Most people might be tempted to ask what ale is. Well! There’s absolutely nothing to be confused about, as ale is not dissimilar to beer.
For more clarification, ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, thus resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste.
Like every other kind of beer, ale contains a certain amount of alcohol, thus, initiating people to ask whether ale can catch fire. But is ale flammable?
Simply put, ale is not inflammable because its alcoholic content is not more than 5%, which is too low to cause any flammable actions.
We’d be looking at ale, its alcoholic content and its flammability risks.
Contents
What Does Ale Contain?
As earlier discussed, ale is a kind of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, thus resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste.
It is a drink that’s brewed without hops. Like most other beers, it contains a bittering agent, blends with malt and acts as a preservative.
It was originally embittered with gruit, a mixture of herbs or spices is boiled in the wort before fermentation but later replaced with hops, an embittering agent.
Most ales, as finished products, contain a minimum of 3% and a maximum of 5% alcohol, unlike some others, which is 30-60% alcoholic.
Is Ale Flammable?
An ale containing a very high volume of alcohol, let’s say 40-70%, will undoubtedly be explosive, while others are not even closer to that level of alcohol contents.
However, for the sake of this article, we will assume that what many people drink is lesser alcoholic ales like Barley wine and others alike.
Therefore, since they are of lesser alcoholic content, then that means, it is not flammable. Mind you, the vast majority of ale is like water.
And as water is not flammable, so is ale. The only way it can be flammable is when there’s a greater percentage of alcohol, which in this case is unlikely with most ales.
Again, most people tend to ask, does ale ever catch fire? Well! The answer is both a NO and a YES.
It is a NO when they contain low alcoholic volume like 3% – 8% with high water content. It can be a YES when they contain a very high alcoholic volume, like 15% and above.
Most taverns or bars, often than not, add ales or beers like ingredients to cocktails, as it will prevent them from becoming flammable, especially in anticipation that some youth may try to experiment on it.
Is Ale Flammable Or Combustible?
In a nutshell, ale is not a flammable liquid, like we will keep on saying. However, according to the hazard mitigation protocols of Brewery Companies, it is believed to be combustible.
Moreover, there’s no way we would expect a human being in his right senses to go out of his way to try ale combustion, even with the industrial process. Now, the next question comes in the form of;
Is Ale Flammable While Fermenting?
The answer is also NO. It is not flammable in fermenting periods because that is exactly when the ale is in its alcoholic (ethanol) production process.
Flammability can only occur when you make a great error during the fermentation process (highly unlikely) or while looking at producing an ale with the highest alcoholic volume (also unlikely), yet, it won’t be flammable.
Is It Safe to Cook With Ale?
Well! Like, what we have been stressing earlier, it is completely safe to cook with ale since it is not flammable and difficult to ignite.
On the other hand, it may be seen as a little risky, depending on the pot you’re using to evaporate the water from the dish, hence leaving the alcohol on its own. Then, it might be unsafe, as the remaining alcohol can be flammable.
Howbeit, it sounds like scientific theorizing or experiment because, under normal practicability, it’s rare to come across ale catching fire in cooking.
Therefore, we would be right to say that cooking with ale is safe, as long as flammability is concerned. Your only concern should be whether cooking with ale is right or wrong.
What Volume of Alcohol in Ale is Considered as Flammable?
Quite simply, the volume of alcohol in an ale that should be considered explosive is within the 40% mark to 70%, which is 80 to 100 proof.
A key point to note is that, even if it’s possible to ignite ale with less alcohol volume, the ignited fire will not stay long, as it will quickly extinguish due to its water content.
In other words, the more the alcoholic volume, the more the water quantity, hence, difficult to ignite.
Final Thoughts
We will conclude by saying that ale generally has a very low flashpoint. Therefore, it will require an ignition source, like a flame or a spark, to be ignited at its flashpoint temperature.
This is because its automatic ignition temperature is very high, and it’s above 680 degrees Fahrenheit. But even that, you will find it hard to see ale in flames. In other words, the probability is very low.
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