Pale Ale appreciation thread

Elmhurst Brewery almost always has an PA on tap. Here is the current one:

English Paradise Pale Ale
5.4% ABV
35 IBU
Single malt Pale Ale, brewed with English malt, hops and yeast.

Taster 2.50
Half Pint 4.50
Pint 7.00
Crowler 12.00
Growler 20.00

 

For a more traditional PA I always enjoy;

Summit EPA
Fitger's Starfire PA (sadly not in distro anymore that I am aware of)
Bent Paddle ESB

Indeed's Day Tripper is good as well, but it has so much hops it's one of those closer to an IPA.

 

Came here to rant about Off Color. But I’ll keep it brief. Edit: I tried to keep it brief. Fail

beer for lounging is not an American pale ale. I’m not sure what off color did here, that description envokes the memory of one beer and one beer only. SNPA. Problem is the product in my glass it tastes like English pub ale with American hops. Off Color is better than this. Im not sure why they are selling this as APA. It’s not.

Off Color made customers expect a beer like SNPA… or at least one that paid tribute to SNPA. If you drink this lounge beer and it reminds you of SNPA then your memory is broken. It’s not even close, like not even the same style beer. I haven’t been less impressed by a major top notch brewery that I believe OC is, in a long time.

I’m left confused by Off Color. They’ve done a bad job messaging this. I’m not sure if they messed up the beer or the messaging. I don’t ever have this confusion with any of their other beers. Even the really weird ones

 

Originally pale ales were just British beers that used little or no roasted malt. Bitters are British pale ales. ESBs were generally a brewery's attempt at a a special bitter: bigger body, but still a session beer. Most American pale ales could qualify under the general British definition. But ours are generally paler, hoppier, and have higher alcohol. The designation IPA (also a pale ale) is too useful as a marketing too to be restricted to a particular style. I think there isn't a useful definition for an American IPA any more, and probably not much of a definition for the style in Britain. I try to have British style pale ales at home, but the style seems to be disappearing around me.

 

I understand your frustration, but given that Off Color has touted this as the first pale ale they have ever made were you expecting greatness? And weren’t they making a tribute, not a clone?

 

The universe of APAs is much much bigger than SNPA. I would not expect a clone of SNPA just because a beer is called an APA.

 

if I drank it blind, I wouldn’t have guessed APA

 

Am I the only one who really enjoyed Beer For Lounging?

 

Opened a BlackStack Who's Idea Was This? Tasty little pale ale, and 4.8%, which is unusual for them. I wish they would make more like this.

 

Fans of Sierra Nevada should go by some Shield Maiden from miskatonic. One of the original recipes they debuted and have since retired. It made its way back and it’s a real classic APA. It was nice to revisit

 

That's the way to do Saturday!

 

Looks like Maplewood is getting in on the current APA craze!*

The Lounge R&D series is starting off with one.



*Yes, I realize this is NOT a craze.

 

"Re-craze?"

1998 all over again.

 

You’ll be impressed by how completely different they are.

 

Alarmist Pantless is good had it on-site yesterday

 

Okay, so I had me a Beer for Lounging today and I have to say, heck yeah -- I definitely get the SNPA influence in this beer. It's not a complete clone (should it be?), but I certainly pick up the parallel characteristics.

Review to come, but a very satisfying APA.

I didn't keep @GuyFawkes in the above quote because I wanted my post to be general to the thread.

 

Did you ever get to this side by side tasting?

fresh pale ale alert! Odell Wolf Picker is out in the market and tastes fantastic. New school pale ale with an experimental hop. Bodem style pale ale

 

Pale ale is a big topic. I'll keep to two styles: 1) US post-prohibition ales with golden body, and often well hopped. Prototype would be Ballantine Ale or McSorleys as they tasted in the 70s. In the late 90s and early 2000s my favorite in the style was Blue Point Pale Ale (rest in peace). I've been looking for a new one for several years. 2) English style pale ale. For years, my favorite beer all around was Blue Point ESB (also disappeared). Current US made favorite is Montauk Driftwood Pale Ale. Fairly malty and mellow.

 

This one is really good. They actually won a bronze GABF medal with it.

Another one I'm surprised not seeing in this thread is Maplewood's Charlatan. It's probably my personal pale ale go-to. It's pretty tasty and very modern in a sense. It still has that classic dankness, but with a hint of fruit.

 

I just finished my last Beer for Lounging- i really like this beer! It grows on you.

i wasn’t thrilled with the first, since I had it after a lot of west coast ipas, but each one after really grew on me. I wish that I bought more.

I’d like to have more pale ales available locally. I’ve tried the Midwest Coast, but it has too much of a roasted malt character, so it seems more like a brown ale- but that could just be my perception.

Any suggestions for a good British style pale ale? I hope to make it out to Art History to try theirs.

 

Just got back from a trip to Boston, and enjoying a Night Shift Whirlpool. I'd forgotten how good this one is. It's hazy and not a traditional pale, but fruity and crushable at 4.5%

 

When I heard Tuna was being retired, I expected Gull to replace it. It turned out it would be replaced by Tome. I get the hazy decision, but Smoking Gull is so damn good… I wish it would have been Tunas replacement

 

Tome is for Gull-able people.

 

Is this where we talking about pale ales of all ABVs? I thought we had a west coast ipa thread, but can’t seem to find it.
For now, my compliments to Penrose will go here. Scars Are Beautiful is a classic dank San Diego ipa. Very pale, all the hops that made California famous. Bonus, it’s raising money for a good cause. Raising money for cancer research. Damn good dank west coast ipa clocks in at 6%

 

Anybody try the Goose island/Blackhawks Pale Ale? Had it the other day and it was decent.

 

The malt base on No Plans is like a less bitter more modern take on Green Line. The hops are also citrus forward hops. Its astoundingly easy to drink but nothing revelatory or beyond buying a cheap pack of it at the grocery store.

 

I tried one for the first time yesterday and though it was solid (rated it 4.0 overall). Similar take with Jplachy, liked the malt and hops flavors, light and easy in terms of ABV and bitterness. These are available in 15 packs as well, though I was told this is the last Chicago brewed GI seasonal that will be sold under the 15 pack format (year round AB brewed beers like IPA and 312 will remain available as 15 packs).

https://www.gooseisland.com/beers/seasonal-beers/no-plans-pale-ale

 

Phase Three Pixel Density Lite. 4.5% all-Citra hazy pale, I hope I can get cases of it this summer

 

Roaring Table has a new one coming out this week called Definition Drift. Sounds like a West Coast hazy, or a modern pale ale kind of take.