Strong ale is a type of ale, usually above 5% abv and often higher, between 7 and 11% abv, which spans a number of beer styles, including old ale, barley wine, and Burton ale. [1] [2] [3] [4] Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in England, Belgium, and the United States. [5] [6]
Scotch ale was first used as a designation for strong ales exported from Edinburgh in the 18th century. [7] [8] Scotch ale is sometimes termed "wee heavy". [9] [10] A recipe for an unhopped Scotch ale can be found in the 17th century cookery book The Closet Opened . [11]
The strong ale described in John Mortimer's The whole Art of Husbandry (1708) was made from a ratio of eleven bushels of malt to a hogshead. [12]
Mild ale is a type of ale. Modern milds are mostly dark-coloured, with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 3% to 3.6%, although there are lighter-hued as well as stronger milds, reaching 6% abv and higher. Mild originated in Britain in the 17th century or earlier, and originally meant a young ale, as opposed to a "stale" aged or old ale.
Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Different brewing practices and hop quantities have resulted in a range of tastes and strengths within the pale ale family.
India pale ale (IPA) is a hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale.
McEwan's is a brand of beer owned by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. It was originally brewed by William McEwan's Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The McEwan's brand passed to Heineken in 2008 after their purchase of Scottish & Newcastle's British operations. Heineken sold the brand to Wells & Young's in 2011, who sold their brewing operation, including the McEwan brand to Marston's in 2017. Cans and bottles are now brewed in Bedford, England.
Gose is a warm fermented beer that is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat, fruit syrups such as lemon, coriander, and salt - either added or a component of the water used. It acquires its characteristic sourness through inoculation with Lactobacillus bacteria, which is not a hop-tolerant bacteria and which provides only a light acidity. Unlike India pale ales, gose beers typically do not have prominent hop bitterness, flavours, or aroma and have a relatively low alcohol content of 4 to 5% alcohol by volume.
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were 304 breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries, such as Trappist monasteries. On average, Belgians drink 68 litres of beer each year, down from around 200 each year in 1900. Most beers are bought or served in bottles, rather than cans, and almost every beer has its own branded, sometimes uniquely shaped, glass. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on their list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Brewery Ommegang is a brewery located near Cooperstown, New York, United States, that specializes in Belgian-style ales.
AleSmith Brewing Company is an American craft brewery located in San Diego, California. It specializes in handcrafted ales in a variety of styles. As of 2015 it produces about 25,000 barrels of beer a year.
Robinsons Brewery is a family-run, regional brewery, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn, Stockport, Cheshire, England.
Alvinne is a small brewery in the hamlet of Moen near the Belgian city of Zwevegem, founded in 2002.
The Smisje Brewery, with a tiny production of only 200 hectoliters per year, is one of the smallest existing Belgian craft breweries. Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog", the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper, which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named 't Smisje or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location.
Alpine Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1999 by Pat McIlhenney in Alpine, California. Alpine Beer Company produces a variety of beers, many of which have high alcohol content and are strongly hopped beers. The beers have acquired a following due to the popularity of such beers as Pure Hoppiness and Exponential Hoppiness IPAs. Alpine Beer Company was ranked as the fifth best brewery in the US in 2006 by Beer Advocate.
Avery Brewing Company is a regional brewery located in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 1993. The brewery produces year round beers as well as seasonal beers, some of which have received praise from brewing competitions and festivals such as White Rascal Belgian-Style White Ale at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. In 2017, Spain-based Mahou-San Miguel Group acquired a 30% stake in Avery. In 2019, Avery sold another 40% stake to Mahou-San Miguel Group and Founders Brewing Company.
Tripel is a term used by brewers mainly in the Low Countries, some other European countries, and the U.S. to describe a strong pale ale, loosely in the style of Westmalle Tripel. The origin of the term is unknown, though the main theory is that it indicates strength in some way. It was used in 1956 by the Trappist brewery, Westmalle, to rename the strongest beer in their range, though both the term Tripel and the style of beer associated with the name, were in existence before 1956. The style of Westmalle's Tripel and the name was widely copied by the breweries of Belgium, and in 1987 another Trappist brewery, the Koningshoeven in the Netherlands, expanded their range with a beer called La Trappe Tripel, though they also produced a stronger beer they termed La Trappe Quadrupel. The term spread to the U.S. and other countries, and is applied by a range of secular brewers to a strong pale ale in the style of Westmalle Tripel.
Beer in Scotland is mostly produced by breweries in the central Lowlands, which also contain the main centres of population. Edinburgh and Alloa in particular became noted for the export of beer around the world in the 19th century.
Most beer sold in France is pilsner lager, mass-produced by major breweries which control over 90% of the market, although there are also traditional beer styles, such as top-fermented Bière de Garde, and a number of microbreweries.
Samuel Adams is the flagship brand of the Boston Beer Company. It is named after US Founding Father Samuel Adams, who inherited his father's brewery on Boston's King Street and worked as a brewer or maltster. Samuel Adams beer is brewed by the Boston Beer Company, which was founded by Jim Koch in Cambridge, MA, where he started the micro-brewery in his home. Koch comes from a long line of Cincinnati brewers, and Samuel Adams beer was started using a recipe now known as Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
Tractor Brewing Company is a New Mexico–based brewery, founded in 1999 in Los Lunas and since 2014 located in Albuquerque. Tractor beers have won awards at the New Mexico State Fair Pro-Am Competition.
Ale is a type of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent.