# Lager vs. Beer in Britain **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166 "2009-12-31T07:28:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/21 "2010-01-01T06:48:03Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > Bottom line is yes, people over here do very much distinguish between their bitters, lagers, ciders and stouts, and because “beer” can sort of be used refer to any of them, certainly to either bitters or lagers, it would sound a bit silly to go into a bar and just ask for “a beer”. Do people really consider cider a sub-class of beer? To my way of thinking, any of the various non-distilled grain-based drinks are beers, but cider isn’t, being fruit-based. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/22 "2010-01-01T08:05:25Z")
Cider’s a beer in the sense that it’s got the same alcohol content, around 5% (in the US, not sure in the UK) and is also drunk from pint glasses. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/23 "2010-01-01T09:28:34Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Do people in Britain walk into a pub and order a “beer?” Movies/TV depict Americans doing that, but it is kind of a joke–nobody in America would order “beer,” as opposed to a “Budweiser”, a “Stella Artois”, or whatever. Are you shitting me? There are plenty of Americans that say “a beer”, “gimme a cold one” or “beer me.” Those people are Philistines of course. :o I, on the other hand, am pretty particular about my beer and want to know what any bar or restaurant has on offer. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/24 "2010-01-01T12:14:04Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Cider’s a beer in the sense that it’s got the same alcohol content, around 5% (in the US, not sure in the UK) and is also drunk from pint glasses. I’d say cider is **like** beer in strength and serving style but that’s it. The mass produced ciders in the UK (Stongbow, Magners, etc) come in at about 5% but ‘real’ ciders start at 5% and can go to nearly 10%. Perry seems to be gaining in popularity too. Perry being like cider except made with pears instead of apples. > [@The Great Philosopher](#): > > …Bitter is served at room temperature, lager is served cold. > … > Sorry, ales like Old Speckled Hen wouldn’t be kept in the fridges - they’re served at room temperature so they’re just kept on shelves… Both should be at cellar temperature, 12-14 C (54-57 F). Some new light ales like [Fuller’s Discovery](http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=49) are designed to be cold. One thing common in American bars that you’ll **never** see in a British pub is chilled/frosted glassware. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/25 "2010-01-01T13:15:20Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > And people do use the term “beer” in a generic sense. E.g. “we had a couple of beers after work” could very well mean that the people concerned drank lager, not bitter, since lager is now considerably more popular. The generic term I was more famliar with was “pint”, as in “do you fancy a pint after work”. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/26 "2010-01-02T03:15:05Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > The generic term I was more famliar with was “pint”, as in “do you fancy a pint after work”. Yes, or a “swift half” as The Likely Lads used to say. (Note: an American pint is about 4/5 of a British pint.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/27 "2010-01-02T19:48:49Z")
dup ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/28 "2010-01-02T19:49:52Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Do people in Britain walk into a pub and order a “beer?” Movies/TV depict Americans doing that, but it is kind of a joke–nobody in America would order “beer,” as opposed to a “Budweiser”, a “Stella Artois”, or whatever. I hear this all the time, and it kind of annoys me. It is very common for someone to sit down at a bar and order a “beer”. For the vast majority of bars about 80% of the customers are regulars whose drinking habits are well known to the bartender. And most of them really drink only one kind of beer(and many people seem to have non-beer option such as Whiskey or wine or Jager). If every time you go into the bar you order “Bud light, tall” the Bartender will be slightly offended as though you are implying they suck at their job and can’t remember shit. As a pulled out of my ass estimate I would say about 50 percent of the people who come in don’t ever order, and 35 percent simply say “gimme a beer/wine/shot”. Only about 15 percent(first timers and variety drinkers) ever name their beer/wine/shot. Plus even for a first timer " gimme a beer" is a simple method for getting a tap list and happy hour specials. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/29 "2010-01-03T01:29:56Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > (Note: an American pint is about 4/5 of a British pint.) This confused the hell out of me in the US. Ordering a pint a brewpub and receiving something ever so slightly smaller, but I wasn’t sure it was smaller, I thought it might have just been an illusion compared to the size of the country (and locals). The bargirl assured me it wasn’t a pint, and I couldn’t work out what was wrong with me. Took a while before I thought to search the internets. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/30 "2010-01-03T12:38:58Z")
