Ale

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /eɪl/

Definitions

1. a fermented beverage made from grain, typically barley, that is darker and heavier than lager
2. a beverage made by fermenting malted grain, usually barley, which has a rich flavor profile and is often darker than lighter beers
3. a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method that produces a range of flavors and is often characterized by its strength and darker color

Etymology: The Old English "ealu" is the ancestor of this word, and its roots reach back to a sense of bitterness rather than of drink. Scholars connect it to a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root meaning "bitter," which suggests the earliest brews were valued for their sharp, unfamiliar taste. Related forms appear across the Germanic languages: Dutch "aal," Swedish and Icelandic "öl," and Norwegian "øl" all mean "beer," and the Baltic and Slavic languages preserve the same root in words like Lithuanian "alùs" and Russian "ол." Ale was the ordinary drink of the English for centuries before hops became common, and the older brew was unhopped. Hopped beer, which keeps longer and tastes different, spread into England later, and the older word stayed in use for the traditional malt drink. That is why "ale" and "beer" once named two different things, a distinction that survived in English long after the brewing methods converged.

Synonyms: beer, brew, lager