Brown ale Brown ale Brown ale is a style of beer with a dark amber or brown colour. The term was first used by London brewers in the late 17th century to describe their products, such as mild ale, though the term had a rather different meaning today. 18th-century brown ales were lightly hopped and brewed from 100% brown malt. Today there are brown ales made in several regions, most notably England, Belgium and America. Other than being top-fermented and having a darker color than pale beers, brown ales share little in common in terms of flavor profile. Beers termed brown ale
Pale ale beers tend to use a cleaner yeast, and American two row malt, it is particularly the American hops that distinguish an APA from a British or European pale ale. The style is close to the American India pale ale (IPA), and boundaries blur, though IPAs are stronger and more assertively hopped. The style is also close to Amber ale, though these are darker and maltier due to the use of crystal malts. "Bière de Garde", or "keeping beer", is a pale ale traditionally brewed in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. These beers were usually brewed by farmhouses in the winter