Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ale \Ale\ ([=a]l), n. [AS. ealu, akin to Icel., Sw., and Dan.
   ["o]l, Lith. alus a kind of beer, OSlav. ol[u^] beer. Cf. Ir.
   ol drink, drinking.]
   1. An intoxicating liquor made from an infusion of malt by
      fermentation and the addition of a bitter, usually hops.

   Note: The word ale, in England and the United States, usually
         designates a heavier kind of fermented liquor, and the
         word beer a lighter kind. The word beer is also in
         common use as the generic name for all malt liquors.

   2. A festival in English country places, so called from the
      liquor drunk. ``At wakes and ales.'' --B. Jonson.``On
      ember eves and holy ales.'' --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

ale
     n : a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in
         some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of
         more than 4% alcohol by volume