What is the difference between how ales and lagers are brewed?
Ale vs Lager: Commonalities
Even the greatest rivals can have plenty in common, and the ale vs lager matchup is no different. These two beers have more differences than commonalities, but let’s find common ground first.
First off, both ales and lagers have similar basic ingredients: grain malts, hops, yeast, and water. The German Reinheitsgebot even made this a law in 1516, limiting ingredients to water, grains, and hops. The absence of yeast is due to early confusion about which ingredient enabled alcohol production.
The Power of Hops
Brewers add hops for several reasons, but the traditional reason was to preserve the beer. Hops have antibacterial properties, and beers with higher levels of hops tend to last longer.
This is why Indian pale ales (IPAs) have such high levels of hops. IPAs had to survive the long journey from Europe to India, arriving in a drinkable state. Beers with fewer hops spoiled before they arrived.
Today, brewers use hops to add bitterness and creative flavors. The terpenes in hops can mimic the flavor profiles of fruits, spices, and aromatic plants. Many craft beers contain hop blends for diverse flavors in each sip.
Yeast Enzymes Get to Work
Yeast is essential to alcohol production within your brew. Yeast enzymes feast on the sugars in your malt, and they create alcohol during their digestive process which then enters the brew.
Different types of yeast create higher or lower levels of alcohol. Certain yeasts create a certain taste too. It is no wonder that brewers keep their specific yeasts a secret.
Top Quality Water
The water in lager and ale makes up around 95% of most brews. This can be higher or lower in craft beers, but water remains the majority ingredient. This means the quality, PH level, and mineral content of water affect the brew and the beer’s final flavor.
Beer yeast works better within a PH range of 5.2 to 5.5. Hard water contains more alkaline minerals like calcium and magnesium, and these swing the PH scale closer to the alkaline side. For brewers, this affects the color, taste, and sharpness of their beers.
The greatest brewing regions in the world have excellent soft water sources. Think Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. Many American states have perfect water for brewing too, hence the surge of high-quality craft beers.
Ale vs Lager: Brewing Differences
Now it’s time for these two beers to part ways. Next time you sip your favorite lager or ale, remember how they each begin their journey into your glass. And remember, their brewing differences are why you prefer one over the other.
Strains of Yeast
The common consensus is that ale yeast is top-fermenting and lager yeast is bottom-fermenting. This is true in most senses, but both types of yeast move through the cylinder when fermentation is underway.
Ale yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This strain of yeast likes life at the top of the brew, but it moves down to the bottom near the end of fermentation. Ale yeast is tougher than lager yeast, and it can stand a higher fermentation temperature.
Lager yeast is Saccharomyces uvarum. It likes a colder fermentation temperature and is easier to spoil with less-than-ideal brewing conditions. Lager yeast is known as bottom-forming; it never rises to the top but prefers to hang out in the middle before falling to the bottom.
Levels of Hops
Ales have more hops than lagers in most cases. Craft beers have even more, but this is for flavor more than anything else. Under colder fermentation conditions, lagers preserve more flavor from their hops, meaning fewer hops will create the desired flavor.
Floral hops with sweet notes can offset the bitterness of most ales. Though some varieties put bitterness at the forefront of their flavor palettes. You can measure this with the International Bittering Units (IBU) scale.
Fermentation Temperature
Ale yeast usually works its magic at temperatures between 60 to 80°F. Ale yeast can also survive in higher levels of alcohol than lager yeast. Combined with the higher temperature, this leads to stronger brews, but many brewers dilute ales to a more palatable strength.
Lager yeast feels at home between 35 to 50°F. Traditional German brewers did most of their craft in winter, and lager yeast suited those temperatures better than ale yeast. The fermentation temperature of lager yeast must stay stable during the brewing process.
Brewing Duration
Ale yeast creates a brew in less than a week due to its higher fermentation temperature. Most brewers condition their ales for a week or more to develop the flavors within their casks or bottles. You could in theory drink an ale after a few days of conditioning, but it would be far from perfect!
Lagers take 1 to 3 weeks for primary fermentation. Notice the term primary; you’ll need patience to brew a quality lager. Even when the primary formation stage is complete, keep your glasses in the cupboard for now.
Lagering Lager
The word lager derives from the German word for storage, lagern, and the process would traditionally take place in a cold, dark cave. You need to cold condition lagers for 6 to 8 weeks, but special lagers can cold condition for a year or more. Perhaps the historical trivia above will help you wait!
What About Hybrid Beers?
Hybrid beers seek peace in the ale vs lager rivalry. Hybrids contain elements of both ale and lager brewing methods. While you may think of hybrid strains as craft beers, their production predates the craft era.
Altbier, literally old beer, comes from Düsseldorf in Germany. Brewers used ale yeast and a warm fermentation temperature to brew it, but then they cold-conditioned it like a lager. The region’s water has plenty of minerals, and this matches the bitter, malt-driven flavor of altbier.
Kölsch was Cologne’s answer to altbier. It too is brewed with ale yeast and colder conditioned, but it has a lighter color and flavor. Noble hops and pilsner malts create a dry, crisp beer that is easy to drink.
Prepare for many chants of prost! Traditional kölsch bartenders tend to refill your small glass until you place a beermat on top of it.