Ale

Ale would seem to have been the current name in England for malt liquor in general before the introduction of 'the wicked weed called hops' from the Netherlands, about the year 1524. The two names, ale and beer, are both Teutonic, and seem originally to have been synonymous. According to the Alvismal, a didactic Scandinavian poem of the 10th century, it is called 'ale' among men, and among the gods, 'beer.' The word ale is still the name for malt liquor in the Scandinavian tongues (Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic, öl). The hopped liquor came to be called beer, and now this is the generic name in the trade for all malt liquors. The popular application of the two words varies in different localities. In the eastern counties of England, and over the greater portion of the country, alc means strong, and bccr, small malt liquor; while in the west country, beer is the strong liquor, and ale the small. As now used, ale is distinguished from beer chiefly by its strength and the quantity of sugar remaining undecomposed. Strong ale is made from the best pale malt; and the fermentation is allowed to proceed slowly, and the ferment to be exhausted and separated. This, together with the large quantity of sugar still left undecomposed, enables the liquor to keep long without requiring a large amount of hops. The Scotch ales are distinguished for the smallness of the quantity of hops they contain, and for their vinous flavour. They are fermented at an unusually low temperature. The ales of Edinburgh, Wrexham, and Alcoa have a high reputation. Burton ale is the strongest made, containing as much as 8 per cent. of alcohol; while the best brown stout has about 6 per cent., and table-beer only 1 or 2 per cent. India pale ale differs chiefly in having a larger quantity of hops (see BEER and FERMENTATION). For the history of ale in our literature, see an interesting book by John Bickerdyke, The Curiosities of Ale and Beer (1886).