Farmhouse ale Farmhouse ale Farmhouse ale is an ancient European tradition where farmers brewed beer for consumption on the farm from their own grain, hops, and yeast. Most farmers would brew for Christmas and/or harvest time, but in areas where they had enough grain farmers would use beer as the every-day drink. This was in a time when it was safer to drink beer than water. Farmhouse ale has enormous variation in the ingredients and brewing process used, both of which follow ancient local traditions. Today many microbreweries make beers they market as farmhouse ale, but in most cases the connection with
Malt drink Malt drink A malt drink is a fermented drink in which the primary ingredient is the grain, or seed, of the barley plant, which has been allowed to sprout slightly in a traditional way called "malting" before it is processed. By far the most predominant malt drink is beer (naturally fermented barley sugars flavoured with hops), of which there are two main styles: ale and lager. A low alcohol level drink brewed in this fashion is technically identical to "non-alcoholic beer." Such a drink may be prepared by using a slightly altered brewing process that yields negligible alcohol (technically less