Quote Originally Posted by World's End Stella View Post
t'other day.

I was unable to answer definitively. I think I said something like 'lager is brewed under pressure and is carbonated while real ale is not and is flat'. And 'I prefer real ale in the pub especially in the colder months, while lager is great on a hot sunny day'.

Neither of which really answers the question properly nor is necessarily correct, I think. Anyone know the answer?
Different yeasts (lager, uses bottom-feeding, I mean fermenting, yeast; ale, top);
ale is fermented at warmer temps and for a shorter time
Purity - you can throw any old **** into an ale to give it flavour. Lager - the proper stuff - should limit itself to the main ingredients, Reinheitsgebot and all that