Pale Ales come in two sub-styles, English or American. The two are brewed to similar specifications, however, the American Pale Ale has definitely set itself apart from many of the traditional and standard flavors one might expect from English Pale Ales. Most pale ales coming from Great Britain run a medium to high hop bitterness, low to medium malt presence, some caramel, buttery and fruity flavors perhaps and no higher than around 5.5% alcohol by volume.
American Pale Ales mostly impart a higher than normal hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Hops can be on the coarse side even in the aroma; this is from the use of high alpha (bittering) hops. Flavors should be very clean in the mouth, with no traces of buttery diacetyl and minimal fruity esters. The alcohol content is roughly the same (not exceeding 5.5% abv), although some breweries think bigger is better and brew bigger pale ales that venture into the IPA (India Pale Ale) style territory.
The color will range from rich golden color, yet some breweries go as light as a pilsner, to amber and copper hues. The yeast employed helps to set this ale apart from English Pale Ales also. Typically it’s an American strain, sometimes called Chico, which is very clean with a mild fruitiness to help accentuate the malt and hops.
This straying from the norm stems back to the grassroots of the micro revolution, wherein back in the 1980’s several Midwest and West coast startups gave brewing a go. Ingredients were pretty limited compared to today, so they formulated their recipes from mostly domestic hops and malt. Perhaps the most well-known American Pale Ale is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, CA, who started back in 1981 with a goal to brew American beer with more flavor than the usual dull American Lagers that were available at the time.
They’ve been doing a stellar job since. SNPA has been available in the Boston area for a long time and it seems that in the past few years it has planted a really strong foothold on the market, especially on tap. Even your average corner Bud-Miller-Coors package store will carry SNPA due to its popularity.
Another popular American Pale Ale, and perhaps the granddaddy of them all, is Liberty Ale by Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco, CA. It was first brewed on April 18th, 1975 the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere’s historic ride. Many believe Anchor to be the brewery that kicked off the micro beer revolution here in America, and also that Liberty Ale is the benchmark American Pale Ale.
