The Lager Debate – Lager Vs Ale – Which Is Better?

Most of those who are “born again” in the tasty world of beer often turn sour (no pun intended) to beer’s counterpart, the lager. I experienced this firsthand when a close friend introduced me to homebrewing and the rich flavors in a variety of beers. I decided that the lagers weren’t worth my time. I started boycotting lagers and even badmouthing them as lousy, bland beer.

As my appreciation for fine beers grew, I began to realize that good beers exist and that I wasn’t giving them a fair chance. Considering that before I was introduced to beers, I was drinking some pretty run-of-the-mill beers, a little exploration wouldn’t hurt.

As a beer lover, I must bite my tongue and not be so quick to judge. I cannot stereotype a beer without knowing it first. There are plenty of pale, light lagers that I won’t bother with, but there are good lagers out there. But let’s take a quick look at how those watery lagers are made…

The starches in rice can be broken down into fermentable sugars during the mashing process, but there are no byproducts to add color or body to the beer, so many pale lager brewers use rice as a topping to keep the beer thin and colored. clear, while keeping the alcohol content relatively high. Other beers tend to have more body and color because all or most of the alcohol is made using malted barley, not rice.

If no fun tricks are used to manipulate the final product, I think a good lager can certainly go hand in hand with a good beer. But what really makes the difference between an ale and a lager?

Lagers are made with the same basic ingredients as ales, but there are two main differences: yeast and fermentation temperature.

First let’s take a look at yeast. Yeasts come in a variety of styles, each developed for a certain style of alcoholic beverage. There are lager yeasts, champagne yeasts; yeasts used for pilsners, and several varieties of yeast for ale, lambic, and barley wine styles. Each variety of yeast has unique qualities that impact the final flavor and aroma of the beer.

The main difference between the yeasts used for lagers and ales is that ale yeast is a top-fermenting yeast, meaning the yeast floats to the top and stays there for most of the fermentation process. Lager yeast is a bottom fermenting yeast, meaning it hangs around the bottom of the fermenter. During both types of fermentation, active yeast permeates the brew and eventually settles to the bottom of the fermenter when finished.

The other main difference in the production of a lager or an ale is in the temperature during fermentation. Most beers are fermented at a controlled temperature of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, although the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is said to be fermented at 65 degrees. Lagers, on the other hand, are fermented about 15 degrees lower, around 55 degrees.

The yeast and the fermentation temperatures play an important role in the flavor of the beer. Ale and lagers share the benefit of a rich variety of flavors and aromas due to the yeast used, but ales tend to be more robust and full of flavor than lagers due to the warmer fermentation. Cooler fermentation tends to rob the beer of flavors that can be imparted during this process because the cold temperature reduces activity. This is also why lager beers tend to take longer to fully ferment, typically a week or two longer than regular ales.

The goodness of a beer’s flavor is relative to the person enjoying it. Ultimately, what matters is the art of brewing, the recipes and traditions that fill the world of beer with a variety of types and styles. There should be no battle over what is best. They are just different.