Do you prefer Ales or Lagers?

I'll start. I prefer ales because they usually have a stronger, more pronounced taste. I enjoy the complexity of ales more than the crispness of lagers. That's not to say I don't enjoy a good bock every now and then, but ales are usually what I'll grab if I'm in the mood for a beer.

And, the very best reason of all, ales are easier and take less time to brew!


*note, sorry if this poll has been done before, but I tried the search feature and found no similar thread.*

Nader.FTW
................

I'm going to have to agree with the OP. By their style and nature, ales are simply given more leeway for flavorful character and creativity. You don't see many famous Belgian lagers. There's a reason for that. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to brace myself for the inevitable backlash.

Lager lovers, before you get ready to destroy me, I want to say that lagers have their moments and there are situations that definitely call for a lager. Not many ales will do the trick during or after mowing the lawn, for example.

Im a fan of ales. Only lagers I like are Marzens and Bocks.

Do I sense a blowout victory for ales? There's gotta be some lager fans here.

ales. i love a malty lager, but i have yet to find one that can replace a dark strong ale

That poll needed one more option: Both!

I love them both. Ales are wonderful and I like the challenge (as well as drinking) the lagers.

No bigotry here.

Ryanh1801 said:

Im a fan of ales. Only lagers I like are Marzens and Bocks.

Click to expand...

I agree with Ryan. I will occasionally drink a pilsner and can appreciate it for what it is- but at home, I make ales, Marzens and Maibocks.

Ales all the way for me too. The only lagers I drink year-round are Viennas. Seasonally I'll drink some Oktobers and Pilsners...

I'm an Independent. I guess my taste buds are more of a reflection of my appreciation for beer in general. There are styles within ales and lagers that I don't care for, but I love the complexity and fruitiness that can be achieved with British or Belgian yeasts. On the other hand, I also love the yeast-cleanness and exactness that goes into brewing a good German lager. I usually alternate each batch I brew with ale/lager.

I like Ales. They mature quicker and don't require a cold environment to ferment. They also have more flavor in my opinion.

I started homebrewing because I could make ales relatively easily. I really enjoy a good lager, but this obsession, for me, is all about the ale.

If I could drink only one beer the rest of my life it would be a stout, so I voted for ales. However I love malty flavours as well so I've recently ordered a temp controller to try out some lagering. The extra challenge appeals to me as well.

There are more kinds of ales that I like, but there are a lot more ale styles than lager styles. I love bocks, schwartzbiers, dunkels, oktoberfests, good bohemian or german pils, and vienna lagers, but there are too many other kinds of ales I enjoy so that's how I voted.

Definitely both. I brew about equal amounts of each. In the summer though I really enjoy a good light pilsner.

Didn't vote - I don't prefer either one. I make ales because I don't have the ability to lager yet. When I do, I'll make those too.

There's no such thing as a sour lager......yet anyway

This reminds me, at some point I want to do a poll: "Choose a style to be soured": And then have things like: Porter, IPA, Octoberfest, Bock, ESB, etc. to choose from that are not normally 'soured'. Whichever won, I would brew and sour and see the results. Maybe when I get through my next few I'll have some free time to mess around.

Wow, I am surprised by the results. I love Ales, well because I love to make funky stuff (not that all Ales are funky, just more suitable for). Lagers are great though, and by no means at the bottom of my list. I prefer whatever the mood strikes me as liking!

ALES!

landhoney said:

There's no such thing as a sour lager......yet anyway

This reminds me, at some point I want to do a poll: "Choose a style to be soured": And then have things like: Porter, IPA, Octoberfest, Bock, ESB, etc. to choose from that are not normally 'soured'. Whichever won, I would brew and sour and see the results. Maybe when I get through my next few I'll have some free time to mess around.

Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, a sour Bock would be freaking awesome. Then, depending on the yeast you use, you could really add a extra level of complexity.

As a whole, I don't really prefer one or the other, but I have more favorite styles that are ales. What can I say? I started actually appreciating beer when I was 16 and on a family trip to Belgium. That prolly has something to do with it.

Then again, I'm from the souf, and there ain't nothing like a good, refreshing pilsner on one o' them hot summer days!

They are both good. Years ago I would have said lager, but after trying many more brand and styles, I would def have to go with Ales. More flavor choices and I like variety.

Where's Ralph?

I can't wait to build my son of a fermentation chiller... that way I can start brewing a few lagers for the hot summer months.

I love both, but I mostly brew ales because of temperature requirements and quick fermentation / shorter aging.

Ales for me but will occasionally drink a lager.

Brew Dude said:

I can't wait to build my son of a fermentation chiller... that way I can start brewing a few lagers for the hot summer months.

Click to expand...

where do you live? don't expect the SOF chiller to get your wort less than 25F below ambient.

I gotta say I prefer ales. I'm a big fan of IPA's and belgian ales. Can't think of too many lagers I like other than oktoberfest. So yeah, ales all the way.

I gotta say ales. I do love me the occasional pilsner or oktoberfest, but for everyday drinking....

This does not mean that I won't try my hand at a lager one of these days.... Probably this month

DeathBrewer said:

where do you live? don't expect the SOF chiller to get your wort less than 25F below ambient.

Click to expand...

Southern California. Gets about 90 degrees here in the summer (on average), but in the garage I ferment in it doesn't get above 80 or so. I don't think it will have a problem getting down to 52

I prefer lagers as of now, mainly because they are more drinkable and easier to enjoy w/ friends. But as my journey into homebrewing has progressed, my enjoyment of ales has definitely increased. I look forward to answering this question again in a year!

Though I agree with landhoney that a sour lager would be great I truely prefer lagers right now. They are smoother and you can taste the hops and malt more clearly. Even most of the strong ones you don't taste the alcohol bite that you do even on comercial examples. Even my favorate Porter is a lager comma Zywiec. Unfortionatly most styles of lagers are ment to be drank in sessions and since the yeast imparts so little flavor by its self the flavor profile is a little lower. But give me a good pilsner for hops than any american pale ale. A good doppelbock over a Russian Imperial Stout. Lagers are just more about the ingrediants than the yeast which is what I like.

I brew seasonally and prefer different beers depending on the time of year. I'd much rather drink a lager on a hot summer day then a robust porter. But in the winter a lager just doesn't work for me. So my answer would be - Both!

GT