American Pale Ale. One of the first Americanized styles brewed by start-up microbreweries in the 1980s, American pale ale came about when American ingredients were used to emulate British pale ale. The resulting beer showcased citrus and piney flavors from US hops, kindling their wide popularity with American beer drinkers and laying the groundwork for a “hops” race to India pale ale and beyond. Commercial examples of the style include Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which many consider to be the originator and prototype of the style.
The American amateur homebrewing that fueled microbrewing in the 1980s was learned largely from British literature on the subject. Thus, many early beers mirrored the traditional styles of England, Ireland, and Scotland. While some brewers hewed to traditional interpretation, others quickly adapted the basic styles with North American ingredients and sensibilities.
One of the earliest innovators was Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, founded by Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi in Chico, California.
Hops define the unique American pale ale flavor. Late kettle additions and dry hopping with US varieties such as Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe, and Amarillo impart the signature citrus and piney traits to the aroma and flavor. Grassiness may sometimes result from dry hopping.
Kettle hop additions supply medium to high bitterness (30–45 IBUs). Brewers use water low in calcium carbonate (75 ppm) and often add calcium sulfate to achieve a crisp, clean bitter flavor.
Malt plays a supporting role, supplying a solid base for the hop expression but remaining in the background on the palate. Grists consist primarily of American two-row malt supplemented with a small portion (10% by weight) of light to medium crystal or caramel malt for a hint of caramel or toffee flavor. Some brewers include small amounts of kilned specialty malts (e.g., biscuit, Vienna) to impart enhanced toasted notes. Most formulations give beers that are gold to amber colored (5–14 SRM).
Most American pale ales show evident but restrained fruity ester aromas achieved through use of fairly neutral ale yeasts. Many examples are unfiltered and display a slight haze; bottled examples often include yeast for bottle conditioning. Beers in this style should not have diacetyl character and residual yeast should not contribute bready or sulfur traits.
As hundreds of new breweries started production in the 1980s and early 1990s, many made beers broadly in the American pale ale style. Over time, brewers recognized two distinct variations, known as American amber ale and English pale ale. American amber ale follows the same hopping but increased use of dark caramel malts to achieve a deeper amber color and a more assertive and caramel-like malt flavor. English pale ale follows a formulation nearly identical to American pale ale overall but uses English hop varieties which generally results in a more earthy, herbal hop character.
The alcohol content of commercial examples ranges from as low as 4.5% to as high as 6.2%, although the upper end of this range overlaps with that of India Pale Ale—another closely related style. Indeed, a number of Great American Beer Festival medal winners in this category have been labeled or considered India Pale Ales, such as Anchor Liberty Ale, New Holland Mad Hatter, and Bridgeport IPA. Historically, the popularity of highly hopped pale ales supported demand for the more intensely hopped India Pale Ales and ultimately for the extreme hop levels of the newly coined styles “Imperial” or “Double” India pale ale.