# Legally Beer vs. Ale? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337 "2001-08-27T16:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337/1 "2001-08-27T16:13:54Z")
While collecting boxes for a recent move, I recall seeing a box of some beer claiming “ale in TX and AL”, I think the second US state was. Why? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337/2 "2001-08-27T16:59:03Z")
Perhaps they require brewers to distinguish between lagers (the vast majority of beers) and ales. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337/3 "2001-08-27T17:14:39Z")
Got it: [http://www.hotv.org/brewsletter/97/0297.html](http://www.hotv.org/brewsletter/97/0297.html) > [@](#): > > A recent discussion on USENET may be of interest to us as brewers. A question was posed: > > I should probably already know this, but what is the difference between “beer” and “ale?” I gather from reading “Wassail! In Mazers of Mead” by Gayre that, historically speaking, beer was a more alcoholic beverage than ale (though not necessarily fortified with spirits…right?) and that beer was flavored with bitter herbs (hops) while ale was not. But does that distinction have any legitimacy nowadays? > > When I go to the supermarket to buy crappy beer, some stuff (like for instance Miller Lite) is described as “beer” (I think) whereas fairly similar stuff (like Miller Lite Ice) is described as an “ale.” Is there any real reason for this distinction or is it simply some marketing ploy? > > And on a related note…It seems to me that (at least in the recent past), the beverages that described themselves as ales were more likely to print the alcohol content on the packaging while the “beers” were less likely to report that info. Is this my imagination, and if it is not my imagination, then why this difference in packaging? > ANSWER #1 > > Yes there is an Ale yeast (Top fermenting) and a Larger yeast (Bottom fermenting), but the term beer has been for centuries a generic term used for all the different forms. It was only later in this century that the terms have found new meaning. Here in the UK, just after the turn of the century the term Bitter, began to be used to describe the ales brewed > ANSWER #2 > from Robert Marshall > > Basically it is a \*\*LEGAL difference. \*\* > > The basic ATF ruling, unless superceded by state law, is: > > \*\*Anything 4%, or lower, must be labeled as beer. Anything 4%, or higher, must be labeled as malt liquor or ale. If a beer is below 4%, and the producer wants to label it as ale, then he must have some sort of labeling that specifically states it contains less than 4%. \*\* > > Here in Calif. we’ve got new labeling laws that come into play this spring. > > Anything 5.7%, or lower is beer Anything 5.7%, or higher, is ale or malt liquor. > > If you’ve got a lager, which certainly isn’t ale, that’s where the malt liquor labeling comes into play. So that’s closer. Perhaps AL and TX have different % definitions than other states? ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337/4 "2001-08-27T17:16:59Z")
The fermentation process of ales and lagers are different. The yeast used in lager comes to the top and is skimmed off, and ale yeast settles to the bottom and is bled off. And draft beer is unpasteurized, having a shelf life of only three weeks. Not that it makes much difference to most of us. Anything with a head on it is beer to me. No wisecracks! ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-beer-vs-ale/78337/5 "2001-08-27T17:18:33Z")
OOps, simulpost, and it appears I’ve got my yeasts backwards,