Pale ale is a term used to describe a variety of beers which use ale yeast and predominantly pale malts. It is widely considered to be one of the major beer style groups. All of the major ale-producing countries have a version of Pale Ale: England has Bitter, Scotland Heavy and IPA, America has American pale ale, France has Bière de Garde, Germany has Altbier, etc.

Pale ales generally over 6% ABV tend to be grouped as Strong Pale Ales under such names as Scotch Ale, Saison, or American Pale Ale.[dubious – discuss] A pale ale has two basic characteristics: Pale ale was a term used for beers made from malt dried with coke. Coke had been first used for roasting malt in 1642, but it wasn't until around 1703 that the term pale ale was first used. By 1784 advertisements were appearing in the Calcutta Gazette for "light and excellent" pale ale.

By 1830 onward the expressions bitter and pale ale were synonymous. Breweries would tend to designate beers as pale ale, though customers would commonly refer to the same beers as bitter. It is thought that customers used the term bitter to differentiate these pale ales from other less noticeably hopped beers such as porter and mild.

By the mid to late 20th century, while brewers were still labeling bottled beers as pale ale, they had begun identifying cask beers as bitter, except those from Burton on Trent, which tend to be referred to as pale ales regardless of the method of dispatch.

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