Why Do We Brew/Drink Ales?

There are so many comments on here about neighbors, friends, relatives that only drink BMC lagers. Why is it that homebrewers tend to brew ales? I know there are plenty (if not half) of people on here brewing quality lagers too. I imagine that many of our first brews were ales and alot of people still prob brew nothing but ales. Do we brew ales because the process is simpler and possibly more forgiving in terms of flavor than lagers? Is that why we like ales - because that's what we brew? Or do we brew ales because we already enjoy drinking them?

I guess what I'm asking is kinda of a which came first kinda question? Actually, I'm not sure quite what I'm asking at all... just curious why so many of the non-brewing population enjoy only BMC's and so many of us (brewers) enjoy all styles of quality brews.

For me, I think I enjoy things more when I understand them, their history, what goes into making them, etc. I still think my tastes would have evolved although a lot slower had it not been for brewing.

So, new question, should we require brewing for all high school graduates (jk) or should we keep this ever-growing club to our selves as long as possible?

I only brew ales cause I have no good temperature control for fermentation. can't really do a lager.

ales are easier to start with. Those people drinking BMC probably dont know to drink anything else. They grew up drinking them and it has been those beers they have drank since.

It's because most people don't like a high quality ale, they prefer cheap nasty lagers from the big breweries which have a lot of money to spend on advertising to brainwash ignorant consumers about how good their (****) product is.

yeah, lagers are so pissy finicky...I'm sure I'll get into it eventually, but it's just a whole nother level that I don't wanna focus on yet.

Maybe because 80% of what I bought out of a cooler in bottles was an ale of some sort. I just really don't care to drink most lighter Lagers /Pilsners. <shrug>

I find ales to be more diverse and complex than lagers. Not only that but they are usually ready to drink in less time.

schweaty said:

I find ales to be more diverse and complex than lagers. Not only that but they are usually ready to drink in less time.

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I find that I just really prefer ales, notably APAs and IPAs. I also like other ales, like British mild, EPA, Irish red, and at this moment I'm drinking an oatmeal stout. I make a good California common, too.

I like a few lagers- Maibock, Oktoberfest, Vienna lager, and a good Bohemian pilsner, but overall I much prefer ales.

Several reasons, not limited to these:

First, ales are easy and more forgiving. They ferment near room temperature and will generally tolerate low pitching rates.

Second, most of us like very flavorful beer. Ales are full of yeast character that cannot be found in most lagers.

Third, it's different. In my small town, it's tough to find anything except macro-brewed lagers. There are a few select micros, but they are mostly lagers as well. I doubt this little town is the only one that suffers from poor to no variety in beer choices. If I want something different, I either need to brew it or drive 150 miles to buy it.

Me personally, I like all the different ales that I have produced, they are quite fine. Like Alex Avery, I too have no way to temp control, that is until I get the two Sanyo 4912's that I want to set up. Then SWMBO will get her garage fridge back, and I will have a way to dispense and cold temp ferment. Then can experiment with Lagers for a change of pace. Until then, Ale rules for me.:rockin:

Yuri_Rage said:

Second, most of us like very flavorful beer. Ales are full of yeast character that cannot be found in most lagers.

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I think most people like a clean, refreshing, ice-cold taste and have not developed an appreciation for a more complex flavor that ales provide.

quickerNu said:

I think most people like a clean, refreshing, ice-cold taste and have not developed an appreciation for a more complex flavor that ales provide.

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I said most of US (brewers), not most people.

I drink ales because I like them. The fact they're quicker to brew is just lucky, I guess.

I think you have to also take into consideration that we homebrewers are in a way searching for beer "greatness" and as yuri and others stated ales tend to be more flavorful.
Lager definately have there place with the masses but the creation of ales fill the hole for brewers.

I just tend to like ales better. All of my favorite microbrews are ales.

That they're easier to brew is just a bonus.

