rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (01/10/86)
> ...I'd like to hear comments about MacKewan's {sp?} Edinburgh Ale... > ...It has a sweet taste. What IS ale as > opposed to beer? Why doesn't this one taste like any other ale I've > tasted? Alternatively, which other ales (or beers) are like this one? The difference between beer and ale--to brewers and beer lovers--is what yeast is used. Aside from a few special beers, there are two species of yeast used in brewing "beer". One is the "lager" yeast, the other is the "ale" yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum and S. cerevisae respectively, if you care). The two yeasts work better under somewhat different conditions and temperatures. Ale yeasts tend to impart more flavors of their own, hence are used with stronger-flavored beers. HOWEVER, the difference between beer and ale, according to some seriously addled legislators, is related to alcohol content. This has muddied the brew so badly that before you believe that a particular brew is an ale, you'd best ask. (If it says it's a lager, it is--but if it says it's an ale, it might well be a lager with enough alcohol that labeling laws require that it be called an ale.) Similarly, various laws in some states require that a brew be called a "malt liquor" if the alcohol content is high enough. The term "malt liquor" is a term for the law alone, with no sensible connection to brewing practice. Enough of that--why the characteristic taste of that MacEwan's ale? Various ales are brewed in the style called "Scotch ale". MacEwan's has a brew called just that, but the brew in question in (>) above also has the same characteristics. First, they allow it to retain some sweetness due to unfermentable sugars. Second, the fermentation is allowed to produce a particular ester (the "diacetyl" ester) which lends a butterscotch taste. In some beers this would be considered a contaminant or an off-taste; in a Scotch ale it's an essential part of the character. Taken together, the butterscotch and the residual sweetness give the beer a rich taste and a filling character. Match it with the right food (using the same judgment as you would with wines) or just sit and sip it. It's not a mowing-the- lawn sort of beer but it goes well with cold weather. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.