Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Difference between ales and lager beer and other brewing terminology

For the distinction between ales and lager beer and other brewing terminology, see here.

Pale ales, porters and stouts are ales, as are many--perhaps most--microbrewery beers. The big three American breweries produce variants on American lager, itself a variant on German lager. Ales are produced by yeast fermenting at room temperature resulting in a more complex drink, often fruity, than lagers that are produced by fermentation under refrigerated temperatures and are characterized by a "clean" or simple taste. Brwerpubs earn at least half their income from food sales. Microbreweries produce fewer than 15,000 barrels or 30,000 kegs a year. (Another definition, not in this article, says under two million barrels, obviously a lot more!) Craft breweries aren't defined by size. They brew more than a single beer style and typically avoid corn, rice, and other non-malt sugars. (In practice, microbrewery and craft brewery tend to be used as synonyms.) The only uniquely American beer is California Common, sometimes called steam beer, a hybrid of lager and ale styles.

Pint of beer in Britain to cost four pounds?

The director of communications at the British Beer and Pub Association warned that in the coming year the price of beer could almost double to about four pounds (US$8) for a pint. For details, see here.

Baltic and ex-USSR attitudes toward alcohol (article)

Therese C. Reitan, "Democracy in a Battle: Attitudes toward Alcohol Regulation in the Post-Communist Baltic Sea Region," Journal of Baltic Studies 34/2 (Summer 2003): 131-158.

Illicit alcohol 'piped into EU'

BBC News reported in December 2004 that residents of rural Lithuania appear to have found an ingenious way to get round sharply rising alcohol prices. Border guards have unearthed a 3km pipeline used for smuggling liquor from neighbouring Belarus where it can be purchased much more cheaply. A guards' spokesman said it was the fourth such pipeline to be found, but that this one was of record length. Find the full story here.