title_body: Popularity: Ale vs Lager
upvoted_answer: You have to think of the volume of beer that's actually made. The big 'non-craft' brewers produce huge amounts of lager because the tradition for last hundred years or so has been to make lighter, more 'drinkable' beers. That also happens to fit with the big business ideal of being cheap to produce (light &amp; drinkable means corn &amp; rice are OK!). 
  
  Craft brewer tend to make ales for a few reasons. 
  
  
  Prior to the explosion of lagers, most beer in the world was ale, and
  there are many more styles &amp; different kind of yeast to choose from
  if you make ale.
  Most ales can be produced faster than lagers, which is helpful when
  your brewery is small.
  Ales are easier to make at home, so home brewers are quite familiar
  with these styles (and sometimes become pros as well).
  
  
  Numbers: as of last year, the thousands of craft breweries in the US still only had 11% of market share. Big breweries still crank out ~3/4 of US consumption, nearly all lager.