American Ales

 

Burton upon Trent in the English Midlands popularized large scale consumption of English Pale Ales when they began shipping Pale Ales to London and other cities in the early 1700’s. Burton was particularly well suited to brewing English Pale Ales, as the water in Burton contained large amounts of salt, which allowed brewers to put very large amounts of hops into the beer while keeping it drinkable. And much like Burton developed English Pales in response to its unique local ingredients, American beers evolved further still based on unique ingredients found in American, particularly American hops.

 

American Ales are largely based on English style beers, but the uniqueness of their ingredients sets them apart. At first glance, American Pale Ales are conceptually very much like their English counterparts. But beneath the surface lurks beer of a distinctly different character than the British beers that inspired them.

 

While they represent a range of colors and flavors that are sometimes associated with other English beer styles, the American Ales are grouped together as a distinct, stand-alone category because of their common origin in the American home brew and micro movement, as well as their common use of distinctly American ingredients including American hops, malt, yeast and water. These similarities in origin and flavor make them more closely related to each other than to the English beer styles that inspired them.

 

American Pale Ales

 

In the 1970’s with the craft brewing movement still in it’s infancy, home brewers were experimenting with ingredients and recipes from around the world. Popular among many home brewers was the English Pale Ale style, but English style hops were difficult to grow and to obtain in the US, so many home brewers turned to using locally grown hops.

 

The use of the generally more assertive American hop led brewers in a different direction with Pale Ales and the creation of the American Pale Ale, which is characterized by its assertive hop flavor while containing less caramel flavor than the English Pale Ale. Founded in 1969, Sierra Nevada is often credited with creating the quintessential American Pale Ale with its Cascade hop laden flagship beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

 

American hop flavors are an essential component of the style, but the not all American hops are high in citrus flavors like the popular Cascade hop. Some American Pale Ales utilize hops that are not high in citrus flavors, so this style does not always have the citrus hop flavor that many expect. Other flavors are part of the American hop scene including piney flavors,

 

American Pales are also very clean and crisp tasting beers with little leftover by-products from the fermentation process. Esters that are produced by yeast during fermentation can leave distinct fruity flavors in some beers and while the American Pale Ale can contain some of these flavors, they should not be dominant.

 

The malt body of these beers should also balance the hop character. 

 

American Amber Ales

 

Also known as Red Ales, American Ambers are a direct product of the home brew world and are closely related to the American Pale Ale, but these Ambers have a richer body, darker color and more caramel malt flavors than the American Pale. American Ambers originated in the hop growing regions of the Pacific Northwest.

 

American Ambers range from amber to brown in color and as their name suggests, American Ambers are generally darker in color than the American Pale. Though there is sometimes some overlap in color between the two styles.

 

While American Ambers may not always have the hop aroma of the American Pale, they often match the high hop flavors of the American Pale. It can difficult at times to distinguish between the two closely related styles as color, aroma and some flavors can be common to the two, but the American Amber is usually richer in body and caramel notes than the Pale.

 

American Brown Ales

 

Bigger is better, or so think American brewers who brew their Brown Ales maltier and hoppier than the English version. American Brown Ales tend to be strong in chocolate and caramel flavors, but offset those with an equally strong hop character. Much darker than the other American Ales, the Brown is also the richer of the three in malt flavors, but the key to a successful American Brown is to balance the malt character with American hops.

 

 

Cuisine

 

English Pale Ales (Bitters) are especially well suited for peppery, spicy cuisine like Indian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern food, fish, and shellfish. American Pale Ales pair well with Asian cuisine, salads and poultry.

 

Drink Pale Ales in a pint glass.