I agree. With all the advertising on how cold a bar's bud is I think it is all about drinking it down without tasting it as much as possible for so many people. For those that develop a taste for beer Ales are more flavorful. That's not to say though that a good lager is not appreciated. I for one plan to make an Octoberfest sometime. If I want a lawnmower beer I'll still go for a cream ale over a lager though.

I hate to be a spoiler but you can't take away from what the big breweries do: they make a consistent, clean, perfect product which appeals to the masses. No craft brewer will achieve that with any kind of ale purely because you have to appeal to a lot of taste buds to make a universal product. I'm sorry I just get a little peeved whenever someone uses the word brainwashed because it belittles the people it is directed at. If that is what they like, then that is what they like. It doesn't make them brainwashed.

And plain and simple, ales are more popular with homebrewers because they are way easier to make, period. If lagers weren't so equipment and time sensitive, no one would be on here ripping lagers. Lagers are by far the most sold and produced beers in the world. What makes us so much better that we apparently notice the superiority of ales? Nothing.

Airborneguy said:

I hate to be a spoiler but you can't take away from what the big breweries do: they make a consistent, clean, perfect product which appeals to the masses. No craft brewer will achieve that with any kind of ale purely because you have to appeal to a lot of taste buds to make a universal product. I'm sorry I just get a little peeved whenever someone uses the word brainwashed because it belittles the people it is directed at. If that is what they like, then that is what they like. It doesn't make them brainwashed.

And plain and simple, ales are more popular with homebrewers because they are way easier to make, period. If lagers weren't so equipment and time sensitive, no one would be on here ripping lagers. Lagers are by far the most sold and produced beers in the world. What makes us so much better that we apparently notice the superiority of ales? Nothing.

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Wow, wheres the popcorn? Got some valid points, but you are as wrong as rain on Sunday.

Okay... how?

Airborneguy said:

Okay... how?

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tastier, faster, and easier, wayyyyyy easier

If I went around calling people wrong without saying why I'd get fired from my job...

Airborneguy said:

I hate to be a spoiler but you can't take away from what the big breweries do: they make a consistent, clean, perfect product which appeals to the masses. No craft brewer will achieve that with any kind of ale purely because you have to appeal to a lot of taste buds to make a universal product. I'm sorry I just get a little peeved whenever someone uses the word brainwashed because it belittles the people it is directed at. If that is what they like, then that is what they like. It doesn't make them brainwashed.

And plain and simple, ales are more popular with homebrewers because they are way easier to make, period. If lagers weren't so equipment and time sensitive, no one would be on here ripping lagers. Lagers are by far the most sold and produced beers in the world. What makes us so much better that we apparently notice the superiority of ales? Nothing.

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Well, InBev spends mega money on marketing. Now, I know that we are smart enough to not buy into it, but their ads would have you believe that Budweiser is the King of Beers, and MGD 64 is low calorie. And they are having such FUN in the bars! I know name brand loyalty is big- but do you think anyone can really tell the difference between a Coors Light and another "lite" beer if they were blindfolded and it was served super cold?

I don't really care about that, though. I take issue with saying that ales are more popular with homebrewers because they are way easier to make. I mean, I can lager. I can use adjuncts. I sometimes do. I make a kick ass maibock, as a matter of fact. I can make a CAP. Or even a light American lager.

However, my preference is to make an ale. I still use a yeast starter, temperature control, and all of the same equipment. So, please tell me, how is it "easier" to make this ale than a lager? What about the lager is so much more difficult, that it overshadows my abilities and makes me "like" ales better?

quickerNu said:

I think most people like a clean, refreshing, ice-cold taste and have not developed an appreciation for a more complex flavor that ales provide.

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For evey person that has enjoyed a rice brewed bUDMilloOos LIGHT. Good for you. Its a good beer to drink when mowing grass is important.

All good.

I didn't say it overshadows anyone's ability.

