Alcohol has for a long time been something that men and women alike have been able to bond over. It is a shared bond regardless of race, age, language or sex. It’s been said that those who are most attracted to one another, are so because of similar or shared qualities. This idea extends also into the realm of beer – those who tend to drink the same types of beer tend to have similar characteristics and appreciation for these malted brews.

Although there are a lot of varieties of different beers, most can be classified into two different types, either Ales or Lagers. The primary distinction between the two is the temperature at which the beer is fermented. Ales are fermented at a higher temperature than Lagers.

The second distinction is the type of yeast that is used in the fermentation process. Ales have a tendency to use top fermenting yeast, which means that the yeast floats on the surface for a little while and then sinks to the bottom. Lagers use bottom-fermenting yeast, which never rises to the top during the process but just sits on the bottom. This yeast process indicates the amount of yeast that you will actually taste in the beer. Ales usually contain a complex range of spicy or fruity flavors produced from the warmer fermentation process while Lagers have less yeast derived flavors from the cooler fermenting process.

Ales and Lagers are very broad categories under which beer is then distinguished into styles according to color, strength and flavor. Both Ales and Lagers can range from light to dark, high in alcohol content to low, and from bitter to sweet.