When does an Ale stop being an Ale...

[Tumble]

and turn into a Bitter? Me and the FIL were having a discussion about this over a pint the other night... and the basic premise he came out with is:

"An Ale comes in a bottle, and a Bitter is draughted out of a barrel"

but then i pointed out that you can get "bitters" in bottles, and "ales" out of taps in the bar... so which is right?

[Rave]

Could it be that ales don't taste bitter?

[Auran]

And why do people refer to IPA as a pint of bitter when it is in fact "Indian Pale Ale"

[Tumble]

^^ thats the point you see.. cos you can get ales that are bitter, and bitters that aren't... and you get bitters that are called ales, and vice versa.

[Andy]

Ok here goes:

Think of Ale as a title for all "proper beer"

And then under the banner of Ale you have a further 4 catagories all with very different and distinctive flavours:

Bitter
Mild
Porter
Stout

Hope this helps

Andy

[BUFF]

http://www.beerhunter.com/styles/ale.html ?

Also some would say that Ales should be "alive" i.e. not pasteurised.

[Nox]

A friend of mine runs a brewery, i'll ask him when I next see him! He brews almost entirely ales and bitters, the exception being a lager called 'I can't believe is not bitter'

http://www.oakleafbrewing.co.uk/

Not really answered the question I have to admit!

Nox

[Andy]

Schiehallion is a crackin "real" lager if anyone ever comes across it.

[Clingy]

Historically I understood "Ale" to be brewed without hops. Obviously the meaning has changed over the centuries and "Ale" appears to be a generic term for all beer.

[BUFF]

"Ale" appears to be a generic term for all beer.

that's not true as lagers aren't ales but they are beers.

[Nox]

And real ales... does this mean someone is producing fake ales? maybe they are bitters?

Nox

[Clingy]

that's not true as lagers aren't ales but they are beers.

Must be regional variations.

[Yoshi]

so if bitters are ales, and vice versa,when I were a wee lass, why did I used to drink pints of 'Light and Bitter'.......basically 3/4 pint of bitter, with a bottle of light ale mixed in while pouring?

[Tumble]

thats the thing we're trying to work out... bitter, pumped from barrels.. Ales, decanted from bottles... I think thats the actual proper definition - but it's been muddied by the big breweries, so you might get an "ale" out of the tap.. and "bitter" in a bottle

[BUFF]

thats the thing we're trying to work out... bitter, pumped from barrels.. Ales, decanted from bottles... I think thats the actual proper definition - but it's been muddied by the big breweries, so you might get an "ale" out of the tap.. and "bitter" in a bottle

Nope, pretty certain that's wrong & that ales come in barrels too.

[Nox]

think 'real ales' when was the last time you saw even the majority of these in bottles? 90% of the time they are in barrels...

Nox