Ale:
1. Average 3 day fermentation
2. Put it in a bucket, keep it at room temperature
3. Lower yeast pitching rate and more forgiving on pitching rate
4. Put almost anything you want in it and it won't over power the beer
5. Hopping rate can go from low to very high

Lager:
1. Got a fridge you can spare for a month?
2. Much more finicky yeast, from pitching rate to fermentation temp
3. 4 ingredients: water, yeast, hops and malt
4. Not much variation in hopping rates.

Maybe Lagers aren't much harder for YOU to make... but the average, and even above average home brewer will rarely touch them, mainly because of #1. I for one have a dedicated beer fridge, but if I was to make a lager, guess where my other homebrew is going?

The problem is beer snobbery.. and the big brewers are laughing all the way to the bank when they read stuff like this.

Nothing to do with superiority of one more than the other.

There are some damn good lagers out there and some damn good ales. Most micro and craft brews are ales. Ales are easier to make and less time consuming.

As far as better and more complex, I don't know if I'd agree on that. Quite a few unique lagers out there. Also no reason why someone couldn't brew an RIS with a lager yeast.

I can only add that I've had a few heavily hopped lagers and they were not good. Don't know if it was the time or the lack of any middle malt for balance, but not good. And since 80% of homebrewers are hopheads ...

Airborneguy said:

I didn't say it overshadows anyone's ability.

Ale:
1. Average 3 day fermentation
Absolutely wrong, very few ales finish in 3 days.
2. Put it in a bucket, keep it at room temperature
Wrong. Room temperature varies and you can seriously screw up a beer if the room is too warm.
3. Lower yeast pitching rate and more forgiving on pitching rate
Wrong again: An RIS or Barleywine are both ales, as well as several other s that require substantial yeast pitching.
4. Put almost anything you want in it and it won't over power the beer
ReallY?
5. Hopping rate can go from low to very high
True

Lager:
1. Got a fridge you can spare for a month?
Fridge is definitely the best, but there are other ways to lager.
2. Much more finicky yeast, from pitching rate to fermentation temp
Not sure about pitching rate, agree on temperature.
3. 4 ingredients: water, yeast, hops and malt
Same exact base ingredients for an ale, you can add other stuff to both
4. Not much variation in hopping rates.
Take a look at the BJCP style guidelines for all lagers before you say that.

Maybe Lagers aren't much harder for YOU to make... but the average, and even above average home brewer will rarely touch them, mainly because of #1. I for one have a dedicated beer fridge, but if I was to make a lager, guess where my other homebrew is going?

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Not much fact in the above post. Not trying to be too hard on you, but you might want to look into things before stating things as "fact".

Airborneguy said:

I didn't say it overshadows anyone's ability.

Ale:
1. Average 3 day fermentation
2. Put it in a bucket, keep it at room temperature
3. Lower yeast pitching rate and more forgiving on pitching rate
4. Put almost anything you want in it and it won't over power the beer
5. Hopping rate can go from low to very high

Lager:
1. Got a fridge you can spare for a month?
2. Much more finicky yeast, from pitching rate to fermentation temp
3. 4 ingredients: water, yeast, hops and malt
4. Not much variation in hopping rates.

Maybe Lagers aren't much harder for YOU to make... but the average, and even above average home brewer will rarely touch them, mainly because of #1. I for one have a dedicated beer fridge, but if I was to make a lager, guess where my other homebrew is going?

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That about sums it up for me. The equipment (ie fridge) is tougher, and also it takes longer on average

Anyone can follow what I wrote for ales and make perfectly decent beer. What you are calling wrong is adding a more advanced opinion of brewing into it. The average homebrewer is doing exactly what those 5 bullets entail.

Of course I could have covered things like putting your lager outside... but that is taking into account season/location, which is again something which makes lagers harder to produce.

The simple answer is that lagers are much harder for the average homebrewer to produce. If you don't agree, then you are blinded by the experience you have earned as a homebrewer and don't realize that the average homebrewer cannot lager.

I just prefer ales to lagers. I have all the necessary equipment for good lager production, I just like more ale styles than lager styles. Bock's are about it for me, but the lagering equipment does make temp control for any beer that much easier.

