pale ale vs ale

pale ale and ale both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
pale ale	Yes	No	No	No
ale	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, ale is a hypernym of pale ale; that is, ale is a word with a broader meaning than pale ale:

pale ale: an amber colored ale brewed with pale malts; similar to bitter but drier and lighter
ale: 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

pale ale (noun)	ale (noun)
an amber colored ale brewed with pale malts; similar to bitter but drier and lighter	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