Lager Vs Ale Vs Pilsner: Differences and Similarities

As a beer lover, have you ever taken a second to think about what goes into your favorite pint? Have you heard anything about lager, ale, and pilsner? What are they and what similarities and differences do they possess?

Understanding how these terms relate to your favorite beer is important because they’ll help you appreciate the process of producing different types of beer. This article talks about lager vs ale vs pilsner and their influence on the quality of beer.

What Is Lager?

Lager is a common type of beer that originated in Central Europe, particularly in Germany and the Czech Republic in the 1400s. Lager is a German word for “Storage”, referring to the cold caverns where the beer used to be fermented.

Ancient Germans brewed their beer in winter and matured it in caves in summer to keep its taste fresh and consistent throughout the year. Over the years, lager has become one of the most sought-after beer styles in the world.

You’ll find it in almost all liquor stores, pubs, restaurants, and other recreational spaces across the globe. So, what are the main characteristics of lager?

What Defines Lager?

Here are the key elements of lager that make it the most popular type of beer in the world.

How It’s Fermented and Conditioned

Lager brewers use the bottom fermentation process (Saccharomyces pastorianus), which involves fermenting yeast at cool temperatures of between 41°F and 51°F. The yeast strains are exposed to low temperatures to slow them down and allow them to produce carbon dioxide slowly.

This way, the beer and yeast don’t precipitate early in their lifecycles. This is why traditional brewers in Bavaria stored their beer in extremely cold caves where it could continue fermenting even in summer.

Before this discovery, all brewers had to halt their operations throughout the summer because the yeast would be spoiled by excess bacteria due to too much heat. In the cold season, the fermentation process slowed down, preventing excess bacteria from infesting the yeast to cause spoilage.

Bottom fermentation doesn’t produce a lot of foam on the surface of the yeast and beer. Furthermore, the little foam generated sinks quickly to the bottom of the brewing vessel when the fermentation process is complete.

It was then used to ferment the next batch. When choosing yeast to ferment their beer from the bottom of their vessels, brewers preferred the type of yeast that precipitated nicely without spoiling the batch. This birthed the bottom fermentation process.

After fermentation, lager is taken through a conditioning process referred to as lagering. This process can last several weeks or months. It allows the foam to settle and the flavor to mature.

Type of Flavor

Lager is known for its clean flavor with refined hop and malt tastes. Unwanted chloroformates and carbolic acid are minimized through extended conditioning. This leaves the beer with a brittle and refreshing flavor profile.

Although different styles of lager have common characteristics, some sub-styles like amber, pilsner, dark, and Helles have unique nuances of flavor.

Ingredients

Larger is made with four key ingredients, including malted barley, yeast, hops, and water. Yeast is for bottom-fermenting to give the beer its smooth and refreshing flavor profile, while hops are for adding a bitter taste to the beer to balance the sugar in malt.

Malted barley adds the base flavor and sweetness required for proper fermentation. The minerals in water influence the taste of the final product.

What Is Ale?

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Ale is a style of beer that is brewed through warm fermentation. It became popular in England in the Middle Ages and it was mainly brewed by women who were commonly referred to as alewives or Brewsters.

Ale was made for both small-scale commercial purposes and domestic use. In the 17th century, this beer became a substantial source of income for many families in England. After a while, Brewsters discovered ways to make their ale stronger by fermenting it to about 11% ABV.

Fermentation Process

Ale is top-fermented, which is the opposite of bottom fermentation. Brewers expose their ale to warmer temperatures of between 60°F and 72°F instead of sinking to the bottom of the vessel, the yeast rises to the top of the vessel when fermentation is complete, hence the name “top fermentation”.

This fermentation process is faster than bottom fermentation because the temperatures are warmer. It takes just a few days to get an ale beer with a rich, fruity flavor profile.

Taste Profile

Ale is known for its robust and assorted flavor profile. The accelerated fermentation process doesn’t get rid of all the phenylic acid and methacrylate. These compounds give it sweet, earthy, and spicy taste nuances.

Ingredients

The main ingredients used in ale include malted barley, water, yeast, and hops. Like in lager, malted barley is used to add the sweet flavor while hops help to balance the sweetness with their bitter taste.

Yeast is used for top-fermenting and it’s responsible for adding the methacrylate that gives the beer its taste profile.

What Is Pilsner?

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Pilsner is a sub-style of lager originating from Pilsen (a popular city in the Czech Republic). Pilsner was discovered in the 19th century and it’s known for its light, crunchy, and energizing flavor profile.

It was discovered by Bavarian brewers who wanted an alternative to the traditional beer, which had become inconsistent in terms of quality and taste. So, they used pale malt, Pilsen water, and yeast to make Pilsner.

Like lager, Pilsner is made through bottom-fermenting, which gives it a lighter and more refreshing taste than ale. Its soft, golden color became so popular among beer lovers that it’s now the prototype for all lagers.

Differences Between Lager, Ale, and Pilsner

While lager and ale are different types of beer, Pilsner is a sub-style of lager. However, Pilsner has unique features that distinguish it from other types of beer. Here are the main differences between the three beers.

Fermentation Processes

Lager and its sub-style Pilsner are bottom-fermented while ale is top-fermented. In bottom fermentation, the yeast sinks to the bottom of the brewing vessel, hence the name bottom-fermented.

Conversely, the yeast in top fermentation rises to the top of the vessel. Another difference between these processes is that bottom fermentation requires cool temperatures while top fermentation requires warmer temperatures.

Taste

The difference in their brewing methods gives the two types of beer varied flavor profiles. Ale has a robust and compound profile while lager has a crisp, clean, and smooth taste profile. Pilsner tends to deviate slightly from the lager’s profile because it is lighter and bitter.

Alcohol Content

Lagers, including Pilsner, have a moderate ABV percentage, ranging between 4% and 6%, while ales have a slightly higher percentage of ABV, which can range between 4% and 10%.

Conclusion

Each type of beer has something unique that its drinkers love about it. For instance, larger offers clean drinkability while ale is known for its robust complexity. Pilsner separates itself from other lagers with its hoppy bitterness.