The Stupid Thread

[Sam the Centipede]

It would also give me room for a separate beer fridge so I can stop having various ales at too cold a temperature.

You sound like you might know this What's the difference between beer and ale?

Like the square root of minus one, it's imaginary! Oh, some fans of fermented malt beverages will concoct a distinction, usually involving hops, but beer is the word the English language acquired from the French (modern bière) whereas ale was acquired from Scandinavian and/or Germanic roots (modern øl in Danish/Norwegian, the ø is a schwa ә or "uh" sort of vowel, so quite similar pronunciation).

So, perhaps it distantly relates to the way English unusually has different words for farm animals and the meat derived from them (e.g. pig or swine and pork). The food name hints at the ruling class who ate the meat (Norman French post-1066) while the animal name hints at the agrarian class (Anglo-Saxons) who reared the livestock but rarely ate it. Which would suggest beer to be a more upmarket variant, ale as the tipple of the workers.

But in reality? No significant widely recognized distinction in modern English.

[Kriselda Gray]

[But in reality? No significant widely recognized distinction in modern English.

Thanks Sam!

[bill_g]

I can echo that in my experience serving temp distinguishes an ale from a beer. Beers are better chilled. Ales should be close to room temp. Zymurgy "experts" will disagree.

[Suranis]

Anything is better chilled. It deadens the taste buds, so you don't realize you are drinking swill. That's why Coors serves itself chilled, so you think this crap tastes better than the other crap.

It works with soft drinks too. I mean I like some Coca Cola too, but try drinking it at room temperature and you will realize why its served carbonated and chilled.

[Foggy]

I have a local beer I like, all the restaurants around here carry it, so I know what I'm getting and I like it.

It's called Seven Saturdays IPA , and I had two of them in one night and was almost ready to let ol' Wifehorn drive, so I haven't had more than one since then.

Which is a new world for me. I used to start drinking beer before breakfast and drank beer all day long and was smoking marijuana the entire time, and spent a lot of days in a lovely haze (some people said I was a little foggy), and now I can only have one beer at a restaurant, or I'll be too snockered to drive home.

What an exciting life.

[keith]

It would also give me room for a separate beer fridge so I can stop having various ales at too cold a temperature.

You sound like you might know this What's the difference between beer and ale?

This could be wrong, but I think I heard once upon a time that it has to do with whether the yeast mass floats or sinks. Further discussin with Dr. Google is required, but I gotta go to sleepy bye now.

[MN-Skeptic]

The difference? BEER rarely appears in crossword puzzles, while ALE is a common word in them. IPA (India Pale Ale) is also somewhat common. LAGER or STEIN or MUG… not very common. In my experience.

[bill_g]

Speaking of drinking, Amy Winehouse says no - she won't go - to rehab.

[bbflatt]

Keith was on the right track, it has to do with the yeast.

Ale is a type of beer, and it is made with ale yeast, which works at warmer temperatures and is most active at the top of the fermentation vessel, so is sometimes referred to as top-fermenting.

Lager is made with a different type of yeast which works best at cooler temperatures, and most of the fermentation action takes place further down in the vessel and may be referred to as bottom fermenting.

In days of old ale was unhopped, so the use of hops could be used to distinguish between ales and lagers, but that's not true anymore, ales such as IPAs are often very heavily hopped,

[Slim Cognito]

I do have to move to a place with a larger kitchen (or a bar) so I have more room for my collection of beer glassware. To drink an ale in the wrong style of glass is a mortal sin.
…

Someday, I’ll tell you guys about my collection of vintage tiki glasses. I also have some contemporary ones. Too also, I have some cool mid century figurine decanters. But I’m not quite ready to incriminate myself.

[bill_g]

Keith was on the right track, it has to do with the yeast.

Ale is a type of beer, and it is made with ale yeast, which works at warmer temperatures and is most active at the top of the fermentation vessel, so is sometimes referred to as top-fermenting.

Lager is made with a different type of yeast which works best at cooler temperatures, and most of the fermentation action takes place further down in the vessel and may be referred to as bottom fermenting.

In days of old ale was unhopped, so the use of hops could be used to distinguish between ales and lagers, but that's not true anymore, ales such as IPAs are often very heavily hopped,

Weren't hops added as a preservative by the Royal Navy so that the sailors got their daily ration of beer without it being spoiled? Or is the history lesson on an IPA bottle I read a long time ago sour?

Signed Bill who likes a good IPA, but not some of the skunk water people call IPA because they think more hops makes it better.

[Sam the Centipede]

No bill, that's the difference between ale/beer and lager. If memory from my long ago microbiology courses survives (can't be bothered to check), beer/ale uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Spanish speakers will recognize the lurking root of cerveza) while lagers use Saccharomyces carlsbergensis (recognize the name of a Danish brewer?).

