Pale Ale advice

Um, i think this might be the antithesis of what the OP is seeking. And to be fair, so are half the suggestions on this thread. I wish i could help out the OP,but I have nothing to offer...my tastes gravitate towards the "wrong" suggestions.

 

The difference between an English Pale Ale and an American Pale Ale is not just the variance of hopping levels but also the type of hops used.

It would appear that @ejc03 is looking for a beer that is both modestly hopped (which results in more balance between hops and malt) plus the more subdued flavors that English hops like East Kent Goldings (or Fuggles) provides.

A number of folks have recommended Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale. It has been a long time since I had this beer so I do not exactly recall the malt vs. hop balance of this beer but this beer certainly has the appropriate variety of hops for an English Pale Ale:

“hops

Bittering—Magnum; Late Kettle—Styrian Golding, East Kent Golding; Dry Hops—East Kent Golding”

The fact that FW Double Barrel Ale is dry hopped may provide a bit more hop aroma than is present in Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale but it is certainly a good beer to try from an English Pale Ale style perspective.

Cheers!

 

In all fairness to the posters most of our palates are so fried that these suggestions aren't really hoppy beers to us anymore so we don't know any better.

I like Victory Headwaters but I haven't had it in some time so I had one recently and I swear they upped the hops on that thing, as it was way hoppier than I remembered it being.

OP, I would recommend Deutsches Mirror Pond Pale Ale if you can get it in your area.

 

And the yeast. Most American pales use a very clean yeast, whereas English pales tend to have added yeast complexity which manifest as subtle stone fruit esters.

For English style - I like Cisco Whale Tale Pale ale

 

Haha! So true. To defend myself I didn't read the post though. Just saw "best pale ales" and thought I don't need to read anymore the answer is lagunitas.

 

Dales Pale Ale but first on the list is SNPA IMO

 

It's interesting how our palates change. I remember the first time I had SNPA back in the 90's. It was the most bitter hop bomb I've ever tasted at the time.

 

What he said^

One beer that come to mind though that should be right up your alley is Great Divide Denver Pale Ale. Very heavy, malty pale. You may want to stray a little and try some wheat pale ales. I know Lagunitas Sumpin' Sumpin' is almost solely responsible for my transition into more hop forward beers.

I also think that Dale's Pale Ale, (already mentioned) Deschutes Mirror Pond, and even Bell's Two hearted are actually pretty balanced.

 

Goose Island Honkers Ale should do the trick.

Also, Mendocino ales have an English type flavor and balance to them, so maybe give their Red Tail Ale a shot.

 

Deschutes Mirror Pond can do no wrong, pretty much exactly like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Firestone Pale 31 is great too. If you find those too hoppy, you're probably better off staying away from the American Pale Ale category and in general, and venture towards the amber ale/lager territory, or beers specifically categorized as an English bitter, mild, or pale ale.

 

I am not sure if Highland makes it that way, if so then definitely give St Teresa's Pale a try. It's a bit on the fruity hop side but it is far from being harsh. One of the more balanced PA's I've had.

 

No recommendations, just an observation....whole bunch of y'all can't read. :-)

 

Got to mention Anchor Liberty Ale, it helped define the style in America along with SNPA.

 

Temperance Gatecrasher out of Evanston IL, if you get it down there. It calls itself an IPA, but it is very balanced, and truly English-style, unlike many of the other beers being called out in this thread.

 

For a cheap examination try the Saranac pale, it's a good starting point and highly sessionable for such a reasonably priced brew.

 

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale is an English Style and tasty

 

+1 on Denver and Mirror Pond. Also, Odells 5 Barrel is a outstanding English pale ale.

 

Two Brothers Sidekick is great if you see their stuff where you're at.

 

It is a bit hard to find lower-IBU/less bitter/less hoppy APA's - especially with the recent trend toward making APA's closer to what even 5-10 years ago I suspect was called an IPA. Anyway - a few suggestions:

1.) New Holland (not sure of distro in MO) just released an oak-aged pale called Carhartt Woodsman - an excellent, relatively mild 'American Pale".
2.) I might look at what many breweries call Blonde or Amber ales. Usually relatively less hoppy but still American in style.

Good luck!

 

Stone's Pale Ale is more malty than most American versions, similar to english styles, and widely distributed.

It's a surprising offering from stone, who generally lives by the "more is better" hop philosophy.