Ale and lager are two major beer categories. Ales are generally smoother, sweeter, fruitier, more robust and higher in alcohol content than lagers, which tend to be light, crisp, distinctly carbonated, and less aromatic than ales. Lagers should be aged for weeks or months, while ales are meant to be consumed within days of brewing. Pilsener is a type of lager.

 American pale ale is a domestic variation of the more traditional European styles. Made with American-variety hops for bitterness, flavor,and aromatic character, it is lightly hopped compared to the hop-potent English-made versions.

 The ancient Greeks and Egyptians made wine from barley. Today, however, the term "barley wine" refers to a style of strong-flavored, full-bodied ale that is bittersweet and quite high in alcohol content (6% to 12% by volume.)

 Dark in color and moderately strong (4.3% to 6.3% alcohol by volume), classic porters are heavily laced with chocolate or black malt and roasted barley. They generally also have hints of coffee and/or hop bitterness.

 Abbey ales typically have higher alcohol content than other Belgian alestyles. Dubbel (or double) strength ranges from 6% to 7.5% alcohol by volume, while tripel (triple) may run the gamut from 7% to a potent 10% alcohol by volume.

 Valued for providing warmth during cold weather, barley wines and double bocks are strong and high in alcohol. Barley wine is robust and fruity, while double bocks feature a hefty dose of malt and are often identified by the "-ator" suffix in their name.

 Kolsch beer, which is a light-bodied and mildly hoppy altbier, originated in Cologne, Germany. By German law, it can only be brewed in its city of origin. As a result, American brewers of this style identify their products as "Kolsch-style."

 Now rarely made, lambic is a unique style of Belgian wheat beer traditionally brewed only within a 9.3-mile radius southwest of Brussels. Spontaneously fermented by as many as 70 strains of airborne wild yeast, then refermented with candy sugar which results in the characteristic sweet-sour mouth feel, lambics are aged for up to three years in wooden casks.

 Bottle conditioned Belgian-style white ale or beer (witbier or biere blanche) is a Belgian-style wheat beer made with 50% unmalted wheat. The fermentation process results in a cloudy, white body. This tangy and refreshing style most often contains hints of coriander, orange peel, and honey. This style, popular in the 15th century has made a comeback over the past few years in Europe as well as the United States.

 Bock beers are strong German lagers with at least 6.25% ABV (alcohol by volume). Doppelbocks (double bocks) are extra-strong bocks that are maltier and more alcoholic.

 English brown ales are generally lightly hopped, with roasted and caramel malts providing both flavor and coloring. They are somewhat sweeter and more full bodied than the popular mild ales.

 Hefeweizen is a Bavarian-style bottle-conditioned wheat beer which has yeast sediment that remains at the bottom of the bottle. It is often served accompanied by a slice of lemon.

 Cream ale is a sweet, mild American-style beverage that's pale golden in color and highly carbonated. Its soft, light-bodied character inspired the cream ale designation.

 "Wee heavy" a.k.a. Scotch ale, is traditionally full bodied, dark and creamy, quite malty, and high in alcohol (6% to 8% by volume.)

 Tripel, also spelled "tripel", refers to a brewer's strongest Belgian-style ale, which is generally 7% to 10% alcohol by volume.

  A British beer tradition, the classic shandy is a half-and-half misxture of lager or bitter with lemonade. Another popular version is the ginger shandy, which is made with ginger ale.

 In addition to kriek, Belgian fruit ales may also contain framboise (raspberries), peche (peaches), or cassis (black currents). Kriek, however, is the original Belgian fruit ale.

BEER IN HISTORY

 In the Middle Ages, monks often used ale instead of water for mixing the mortar used in the construction of churches and monasteries.

 In ancient Greece the word "symposium" originally meant a number of men getting together for an evening of drink and good conversation.

 In A.D. 768 German brewers were the first to record the addition of hops to beer. The first freight transported on a German railroad was two kegs of beer in 1836.

 In 1776, Londoners J. Warren and Robert Hare established residence in Philadelphia, becoming the new nation's first commercial brewers of porter. George Washington is said to have been a frequent customer.

 Lidded earthenware beer steins werefirst used in Germany around the 14th century, shortly after the Black Plague swept Europe. Their hinged pewter lids were meant to protect beer from potential contamination, especially from flies.