As I predicted, notions of hops popped up! I think it's a distinction without a difference now, and has been for several centuries. Especially as most languages stumble along with one word!

[Kriselda Gray]

This could be wrong, but I think I heard once upon a time that it has to do with whether the yeast mass floats or sinks. Further discussin with Dr. Google is required, but I gotta go to sleepy bye now.

Thanks - hope you slept well!

And thanks to everyone hopping in on this thread - interesting stuff!

[Kriselda Gray]

The difference? BEER rarely appears in crossword puzzles, while ALE is a common word in them. IPA (India Pale Ale) is also somewhat common. LAGER or STEIN or MUG… not very common. In my experience.

Something else new to learn. I thought IPA means "Independently Produced Ale." Oops!

[MN-Skeptic]

The difference? BEER rarely appears in crossword puzzles, while ALE is a common word in them. IPA (India Pale Ale) is also somewhat common. LAGER or STEIN or MUG… not very common. In my experience.

Something else new to learn. I thought IPA means "Independently Produced Ale." Oops!

I didn't know what it meant before I Googled it today. I had thought that the I stood for Independent, but I wanted to double-check before I referenced it here. So I had only learned that today too!

[Reddog]

I learned about Lambic a fee years ago. Totally different random yeast.

[northland10]

And thanks to everyone hopping in on this thread - interesting stuff!

For the record, Northland10 is a hop head and loves his IPAs (including the west coast style that Bill probably does not like).

The best. Two-Hearted Ale from Bell's.

[RTH10260]

Father arrested for piercing son’s ear without a license, police say

By Emily Van de Riet
Published: Apr. 24, 2023 at 11:08 PM CEST|Updated: 4 hours ago

TONITOWN, Ark. (Gray News) – A father in Arkansas is facing charges after police say he pierced his son’s ear without a license.

Video of Jeremy Sherland’s arrest went viral on TikTok.

In response to the video, the Tonitown Police Department released a statement, saying their investigation began Thursday when officers were contacted by a school resource officer.

Police said the resource officer told them a teacher was concerned about a student in class who said his dad “was drunk and put him in a chokehold and shoved the piercing in his ear.”

Officers said they questioned Sherland about the alleged incident, and he admitted to piercing his son’s ear.

However, police said Sherland refused to answer further questions, and officers left the residence. They returned later to arrest Sherland.

The TikTok video of the arrest shows four police officers entering the home and handcuffing Sherland. When he demands to know what the charges are, he throws his head back in laughter, shouting “Body art without a license! Body art without a license!”

A woman in the video questions why “piercing his son’s ear without a license takes three cops, four cops?”

A boy’s voice can also be heard in the video, saying, “I wanted my ears pierced.”

Tonitown police cited state law which states, “a person shall not perform body art on a person under sixteen years of age, regardless of parental consent,” and “it is unlawful to perform body art in any unlicensed facility.”

Violation of this law is a class D felony, police said. Sherland is also facing additional charges, including third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, refusal to submit to arrest, and obstructing government operations.

Sherland was released on bond and his arraignment was set for May 22.




https://www.nbc15.com/2023/04/24/father ... olice-say/

[AndyinPA]

I thought body art was tattooing, not piercing.

[Frater I*I]

I thought body art was tattooing, not piercing.

You haven't run in the circles I have, it's been considered that amongst tattooists/piercers since the early 2000s...

[raison de arizona]

I thought body art was tattooing, not piercing.

You haven't run in the circles I have, it's been considered that amongst tattooists/piercers since the early 2000s...

Definitely earlier than that.

[AndyinPA]

I guess it's because I only have four ear piercings.

[neonzx]

I have no ear-lobes in the game here. The story was this male child (age not provided) was held in a "choke hold" and given an ear piercing. But then the child also said he wanted it. Who to believe?

Frankly, I find it very weird when parents pierce their young toddler daughter's ears without their consent. But that is the conservative side of neon talking.

[sugar magnolia]

I have no ear-lobes in the game here. The story was this male child (age not provided) was held in a "choke hold" and given an ear piercing. But then the child also said he wanted it. Who to believe?

Frankly, I find it very weird when parents pierce their young toddler daughter's ears without their consent. But that is the conservative side of neon talking.

Do you also find circumcision weird?

And ear piercing in infants is frequently cultural.

[neonzx]

I have no ear-lobes in the game here. The story was this male child (age not provided) was held in a "choke hold" and given an ear piercing. But then the child also said he wanted it. Who to believe?

Frankly, I find it very weird when parents pierce their young toddler daughter's ears without their consent. But that is the conservative side of neon talking.

Do you also find circumcision weird?

Actually, yes, it is weird. None of my nephews were chopped. That choice has been left to them at a latter date for themselves. (I was not given that choice for myself-- but it makes me part Jewish, I guess )