Natural Ice Icehouse are pale ales?

Neither is an ale. Some states require that designation above a certain alcohol percentage. Both beers may be just high enough to qualify.

It's a stupid rule, by the way, since the terms ale and lager have nothing to do with alcohol strength, but fermentation process.

-Steve

Hmmmm.... The case of Nat Ice I bought in Pa says beer on the case and beer on the can, too. Also says 5.9 percent alc. Sure you're not reading "alc" as "ale" ?

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Lecher9000) wrote on 20 Nov 2003:

Different states, different rules. Pennsylvania doesn't call beers something they are not based on alcohol content. The original poster's state does.

Witzel

Texas, maybe? IIRC, they have a rule that any beer over X% (5?) must be labeled "ale" or "malt liquor". I used to see bottles of German bocks marked "malt liquor", which sure isn't the way I think of them. It has nothing to do with fermentation, but the mistaken notion that "ale" is stronger than "beer".

--OMF

Texas definitely does that, although I think it's just ale (I've seen bottles of Optimator or Salvator labeled "ale," but not "malt liquor"). There are other southern states that do the same. Oklahoma, I think. Others just ban stuff above certain percents, although that seems to be dropping in a few states.

-STeve

Now see, in CA Optimator is labeled malt liquor, as are most German beers (Spaten, Paulaner). But, we have a lot of ales that run 6-7%. I think its a federal law that anything over 4.x (?) can't be labeled beer, but the states can decide what to call it.

nb

Nah. Never heard of such a regulation; the states control what can be sold within their limits -- up until very recently, Washington state had a law prohibiting the sale of strong beers, and Oregon used to have such a regulation, although it was tossed out in the 80s.

There are all sorts of beers labeled (correctly) as such all over the United States; only certain states dream up definitions that either label them as something else, or prohibit outright their sale.

--OMF

So does Georgia. The Tucher Hefewezien I bought today is labeled "Malt Liquor". Spaten Oktoberfest is labeled "Ale".

bluestringer

I've never noticed that. Not like I've looked closely for it.

I've bought a lot of German beers in CA with no such labels.

And those aren't labeled anything other than "ale."

No such federal law. Feds don't get into labeling regs based on alcohol content. World Wide Stout, after all (at 20-whatever percent) is still called "beer."

-Steve

I think your getting the C mixed up with the E cause I just bought a case of it about a week ago and still have the cans left.