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.