> [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](#): > > This confused the hell out of me in the US. Ordering a pint a brewpub and receiving something ever so slightly smaller, but I wasn’t sure it was smaller, I thought it might have just been an illusion compared to the size of the country (and locals). > > The bargirl assured me it wasn’t a pint, and I couldn’t work out what was wrong with me. Took a while before I thought to search the internets. I travelled around South East Asia and Australia for a few months, where beer glasses are even smaller than that. When I got to Singapore, because of the British influence, I was served a beer in UK-size pint glasses, and I realized for the first time how outrageously large they are… no wonder we have a reputation for getting too drunk in pubs… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/31 "2010-01-04T02:25:22Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > Do British normally differentiate between beer and lager? Yes. Not only do the British differentiate between Ale and lagers. They also differentiate between beer and soapy water. Something Americans are apparently unable to do. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/32 "2010-01-04T04:32:35Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > (Note: an American pint is about 4/5 of a British pint.) At least! Some places in Portland have been caught serving their “pints” in 14 ounce glasses. Unfortunately, there is no law in this state that says that when you order a “pint of beer” they must clarify they don’t actually use pint glasses. The closest thing our legislature could do to prevent this was to try to create some sort of award for places that actually served honest pints. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/33 "2010-01-04T10:36:36Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > Bitter is served at room temperature, lager is served cold. Lager is a lot more popular on the whole, accounting for about two thirds of all beer sales in the UK. in Australia and I believe most other commonwealth countries Ales (bitters) are served cold. Try a Coopers Pale Ale ice cold some time. Personally I like the british Ale’s like old speckled hen but I like them cold… chilled at home of course as you can’t get them cold out at a pub… I have no idea why you would drink them warm nowadays, surely it’s a hangover from the days before wide spread refrigeration. Ask random people that don’t know the history and don’t have some snobbery of “ales must be warm” in their head, if they taste better cold or room temperature and I’d bet cold would win. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/34 "2010-01-04T10:59:02Z")
Coremelt, it’s not snobbery. British ales are designed to be consumed at roughly 11-13C, and they really do taste better at that temperature. American ones are not, and need to be cold. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/35 "2010-01-04T11:03:46Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I travelled around South East Asia and Australia for a few months, where beer glasses are even smaller than that. When I got to Singapore, because of the British influence, I was served a beer in UK-size pint glasses, and I realized for the first time how outrageously large they are… no wonder we have a reputation for getting too drunk in pubs… :smack: I’m guessing you were in New South Wales. In most other Australian States, beer is served in UK sized pints. However, half-pints (middys) are often preferred because a larger beer may get warm it in the Australian heat before you finish. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/36 "2010-01-04T11:12:00Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Coremelt, it’s not snobbery. British ales are designed to be consumed at roughly 11-13C, and they really do taste better at that temperature. American ones are not, and need to be cold. how do you design an ale to taste better warm? its bollocks, I still maintain that if you did a blind test and asked 10 random “non UK” people who has never heard of the this “ale must be warm” idea if they preferred the taste of an ale like speckled hen warm or cold they’d pick the cold one any day. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/37 "2010-01-04T11:31:01Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > how do you design an ale to taste better warm? its bollocks, I still maintain that if you did a blind test and asked 10 random “non UK” people who has never heard of the this “ale must be warm” idea if they preferred the taste of an ale like speckled hen warm or cold they’d pick the cold one any day. Probably, but it’s still not “snobbery” to want it served as it is meant to be served. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/38 "2010-01-04T11:57:56Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Probably, but it’s still not “snobbery” to want it served as it is meant to be served. thats fine for you if you allow others to drink it cold… however that was not my experience in the UK where if I mentioned wanting to drink an Ale cold I was widely ridiculed. That is snobbery. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/39 "2010-01-04T11:58:22Z")
Of course what you have to decide is the definition of “warm” . In the context of draught beer it means “cellar temperature” (12 degrees C or 55 degrees F). Don’t confuse that “warm” with what you would expect an average room temperature to be. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166/40 "2010-01-04T12:18:45Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > thats fine for you if you allow others to drink it cold… however that was not my experience in the UK where if I mentioned wanting to drink an Ale cold I was widely ridiculed. That is snobbery. If I wanted, say, a warm ice cream or a cold burger, and people called me on it, would _that_ be snobbery? Or would it just be a reaction to someone requesting something atypical. (Plus, the way pubs are set up, there isn’t any way to serve the ales ice cold, short of adding ice cubes.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lager-vs-beer-in-britain/523166.md?page=3)