Ale

Ale is a type of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method.^[1]^[2] In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.^[3]

As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale was originally bittered with gruit, a mixture of herbs or spices boiled in the wort before fermentation, before hops replaced gruit as the bittering agent.^[4]

^ Ben McFarland, World's Best Beers: One Thousand Craft Brews from Cask to Glass. Sterling Publishing Company. 2009. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-4027-6694-7. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ M. Shafiur Rahman, Handbook of Food Preservation. CRC Press. 2007. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-57444-606-7. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ "Oxford English Dictionary Online". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
^ Doorman, Gerard (1955). "De middeleeuwse brouwerij en de gruit /". lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

[1] Ben McFarland, World's Best Beers: One Thousand Craft Brews from Cask to Glass. Sterling Publishing Company. 2009. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-4027-6694-7. Retrieved 7 August 2010.

[2] M. Shafiur Rahman, Handbook of Food Preservation. CRC Press. 2007. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-57444-606-7. Retrieved 7 August 2010.

[3] "Oxford English Dictionary Online". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

[4] Doorman, Gerard (1955). "De middeleeuwse brouwerij en de gruit /". lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]