Posted by Jon on September 18, 2003 at 17:35:56 from 64.63.221.163 user Jon.
In Reply to: Re: camp coffee, was Re: "Coffee" - lines that use the word posted by andy bolger on September 18, 2003 at 00:30:24:
Ale is used here in the generic sense, to distinguish it from lagers, as the two are distinctly different brewing processes (yeast type, top or bottom fermenting, temperature of fermentation) yielding different effects. We, too, order by name or an IPA or a porter, or a red ale, or, when only Budweiser's available, sake (if I'm going to drink fermented rice beverages, I'd just as soon drink honest fermented rice beverages).
For some peculiar reason, our Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms made it much more difficult to obtain a license to brew beer than to brew wine or distill hard liquors, so until the laws changed making small and home brewing operations possible, brewing by other than the majors was very much an undercover operation. Between the liberalization of the laws and increasing student travel to Europe (with the resultant exposure to other than Clydesdale extract), more people became interested in making and drinking high-quality beers and ales. There are a number of books on American microbreweries and craft breweries which will give you a much more detailed analysis.