LAGERS
Lager (German: storage) is a type of beer that is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast at lower temperatures and for longer durations than those typically used to brew ales. In German, the term "lager" refers to storing a beer at cool temperatures and does not necessarily imply bottom-fermentation. Pilsener, Bock, Export and Marzen are all styles of lager. Pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world.
While cold storage of beer, "lagering", in caves for example, was a common practice throughout the medieval period, lager yeast seems to have emerged as a spontaneous mutation or hybridization somewhere in the holy roman empire.
As a new variety of beer, its production faced opposition from established brewers. Private brewers of lager were often required to produce their beer outside city walls; more traditional brewers produced beer which evolved into the Altbier and Kolsch styles.
The first lager brewery in the United Kingdom, the Anglo- Bavarian Brewery, was established in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England in 1864.
ALES
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a top-fermenting brewers' yeast. This yeast ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the beer.
Ale is typically fermented at temperatures between 15 and 24 C (60 and 75 F). At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result is often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling but not limited to apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum or prune. Typical ales have a sweeter, fuller mouthfeel than lagers.
In a number of U.S. states, especially in the western United States, "ale" is the term mandated by state law for any beverage fermented from grain with an alcoholic strength above that which can legally be named "beer," without regard to the method of fermentation or the yeast used.
MICRO BEERS
Micro or craft breweries have adopted a different marketing strategy than large, mass-market breweries, offering products that compete on the basis of quality and diversity, instead of low price and advertising. Their influence has been much greater than their market share (which amounts to only 2% in the UK), indicated by the fact that large commercial breweries have introduced new brands intended to compete in the same market as microbrewery. When this strategy failed, they invested in microbreweries; or in many cases bought them outright.
In the early twentieth century, prohibhition drove many breweries in the US into bankruptcy because they could not rely on selling "sacramental wine" as wineries of that era did. After several decades of consolidation of breweries, most American commercial beer was produced by a few very large corporations, resulting in a very uniform, mild-tasting lager, of which Budweiser and Miller are well-known examples. Consequently, some beer drinkers craving variety turned to homebrewing and eventually a few started doing so on a slightly larger scale. For inspiration, they turned to Britain, Germany, and Belgium, where a centuries-old tradition of artisan beer and cask ale production had never died out.
The popularity of these products was such that the trend quickly spread, and hundreds of small breweries sprang up, often attached to a bar (known as a "brewpub") where the product could be sold directly. As microbrews proliferated, some became more than microbrews, necessitating the definition of the broader category of craft beer - high quality beer. The largest American craft brewery is the Boston Beer Company, makers of Samual Adams. Portland, Oregon is very well known for its microbrew proliferation. In 2008, Portland had 30 microbreweries located within the city limits, more than any city in the world and greater than one-third of the state total. With 46 microbrew outlets, Portland has more breweries and brewpubs per capita than any other city in the United States. Many have won nationwide and international acclaim.
American microbreweries typically distribute through a wholesaler in a traditional three-tier system, others act as their own distributor (wholesaler) and sell to retailers and/or directly to the consumer through a tap room, attached restaurant, or off-premise sales. Because alcohol control is left up to the states, there are many state-to-state differences in the laws. |