YooperBrew said:

Well, InBev spends mega money on marketing. Now, I know that we are smart enough to not buy into it, but their ads would have you believe that Budweiser is the King of Beers, and MGD 64 is low calorie. And they are having such FUN in the bars! I know name brand loyalty is big- but do you think anyone can really tell the difference between a Coors Light and another "lite" beer if they were blindfolded and it was served super cold?

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Coors yeast produces distinct fruity esters and Budweiser leaves acetaldehyde above threshold.

I can tell these apart blind all day.

Never mind the difference in adjuncts, base malt and hop varieties.

If you can't tell these apart (I suspect you can and want to believe that you can't) you should probably avoid beer criticism.

Also, MGD 64 is low in calories, Budweiser is the king of beers by at least one measure and last time I was in a bar people were indeed having fun.

ales are easier to make and taste better, period.

Mike Hale, founder of Hale's Ale's here in Seattle said once 'The British use simple processes to make complex beer and Germans use complex processes to make simple beer'. Which I totally agree with. Not that I don't enjoy a fresh lager on occasion, but they just don't offer the flavor profile I most enjoy.

Well, it basically boils down to the fact that out of all of the lagers that I have tried, I can count all of the ones I truly enjoy on my fingers. Brew what you enjoy. That for me means that even though I have all of the equipment necessary to brew lagers, I won't be doing it any time soon.

Airborneguy said:

And plain and simple, ales are more popular with homebrewers because they are way easier to make, period. If lagers weren't so equipment and time sensitive, no one would be on here ripping lagers. Lagers are by far the most sold and produced beers in the world. What makes us so much better that we apparently notice the superiority of ales? Nothing.

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Wait just a second here. I don't see much lager bashing (except a few expected jabs at mass-marketed light beer that add little to the real content of this thread), but rather, some solid reasons for brewing and drinking ales. I don't think the point is that one is superior to the other. With lagers making up the majority of beer sold in the world, it is valid to ask why ales seem to dominate the homebrewing community.

I'd love to do lagers at home, but I live in Texas so it's quite difficult to keep wort cool enough without it becoming a tremendous expense. Being a law student, I brew as my (sole) hobby but also because it's cheaper than buying commercial. Also, I live in an apartment, so my space is limited. I don't have room for a spare fridge, etc.

I love a good lager, but I will happily enjoy a good ale.

I don't brew ales because they are easier, period. I can brew lagers with about the same amount of effort. I just prefer ales 90% of the time. I can brew both, and do, but find myself leaning towards ales most of the year. No to oversimplify, but American light lagers are akin to the Ford Escort of beers. They will get you from here to there. Now a good pilsner, that's another story. While I wouldn't want it every day, they sure are great during the summer. Maybe if I lived in a tropical climate I would drink more lagers?

i think because when people start brewing ales are portrayed as easier to make than lagers. A new brewer can most likely make a closer to expected endproduct ale than a closer to expected end product lager on begginer equipment. it is what most people start with, enjoy the final product, and continue to make. they like the quick turn around majority of ales provide and as a new brewer fermetation temps for ales are a hell of a lot easier to get close to than lager temps. plus who wants to wait 2-3 months for a brew when they can have one in 6 weeks when they are starting out, hell i could barely wait a week with my first batch. i also beleive people tend to stick with what they are comfortable with. Does that mean homebrewers never lager? no, but they tend to make ales more.
people also drink more BMC because they are familar with it.

Airborneguy said:

The problem is beer snobbery.. and the big brewers are laughing all the way to the bank when they read stuff like this.

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I'm not sure they're laughing all the way, especially when they're headed there to take out a loan to purchase smaller micros or start up a new production line to produce ales. Have you not noticed all the "craft ales" the big boys are trying to produce. Unfortunately, most of us can taste the "blood, sweat, soul, and tears" in these beers and these guys are found lacking.