edukatorz.com

We’ve gone over the basics of lagers, ales and stouts so now it’s time to dive a little deeper into the specifics of each type of beer. Today we’re going to focus on pale ales.

Pale ale originated in the dour country of England around the 18th century. British brewers wanted a “paler” ale so they used coke (no, not that kind, this kind is made from coal)  instead of wood to roast the barley for fermentation. They discovered that the wood would burn the barley, while the coke would evenly roast it creating a pale beer during fermentation.

Pale ales have gotten a reputation as being bitter, though not all of them are. They range from smooth and crisp to super bitter.

Burton Pale Ale

This is the original real deal type of pale ale. When British brewers discovered how to make pale ale they did it in Burton-on-Trent, England. This particular type of pale ale is malty and balanced with a smooth aroma. Burton pale ale’s get their distinctive taste from the gympsum in the local water that brought out the taste of the hops. They clearly had a monopoly on this taste until a chemist came up with a process called Burtonisation that adds sulphates to the water to bring out the hops taste. Pale ales are now made pretty universally with water that has been through the Burtonisation process. The most famous Burton Pale Ale is Bass which is easily obtained in the US of A.

Bitter

Bitter beer came about when 19th Century drinkers in England started referring to pale ale as bitters to distinguish it from other beers with a distinctive hop taste. British brewers then started categorizing bitters as session (or ordinary), best (or regular), and premium (or strong or extra strong). These beers range from either a lower alcohol content of around 4.1% for session bitters to 4.8% and above for premium bitters. Though bitter, these types of beer isn’t very hoppy, but tends to taste maltier. We recommend checking out Young’s Bitter or Fuller’s ESB if you want to try some of this style out.

Indian Pale Ales

Indian pale ales were developed by the British in order to survive the trip from England to India.  The beer had to stay in its casks for a very long time sans refrigeration so in order to preserve it the British added extra hops to it. This style of pale ale is distinctively hoppy. We recommend trying out Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA if you’ve never had IPA and work your way up from there.

American Pale Ales

American pale ales tend to be cleaner and hoppier then their British cousins. There is a wide variety of different types of pale ales out there, but all of their flavors tend to focus on the citrusy quality of American hops. We recommend trying out Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale or Flying Dog’s Classic Pale Ale if you want to try this variety.