Ale to the selling of beer labeled "strong beer" that had actually been diluted with small beer. In medieval times, ale may have been safer to drink than most water (the germ theory of disease was unheard of, and the sterilizing properties of boiling unknown); however, there is no period evidence that people were aware of this nor that they chose to drink ale for this reason. The alcohol, hops, and some ingredients in gruit used to preserve some ales may have contributed to their lower load of pathogens, when compared to water. However, ale was largely safer due to the
Pale ale hops in the style of APA and use the name "pale ale", was the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, which brewed the first experimental batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in November 1980, distributing the finished version in March 1981. Anchor Liberty Ale, a 6% abv ale originally brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company as a special in 1975 to commemorate Paul Revere's midnight ride in 1775, which marked the start of the American War of Independence, was seen by Michael Jackson, a writer on beverages, as the first modern American ale. Fritz Maytag, the owner of Anchor, visited British breweries