Pale ale
Peter Sachs
Welcome to Beer Primer, The A.V. Club’s never-ending quest to help readers attain a better understanding of all things boozy. Last week, The A.V. Club covered red rye beer, and this week, we bring you pale ale.
Calling something a pale ale is a little like walking to the butcher and telling them you just want some beef. Just like there are dozens of cow cuts, there are plenty of different pale ales – lighter, darker, more or less bitter, higher or lower alcohol. And just like other ales, the yeast ferments on the top of the tank. The “pale” part mainly just means the malted barley hasn’t been roasted very long before the brewer threw it in the tank. So, it has a subtler flavor than porters and stouts, which also use barley but roast it longer.
Honkers is a good place to start when exploring pale ale territory because it’s pretty middle-of-the-road as they go. The grain and bread flavors of the malt definitely stand out, and it has just a little bit of that floral, grassy hop taste but not much bitterness. And that’s about it: no crazy fruit, chocolate or oak flavors here. At about 5 percent alcohol, that and its other traits make it worth drinking many in a row. And then some.
Where to find it: Goose Island Brewing Company
Try it with: Paulina Market sausage plate
