Lagers, Ales, and Different Types of Beers

According to Kirin Holding’s Kirin Beer University Report, 188.79 million kilolitres of beer were consumed in 2018. The world beer market, moreover, is estimated to be currently valued at USD 710.89 billion.

According to Research and Markets’ 2020-2025 forecast report, beer will continue to dominate the global alcoholic beverage market. It is the most consumed alcoholic drink worldwide.

It is safe to say that a lot of people love to drink beer. Even a simple Google search will lead you to hundreds of millions of results for beer online offers. Indeed, beer is ubiquitous, and beer-drinking, pervasive.

The Growth of the Beer Market

Two things seem to be fuelling the growth of the beer market. One is the rise of craft, specialty, and premium beers. There are also low- to no-alcohol beers. According to Global Market Insights, this segment will hit USD 29.6 billion in market size by 2026. Ironically, this could lead to a decline in per capita alcohol consumption even as beer consumption steadily grows.

There is also a growing segment of younger consumers who have more than a casual interest in beer. This type of consumer may dabble in brewing their own beers and typically show interest in small, artisanal breweries.

As such, more and more people are now giving beer more thought than it previously warranted as their Sunday afternoon football drink of choice. They now look at it and inspect it much like a wine connoisseur would their Eiswein or Alsace Riesling.

If you think the same and would like to learn more about your favorite libation, start by learning the different types of beers, particularly the two broad categories, lagers and ales.

Lagers vs. Ales

All beers fall into one of two styles: lagers and ales. Lagers are known as bottom-fermented beers, while ales are known as top-fermented beers, although this is a false dichotomy, as you would soon see.

Lager Style Beer

In 2017, an estimated USD 661 billion worth of beer was sold worldwide, and in 2018, the lager market size was estimated to be USD 366.94 billion. Most commercial beers and most of the world’s top beers are lagers.

When most people think of beer, their minds are probably conjuring up a picture of light yellow, effervescent beers, which are, you guessed it, almost always lagers. Note that not all lagers are pale yellow; some are golden yellow and dark, too.

Indeed, lagers remain the world’s most popular type of beer. Think Coors and Budweiser; they’re lagers.

Lager comes from “Lagerung,” which is German for “storage” or “Lagern,” which is the German verb “to store.” This is an apt name because lagers brew or ferment slowly in low temperatures and are frequently “lagered” or stored in the cold.

Lagers are typically made using the Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast, which seems to be a hybrid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cold-tolerant Saccharomyces eubayanus.

Lager yeast can ferment the sugar melibiose, while ale yeast cannot. It can also ferment more sugars than ale yeast. Both of these characteristics give lagers their crisp and clean taste. Lagers, however, can be flavored through the addition of hops.

Lager yeasts can withstand cold temperatures, allowing for low-temperature fermentation. This explains the thinner kräusen or foam that develops on top of the beer as lagers ferment. The cold means the yeast is less active and works more slowly.

However, note that some lager yeast can survive just fine in warmer temperatures, while some ale yeast can withstand lower temperatures. Therefore, cold fermentation may not always be true in all lagers.

Lager beers are also often cold-conditioned or stored at low temperatures after fermentation. But cold conditioning is not exclusive to lagers.

Ale Style Beer

Ale-style beer is fermented using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the same yeast we use for baking bread. This type of yeast thrives in warmer temperatures, although, as already mentioned above, some ale yeasts do not die in cold temperatures and thus may be used in cold brewing or cold fermentation.

Ale-style beers typically ferment with a thick kräusen, indicating great yeast activity. This thick foam head that develops during fermentation is the reason ale-style beers are called top-fermenting beers.

However, this thick foam head is mainly due to the warmer temperatures in which ale beers are usually fermented. As earlier mentioned, cold brewing leads to more sluggish yeast activity, thus the thinner kräusen of most lager beers. Therefore, the top-fermenting and bottom-fermenting dichotomy between ales and lagers is not accurate.

When it comes to taste, ales are usually more full-bodied and more complex than lagers. They are typically darker than lagers, and they can be fruity, sweet, herbal, bitter, and all sorts of flavors in between. If you are craving a fuller body and more complex flavors, try ales.

More Specific Types of Beer

All styles of beers, such as IPAs, pilsners, stouts, and porters are either lagers or ales.

India Pale Ale

IPAs are traditionally high-alcohol, high-hop ale-style beers. These are prevalent in British India and other outposts, hence the name. IPAs momentarily lost their popularity, but the addition of American hops and the innovation of American brewers revived their dominance.

Today, IPAs number among the world’s most popular craft beers and in the United States, they reign as the most popular craft beer style. IPAs’ flavors and alcohol content vary greatly as this type of beer is continually evolving. Most craft brewers follow the American IPA style but often add their local twists.

However, IPAs remain known for their hoppy style. Expressions, however, often vary from citrusy to resinous to herbal and from fruity to sweet to bitter.

Pilsner

Pilsners are typically pale lagers with spicy/grassy hops added to them. They are crisp tasting, which is the defining characteristic of lagers, but the addition of hops makes them spicier or gives them a harder bite than the typical lager.

Pilsners originated in the Czech Republic, particularly in Plzeň (Pilsen, thus Pilsner). In 1838, brewmasters dumped 36 barrels of ale in the streets because of spoilage. This event led the town’s brewers to seek the help of Josef Groll and the town’s eventual shift from producing ale to producing lager.

After the beer dump, the town of Plzen started making beer with lager yeast, partially malted and lightly kilned barley, soft water, and Saaz hops. They lagered or stored the beers in cool sandstone caverns. The result is the world’s beloved pilsners.

Pilsners are no longer exclusive to the Czech Republic, however. Their popularity meant beer makers worldwide tried to copy the Czech Republic style of lagers and came up with pilsners of their own.

Stout

Stouts are strong ale-style beers that are typically deep brown or black. They bring to mind flavors of coffee and cream as well as sweetened espresso.

Stouts are often thick, rich, smooth, and full-bodied ales. While brewers make them with hops, like any other beer, their most defining characteristics usually come from the roasted, unmalted barley.

Porter

Porters are very similar to stouts. Stouts are modified porters, and, like stouts, porters have a deep brown or black color and a rich and thick texture. Usually, however, brewers make porters from malted barley.

Porters are traditionally more chocolatey than stouts. They also usually have brown foam, whereas stouts often have white or slightly off- white foam.

However, the difference between stouts and porters is getting more blurred, with some stouts using malted barley, too.

So Many More Styles of Beers

Beer is the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage. But it is only over the past decade or less that, with the increasing popularity of craft and premium beers, people are looking at it much as a wine connoisseur would.

While there are two main styles of beers, lagers and ales, there are so many variations within each style. Indeed, there are much more than the IPA, pilsner, stout, and porter mentioned above and definitely more than your neighborhood bar or your specialty liquor shop in Dubai, even with its extensive drinks list, might carry. Check out a nearby craft beer bar or craft beer store in your area, and get acquainted with the many interesting beer options available.

Special Thanks to Valentina Chessa for this Great Beer Now Guest Post! Valentina is the Retail Marketing Manager at African + Eastern, the largest alcohol retailer in the Middle East with a network of 29 stores in the UAE, 5 in Oman, and a team of over 400 professional staff. The company boasts an extensive portfolio of beer, wine and spirits, and customers can shop online or at one of its conveniently located stores.