Ale

ale. (eiyl')

    1. Historically, a nonhopped malt beverage (also called spiced ale) as opposed to hopped beer. 2. A generic name for beers produced by top fermentation, usually by infusion mashing, as opposed to lagers produced by bottom fermentation, usually by decoction mashing. Ales tend to have a higher alcoholic content, more robust flavor, and deeper hue than lagers—the predominant style in the British Isles. Ales constitute a category including alt, barley wine, bitter, brown ale, kölsch, mild ale, pale ale, porter, stout, Trappist beer, and others. 3. In the United States, some state legislations prohibit the use of the name lager or beer for malt beverages containing more than 5 percent alcohol by weight, and such beverages are often labeled as ales although they are bottom-fermented (lager) beers. Etym: Derived from the Norse oel (Danish and Swedish öl; Finnish olut), a nonhopped malt beverage. The Vikings called their barley beer aul. The Anglo-Saxon word for ale was ealu. Syn: top-fermented beer. See also: lager; top fermentation; top-fermenting yeast.