From Today's Observer

Would the conditioned beers be from Pavlov's Brewery?

"Tesco has increased its selection of ales from 50 to 200."

Not at my local Tesco. Nothing has changed for ages - except the prices (upwards). The likes of Sainsbury's and Morrisons knock Tesco into a cocked hat. Sadly the nearest Booths is 15 miles away. :-(

There's always Batemans at Aldi.

or Hobgoblin in Lidl, but

they're *not* Real Ale!

Someone else noted Tesco's (ab)use of the word "ale" to mean non-lager beers.

Was it the yanks or the yoof that usurped "beer" to mean lager? When I was a lad you could choose lager or beer in a pub.

In article , Esra Sdrawkcab

Lager is beer. It differs from ale in the mashing technique, the type of yeast used and the temperature at which it ferments.

I don't know whether this usage has caught on here? - It seems most people believe that the distinction is between "beer" & "lager" ("beer" seems to be taken to refer to what is more correctly called "ale").

agreed (plus there is a more techie answer, something to do with ale yeasts inability to metabolise a particular compund - raffinose; but the difference also, possibly classically, tends to refer to the temperature & length of maturation period, possibly the ingredients used - specific hops & malts).

But yes, "beer" is the catch-all term, ale & lager are sub-headings, with specific beer styles under each sub-heading. cheers MikeMcG

On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 8:28:27 +0000, Esra Sdrawkcab wrote (in message ):

Don't get hung up on it - the only question to ask is "does it pass the tastebud test", or you risk throwing out the baby with the bathwater (apologies for the awkward liquid-related metaphor)

I knew a Publican who had been in the trade many years and he used to differentiate between beer and bitter. The pub when he had it only had gravity dispense and a collection of bottled products a few of which were on display most being picked straigt from the crate. If you asked for a Beer you got served the mild. If you asked for a lager you almost got thrown out. Couple of chaps aged about 22 entered one day and asked for a Lager and were a bit put out to be asked their age. When they confirmed they were of legal drinking age the Publican stated "you're old enough to drink bitter then."

G.harman

Now educate Tesco, who put Chimay, Leffe and Duvel in the "lager" section!

Is sir admitting to learning difficulties? After all reading it all backwards puts the word "backwards first" :-)

To be a touch picky lager as the anglicisation of the German word meaning store. i.e. A lagered beer should be stored for a while at low temperature as part of its production process. Of course large brewers need to understand that this storage needs to be measured in units larger than minutes.

More pertinent on the precise matter being discussed - the liquid sold in most pubs as "lager" is a peculiarly anglo-american marketing mans bastardised idea of what a lagered beer should be. So in general terms what people label as lager is not beer any more than turkey twizzlers are food.

:)

Take my cousin in law. They invited us to a meal in a Harvester with no real ale. He asked for "lager and lime". "Which lager?" "Any lager." It's not surprising that the big boys can sell any sort of rubbish as "lager".

In article , Steven Pampling writes

LOL, and very true, my dad now almost 90 always called it onion skin water, but then he never tasted a good German 'lager'.

Mike

:o)))

"Good German lagered beer" to be precise, but then if he had tasted any he would probably have liked some of it. Like any beer style there are variants different people like and some they don't.

Of course most people don't actually like the taste left behind by the imitations. Bear in mind the main reason they chill these imitation things so much is that chilling hides the flavour.

In article , Steven Pampling writes

Indeed, much like a certain Irish cider, bad enough when iced but truly disgusting when it isn't.

Mike