  Historians report that the ancient Egyptians commonly hailed each other with the greeting "Bread and beer."

 Pale ale was first brewed in the 18th century for British troops in India. It survived the long sea voyage from England to India due to its high level of hops, which acted as a preservative.

 The Women's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio, considered it "scientific fact" that most beer drinkers die of dropsy.

 Fruit has been used in beermaking virtually from the beginning. In the 12th century, myrtle berries were included in beer, and juniper berries are said to have been a beer ingredient in the 1300s.

 In the 18th century, heavily armed ships called East Indiamen carried hogsheads of India Pale Ale from London to British troops in colonial Bombay. The ships often took up to five months to complete the 12,000-mile voyage, risking enounters wtih pirates along the way.

 The practice of putting beer into barrels was initiated by U.S. Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay during World War II. Bothered by the cloudy beer his airmen drank while off duty, he paid an English brewer more than $150,000 to develop a solution to the annoying problem.

 Elderberry ale was introduced to Scotland by the Welsh druids, who served it during Celtic autumn festivals.

BEER DEFINITIONS

 Entire butt means the whole barrel. It's an old English term once used to describe a porter blended from a variety of ales. The cask or large barrel from which the stored ales were drawn was called a butt.

 Mars is French for "March". The biere de Mars style beer has been a sign of the arrival of spring since the 14th century.

 The word "balderdash", signifying nonsense or senseless talk or writing, originated in the 17th century. At that time it referred to a senseless mixture of liquids, such as milk and ale or beer and wine.

 Dunkel means "dark" in German.

 Hefe is German for "yeast" and weizen means "wheat."

  Weissbier is German for "white beer", a beer brewed with wheat.

BEER FACTOIDS

 The buttery and butterscotch flavors and aromas that are characteristics of some ales are the result of fermentation processes. When evident in a lager, however, these qualities are considered to be a brewing error.

  Dry hopping is the optional additionof loose, dry hops toward the end of the brewing process. Though it raises the cost of brewing, some beermakers feel it's worth the expense and effort, since the resultant increase in hop aroma and character doesn't interfere with the beer's bitterness.

 Campaigning in support of beer, the Polish Beer Drinkers Party has gained a number of seats in parliament. Buoyed by success, it publishes a weekly newspaper, Kurier Piwny (The Beer Courier), that advocates deregulation of the beer industry.

 According to the Institute for Brewing Studies, Alaska has the most breweries per capita in the United States - a 1:34,417 ratio, based on a population of 619,500 and 18 breweries.

 Although it varies from brewery to brewery, in general hops account for 0.2% of the cost of making a beer in the United States, malt 3.5%, and sales and marketing about 21%.

 Drinks classified as non-alcoholic in the United States must by law contain not more than .5% alcohol by volume. They must also be identified on the label or can as a "brew", not as a beer.

 The four basic ingredients in beer are yeast, malts, hops,and water. The exact role of yeast was unknown until 1876 when Louis Pasteur scientifically established its function in the fermentation process.

  Bottle-conditioned beers continue the fermentation process in the bottle, which results in a collection of yeast (hefe) sediment at the bottom.

 On a daily basis, 18,900,000 pints of beer are consumed in the pubs of England and Wales. In contrast, pubs serve approximately 3,500,000 meals each day.

  Bitterness in beers is measured in International Bitterness Units (IBUs)> The more bitter the beer, the higher the IBU value. As an example, a typical U.S. pilsener may have between 5 and 15 BTUs.

 At Los Angeles International Airport, the Four Points Hotel is the first hotel/restaurant to have a beer sommelier. Customers at the facility's Palm Grill or LA-style pub can get recommendations about dozens of microbrews, specialty drafts, and imports, plus advice on beer and food pairings.

 Stechuhr, a chain of German pubs, allows customers to drink all the beer or wine they want without running up a drink by drink tab. A reasonable flat fee is charged for the first hour, and the pricedecreases for successive additional hours.

 Unfiltered beer continues to ferment in the bottle, which results in a hazy or cloudy appearance to the liquid and a fresher, more "natural" taste.

  Unlike wines, most beers should be stored upright to minimize oxidation and metal or plastic contamination from the cap. High-alcohol ales, however, which continues to ferment in their corked bottles, should be stored on their sides.

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