I find it very interesting that you would not call an ale a beer!   To me that is like someone saying that Pinot Noir is not a wine!

Er... sorry, but I didn't say that at all. I said:

Hmmm, interesting that you should think that. I agree that "ale" and "beer" mean the same thing, basically. "Beer" is probably used here in a more generic way than "ale" though - people might call a lager a beer but I don't think they would usually call it an ale

Most people over here think "lager" is a particular type of beer, a pale ("blonde") coloured beer, usually served chilled, and refreshing in hot weather.

People tend to use the term "ale" for bitters, winter beers, stouts, milds, porters, etc.

These terms are not strictly definitions, but I was just trying to explain how they are generally used here.

So, on the basis of what I said above, you could call an ale a beer, but you might not call any beer an ale. The term 'beer' is generic, as I said, and could conceiveably be used for any type of beer including lager, stout, porter, mild, bitter, or any other kind of ale.

Over here in the UK, I've never heard people use the term 'ale' when referring to lager, for example, so 'ale' is slightly less generic a term than 'beer', as far as modern day usage is concerned in the UK.