
What is the difference between a lager and an ale? - fauria
https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale
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folknor
This article has the same blindspots as traditional breweries; it asserts "The
most obvious difference is that lager yeast works best in cold temperatures --
temperatures that would make an ale yeast go dormant."

This is not a correct statement. A more accurate statement would be "The most
obvious difference is that lager yeast - at lower fermentation temperatures
than usual for beer - produces a more subtle, 'clean', taste that is easier to
mass-market." And that's also not entirely accurate, but it's accurate enough
for an article.

Anyone who has read "Mikkeller's Book of Beer" and noted the fermentation
temperatures of their recipes will be aware of this.

If you brew a batch of size X, and then divide it into Y vessels, and: 1\.
Ferment at different temperatures in each vessel, say with a difference of 3-5
celsius, or 2\. Ferment it with a different yeast strain ("ale" or "lager"
strains) in each vessel, you will get vastly different results in each vessel
for both methods. Shockingly different.

There are commercial beers fermented with "lager" yeast at the higher end of
the spectrum, like with White Labs WLP940, "Mexican Lager", which on its old
packaging advertised a fermentable range of up to 23C, if I remember
correctly. My most brewed beer is fermented with this strain at 16C.

There are commercial beers fermented with "ale" yeast at low temperatures. I
ferment WLP400 at 4C, and it produces an exceptionally smooth taste with
subtle hints of clove. There are many others as well that can benefit from
lower temperatures, like WLP028 and some in the 5XX series.

The much, much more important thing to understand for an experimental brewer
is what I demonstrated above, that regardless of an "ale" or "lager" label,
two different yeast strains will produce vastly different results given the
same conditions and wort - and that _one_ strain fermented at different
temperatures will develop amazingly different profiles.

The reason this is important to understand is that noone will tell you. If you
walk into a store, they'll give you a "standard" yeast that produces a
reliable result - like US05. I've read close to 20 books on brewing, and not
even the Mikkeller book tells you this as far as I can remember - it only
demonstrates it by listing the fermentation temperatures of the catalogued
recipes, and allowing the reader to get shocked by them.

And it's also important to understand because it's really, really fun to
experiment with.

One of the best beers I've ever made was a WLP570 fermented at 33C.
Unfortunately, this strain is exceptionally hard to work with, if your
drinkers prefer a clear beer in their glass.

