Ale

a fermented liquor akin to beer. "Ale, as the term is generally understood, is a pale liquor brewed from lightly-dried malt, and abounding more or less in undecomposed saccharine matter and the bitter and fragrant principles of the hop." Ale is a favorite beverage in England, corresponding to the beer of Germany. Formerly homemade ale was brewed under the direct management of the housewife. Ale differs from the stronger alcoholic liquids in that only a small portion of the sugar is changed by the action of yeast into alcohol. If bottled, however, or allowed to stand in a barrel, fermentation is likely to resume. The ale sharpens, cures, becoming mild ale in a few days, pale ale in a month or two, and strong ale in not less than a year. British ales contain from one to eight per cent of alcohol. See Yeast; Brewing; Beer