager

Civilization of Beer’s Samuel Merritt discusses the two styles of beer, ale and lager. The upshot is that it’s all in the yeast.

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POST A COMMENT |10 Comments

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  • There is fundamentally a third general type nobody should forget: spontaneaous fermentation beers.
    This includes Belgian lambiek type beers (geuze, kriek...), Amazonian kasiri (from casava) and African banana beers

  • there is a third type of beer that was started in California before refrigeration... it's Steam beer (aka Anchor Steam)... it is made by using Lager yeasts at Ale fermenting temps.

  • Pils is a lager.

  • So where does Pilsner fit in to this?

  • Yeast is just one ingredient. Lager means to store. It's more helpful to talk about dominant beer cultures and their respective methodology.

  • Kind of dumb to oversimplify like that, as lager does not define the yeast so much as the process of cold storing after fermentation is completed. There are beers made with top cropping yeasts that are lagered. I don't mind translating for the masses, but a little disclosure that there is more to it than this would be nice.

  • There are several wrong statements on this page. This ought to be corrected or taken off Chowhound - we don't want to be caught with this kind of misinformation.

    "All Beer is Ale or Lager" - hello... Lambics anyone?

    "The upshot is that it’s all in the yeast." No, not really. Given the incredible number of different styles and types of ingredients and processes that go into creating the 13,000...+READ

    There are several wrong statements on this page. This ought to be corrected or taken off Chowhound - we don't want to be caught with this kind of misinformation.

    "All Beer is Ale or Lager" - hello... Lambics anyone?

    "The upshot is that it’s all in the yeast." No, not really. Given the incredible number of different styles and types of ingredients and processes that go into creating the 13,000 different beers in the world, how can anyone say that it's all in the yeast? It *starts* with the yeast - but it's a long ways from it *all* being in the yeast.

    As to the video itself, great simple explanation! Too bad it's a complex subject!!!

    Ale vs. Lager is not a bad place to start learning about beer - it gives you a place to start hanging all the other elements of style. But the many, many types of malts (malted barley) and other base grains are a much more significant differentiator of variety and style than just the yeast. The many varieties of sugars, extracts, hops, and a number of differences in process are part of the complex recipes and techniques behind every beer. Learning the actual varieties and styles of beer, a few at a time, would serve someone better than listening to over-simplified videos and statements like this one.-COLLAPSE

  • This is overly simplistic. Beers made with lager yeast can be quite complex, and ales can be extremely simple. Compare Aventinus (made with lager yeast) with Boddington's (made with ale yeast) and it'll be obvious that complex aromas and flavors aren't solely determined by yeast strain.

  • I think that is hideously simplfied.

    Yes, Ale is made with top-fermenting yeast and Lager with bottom-fermenting yeast, but the comparrison is the wrong way round.

    There are not two types of beer, there are two types of yeast (and Lambic of course).

  • Great simple explanation!!!