For many people, pale ales are their first introduction to craft beer - they have more flavour than the mass produced lagers they’d known before, but not as much alcohol or bitterness or weirdness as some of the other beer styles out there.
Like most beers, pale ales are made with four ingredients - malt, hops, yeast, and water - but it’s what brewers do with these ingredients that gives pale ales their appeal.
What makes it a pale ale?
The story of pale ales goes back to 17th and 18th century Britain. Before that, most beers were dark, since malts were roasted with wood fire, which generally resulted in dark malts. But the use of a new kind of fuel gave people more control over the malting process, making pale malts available.
‘Pale ale’ is actually a broad category rather than a single style. While any pale ale is made using mostly (or only) pale malts and fermented with ale yeast (as opposed to lager yeast), and most sit between 4% and 6% ABV, there’s plenty of variety under the pale ale umbrella.
What should you expect?
Pale ales are approachable, versatile, and refreshing. When you take a sip, you’ll generally notice both the sweetness from the malts and the flavour and bitterness from the hops (but less than in an IPA).
There are styles within the style: an American pale ale will feature the citrus and piney flavours of American hops, and have a bitterness you can’t ignore; an English pale will let caramelly malts come to play more than the hops; an Australian pale ale is designed for our climate, bursting with the tropical fruit aromas of Aussie hops while still being light and easy to smash; and a hazy or New England pale is all about a cloudy appearance, juicy flavours, and low bitterness.
Having said all this, keep in mind that a lot of brewers don’t follow the rules - they brew beer that they and their customers enjoy, rather than sticking to a defined style. So don’t be surprised if a beer doesn’t fit neatly into any category.
Pale Ale
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Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
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Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesModerate hop aroma of sweet fruits, predominately berries, with a very slight note of citrus. Hop flavour of sweet ripe berries, and a hint of toasty oat comes from the malt. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Clean
Tasting notesA clean crisp finish makes this fruity hop forward beer an ideal thirst quencher. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Sharp
Tasting notesThe malt and American hops are balanced by the subtle rye tartness.Good Witch Rye BlondeView BeerAmerican Pale AleSold By Cubby Haus Brewing Pty Ltd12 pack$70.0024 pack$105.00 -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesSmooth and tropical -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Sharp
Tasting notesCrisp. Refreshing. Hoppy. Malty.Mosaic Pale AleView BeerAmerican Pale AleSold By The Mill Brewery8 pack$40.0024 pack$98.004 pack$20.00 -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Clean
Tasting notesClean, bitter and sweet -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Light
Tasting notesA very drinkable pale ale with flavours of stone fruit, tropical fruit and light spice, balanced by a subtle malt sweetness. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Clean
Tasting notesTropical hop flavours, low bitterness. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesAmerican style Amber Ale, delicately floral and slightly spicy hops. The star of the beer is the caramel malt.Prancing Pony Amber AleView BeerAmerican Pale AleSold By Prancing Pony Brewery24 pack$107.0012 pack$59.00 -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesA citrus & stone fruit aroma is balanced with a malty drive and hoppy bitterness. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Dry
- Light
Tasting notesCitrus notes as well as a touch of pineapple with a neutral, clean yeast character to finish. -
Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesWith 23.5kg of hops in every batch, this beer is packed with tropical flavours that will take you back to a sunny afternoon at the beach.
Take it hazy.
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Flavour ProfileHopsMalt
- Smooth / Velvety
Tasting notesUsing a variety of Aussie and American hops, we’ve developed a beautiful pale gold beer with notes of apricot on the palate, and an aroma of lemon zest, wrapped up in that classic Urban Alley taste you love.