Beer Styles

What is a Cream Ale? It's a pale, smooth beer with light hopping and mild sweetness that emerged in North America from the lager styles of the 19th century. Depending on the brewery, it's fermented either top-fermenting or with lager yeast, and sits at 4.2 to 5.6 percent alcohol. The color ranges from straw to golden yellow, and the flavor recalls bread and corn.

American lager is its relative. It's even lighter, even more neutral, usually running between 4.2 and 5.3 percent alcohol. It's best enjoyed ice-cold. The difference from Cream Ale lies mainly in body: the ale tastes a bit rounder, the lager feels crisper.

Ontario has shaped both styles without inventing them. Both originate from the Great Lakes region, which includes Ontario. Add to that the pale lager brewed in Toronto as Steam Whistle Pilsner, and Muskoka Cream Ale from Bracebridge, which has carried the ale style in the province since 1996. In terms of flavor, a Pilsner is more bitter and spicier than either style here.

The figures in the profile come from the 2021 BJCP guidelines, a competition standard from the US. Individual beers may fall outside these ranges. What matters is always the label. For everyday drinking in Ontario, the rule of thumb works well: a Cream Ale tastes round and soft, an American lager crisp and cool, a Pilsner spicy and dry.