Ales tend to have a fruity flavor profile with a sweeter taste and a fuller-body. They also tend to be darker and have a cloudier appearance. They have a higher alcohol content, more robust flavor, more bitterness, and a stronger hop flavor.
The word ale is derived from the medieval hael, meaning "good health." Ale: Beers made with yeast that floats (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to the top of the brewing vats, -resulting in a cloudier beer. This type of yeast is a top-fermenting ale yeast, and most likely the yeast that brewers were inadvertently brewing with over 3,000 years ago.
The top fermenting yeast will float to the beer surface for the initial couple of days and then settles at the base, while Lagers make use of bottom fermenting yeast which settles without necessarily floating to the surface.
Ale yeast also tends to ferment best at hotter temperatures, with most preferring temperatures between 50°F and 70°F—with some saison yeasts getting up into the nineties at the peak of fermentation. Saison yeast produces fruity esters reminiscent of lemon and orange citrus notes.
Ale yeasts are responsible for a huge range of beer styles like witbiers, stouts, ambers, tripels, saisons, IPAs, and so many more.
Fermented malt beverage Ale
