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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  1. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    Tasting notes
    Strate & Amarillo hops impart subtle notes that, if in a wine, might be expressed as barnyard. Finishes dry and crisp.
    11 Days Pale Ale
    11 Days Pale Ale
    Australian Pale Ale
    Jervis Bay Brewing Co
    Sold By Jervis Bay Brewing Co
    Pay as little as $43.00
    8 pack
    $51.00
    16 pack
    $84.00
    4 pack
    $26.00
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  2. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Delicate
    • Clean
    • Light
    Tasting notes
    Crisp mouthfeel with a moderate degree of clarity. Strong aroma and taste of a fruit salad from the hops, particularly stone fruits and citrus. Little aftertaste as the hops and malt burst in the mouth and dissipate rapidly
    All Australian Pale Ale
    All Australian Pale Ale
    Pale Ale
    Aether Brewing
    Sold By Aether Brewing
    Pay as little as $38.00
    8 pack
    $45.00
    16 pack
    $75.00
    4 pack
    $23.00
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  3. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    Tasting notes
    Slightly Bitter and with Stonefruity and
  4. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Smooth / Velvety
    Tasting notes
    Light toasted malt with citrus and pine notes. A harmonious flavour symphony.
    Boxer Pale Ale
    Boxer Pale Ale
    Pale Ale
    Boxer Brewing Co
    Sold By Boxer Brewing Co
    Pay as little as $25.00
    4 pack
    $29.00
    8 pack
    $58.00
    16 pack
    $87.00
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  5. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    Tasting notes
    Bright citrus, lemon peels and myrtle herbaceous. Present malt backbone and smooth body.
    Citronium
    Citronium
    Pale Ale
    The Zythologist
    Sold By The Zythologist
    Pay as little as $28.00
    8 pack
    $35.00
    24 pack
    $75.00
    4 pack
    $18.00
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  6. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    Tasting notes
    Loaded with tropical Kiwi hops that deliver peach, lychee, and hints of citrus, this is a perfect brew for lazing in the the sun in our beer garden.
  7. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Smooth / Velvety
    Tasting notes
    What we're going for here is that when somebody sits down to drink it, there's fantastic aromatics but when you take a sip, it's a more subtle flavour profile with just enough hops and bitterness that makes them want to take another sip. It has a pleasant, flowery and fruity / citrus-like quality. We use Cascade and Simcoe hops combined with Weyerman and Barrett Burston malts.
  8. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Creamy
    • Dry
    Tasting notes
    Mellow malt flavours, slight white wine hop aroma on back palate. No overbearing fruit aromas. Drinks clean
  9. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Astringent
    Tasting notes
    Passion fruit, Pineapple and Mango. Subtle malt sweetness.
  10. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Clean
    Tasting notes
    Clean, bitter and sweet
  11. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Round / Fat
    Tasting notes
    Sessionably low bitterness, Juicy drinkability pale ale.
    Rage
    Rage
    Pale Ale
    Blackflag Brewing
    Sold By Blackflag Brewing
    Pay as little as $44.00
    8 pack
    $48.00
    16 pack
    $73.00
    4 pack
    $24.00
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  12. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    • Light
    Tasting notes
    A subtle bitterness, crisp and sessionable.
  13. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Smooth / Velvety
    Tasting notes
    El Dorado & Simcoe provides lovely passionfruit and tropical aromas, the addition of oats allows for great mouthfeel when drinking and the last minute punch of hops means its all tied in together seamlessly. The subtle use of hops and light malt bill means it really is a sunny day when drinking, no matter the weather.
  14. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Delicate
    • Clean
    Tasting notes
    Crisp Clean Ale
  15. Flavour Profile
    Hops
    Malt
    • Dry
    • Clean
    Tasting notes
    A crisp, dry style Pale Ale, light and easy drinking
    Wild Polly Pale Ale
    Wild Polly Pale Ale
    Pale Ale
    Wild Polly Brewing Co
    Sold By Wild Polly Brewing Co
    Pay as little as $43.00
    8 pack
    $50.00
    24 pack
    $98.00
    4 pack
    $25.00
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