Meaning of ale in English:

noun

• 1British Any beer other than lager, stout, or porter.

  ‘a draught of ale’

  count noun ‘traditional cask-conditioned ales’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The most common, or at least best known are lager, ale, stout and pilsner.’
  • ‘The Skeff Bar, Eyre Square, raised the price of a pint of stout, ale, lager, cider and a measure of whiskey by 10 cents.’
  • ‘Two publicans in the city centre were found to have added 10 cents to the prices of a measure of whiskey and pints of stout, ale, lager and cider.’
  • ‘The Wellington charged an extra 50 cent on a pint of stout, ale and lager, with 40 cent extra on cider.’
  • ‘At the bar there are a variety of lagers, draught ale and hand-pulls, a selection of bottled drinks and eight different types of wine.’
  • ‘Moreover, they are not drinking the servant's traditional porter or ale, but ‘punch’.’
  • ‘First, on 11 December 1979 AB applied to register the mark BUDWEISER for beer, ale and porter.’
  • ‘It brews a range of 10 lagers, ales and stouts at a plant in Blanchardstown - the microbrewery in Temple Bar has been removed - and these are supplied exclusively to the five outlets.’
  • ‘I had a pint of Castle Eden traditional draught ale to wash it all down.’
  • ‘While one brewing insider said that the chilled hybrid mix of lager and ale was way ahead of its time, most others though it was really pretty awful.’
  • ‘In Wednesday's budget, he is expected to slash the duty that breweries have to pay on ale, beer and stout.’
  • ‘But the star attraction - cask beer and bottled ale at sensible prices - had never changed.’
  • ‘A copper coloured (golden brown) American style ale / lager hybrid with a lasting head.’
  • ‘A dark beer such as Rickard's Red or Double Diamond will add smokier flavour while a lager or ale such as Brick's Red Cap will add a little bite.’
  • ‘Also on display was his lager and strong ale, so we gave it a quality control test, to make sure that they still tasted good.’
  • ‘The company brews its own selection of nine stouts, ales and lagers in Dublin using chemical-free, unpasteurised brewing methods.’
  • ‘For this reason, real ale is also commonly referred to as cask-conditioned or bottle-conditioned ale.’
  • ‘This new style of beer tasted different from traditional ale and was received with initial suspicion in England.’
  • ‘More than 50 cask ales, lagers and ciders will be on available, including Abbot Ale, Cumberland Ale, Titanic Iceberg and Sam Smith's Old Brewery Bitter.’
  • ‘For example, pilsner is one of the most popular lagers, while porter and stout are examples of ales.’

  1. 1.1North American Beer brewed by top fermentation.
     More example sentences

     • ‘Acrid with the cigars and pipes held by half the room's population and sweet with wine and brewing ale.’
     • ‘They found references indicating that about 445 years ago, a non-stout, non-porter black ale was brewed in Belgium.’
     • ‘Evander smiled as he watched his little sister leave, taking another sip at the strong brew of ale that lay in front of him.’
     • ‘Arthur Guinness first began to brew porter in 1778, and would eventually stop brewing ale in 1799.’
     • ‘The closer he came the heavier the scent of barley-based ale became.’
     • ‘Now I'm kicked back in the warm abode with a home-brewed Winter ale counting down the last hours of the weekend.’
     • ‘With a character somewhat akin to that of a high-gravity, herbal pale ale, the White is also the sole Trappist ale available on draft in the U.S.’
     • ‘Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is a winter-time favorite, a zestily hopped ale that briskly wakes your tastebuds.’
     • ‘Before I could say anything he grabbed the mug of ale from my hands and gulped it down, spilling ale all over his clothes.’
     Synonyms

     beer, ale
  2. 1.2historical A drink made like beer but without the addition of hops.
     More example sentences

     • ‘Twenty years ago, seven out of every 10 pints drunk were ale.’
     • ‘He could see quite a few sailors, laughing, smoking and drinking foaming pints of ale.’
     • ‘I sat on bar stools, drinking pints of warm ale with my mates.’
     • ‘Men grappled with heavy implements all day long, then hit the local pub to drink ale from a 10-pound beer tankard, fight and arm-wrestle.’
     • ‘At mid-winter the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.’