Spring Break
The 411 on APAs
Thomas Goodwin
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: Focus
There is a saying: "There is a beer for everyone."
There is another saying, "beer snobs are jerks."
America is a country full of amazing craft brewers with even more amazing beers, and people who'd rather just stick with their $2 European lagers. I don't blame them; for a lot of people, paying $9 or more for a six-pack of some no-name microbrewery's Brown Ale is not high on their list of favorite things to do on Friday nights. Me neither! I don't have the money to shell out every week on random beers (I wish I did). Plus, there is a certain risk involved whenever you buy a new beer, and for most people it's just not worth it.
The sheer selection in some liquor stores can be intimidating, if not unsettling. Dry Irish Stout, Milk Stout, Sweet Stout (which is technically the same thing as Milk Stout), Oatmeal Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, etc. It is not uncommon to find all of these at larger stores. Where the hell do you begin?
The point of all this is that America is having a sort of beer revolution right now, and I see it as my civic duty to spread the word. With each article, I intend to shed just a little light on certain styles of beers and offer some good examples to try. I'm not going to talk about random Franco-Belgian Biere de Gardes that you can only get by bribing a rogue monk under a full moon. I will be talking about local beers and/or beers that are relatively easy to find in the area.
This week is American Pale Ales (or APA). Besides IPAs, there is no beer that better personifies American brewing like APAs. They're generally bright in flavor, citrusy tasting from the heavy use of hops, moderately bitter, and of moderate strength (4-6% ABV) with basic malt flavors (bready and toasty). They have a little caramel-like sweetness to balance the hoppiness. APAs are usually golden to dark copper in color, however darker versions are common. The yeast flavor is typically hard to find. Extra Pale Ales are a relatively new offshoot; basically hoppier versions of APAs. They are slightly more bitter and loaded with those citrus flavors that hopheads crave.
There is another saying, "beer snobs are jerks."
America is a country full of amazing craft brewers with even more amazing beers, and people who'd rather just stick with their $2 European lagers. I don't blame them; for a lot of people, paying $9 or more for a six-pack of some no-name microbrewery's Brown Ale is not high on their list of favorite things to do on Friday nights. Me neither! I don't have the money to shell out every week on random beers (I wish I did). Plus, there is a certain risk involved whenever you buy a new beer, and for most people it's just not worth it.
The sheer selection in some liquor stores can be intimidating, if not unsettling. Dry Irish Stout, Milk Stout, Sweet Stout (which is technically the same thing as Milk Stout), Oatmeal Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, etc. It is not uncommon to find all of these at larger stores. Where the hell do you begin?
The point of all this is that America is having a sort of beer revolution right now, and I see it as my civic duty to spread the word. With each article, I intend to shed just a little light on certain styles of beers and offer some good examples to try. I'm not going to talk about random Franco-Belgian Biere de Gardes that you can only get by bribing a rogue monk under a full moon. I will be talking about local beers and/or beers that are relatively easy to find in the area.
This week is American Pale Ales (or APA). Besides IPAs, there is no beer that better personifies American brewing like APAs. They're generally bright in flavor, citrusy tasting from the heavy use of hops, moderately bitter, and of moderate strength (4-6% ABV) with basic malt flavors (bready and toasty). They have a little caramel-like sweetness to balance the hoppiness. APAs are usually golden to dark copper in color, however darker versions are common. The yeast flavor is typically hard to find. Extra Pale Ales are a relatively new offshoot; basically hoppier versions of APAs. They are slightly more bitter and loaded with those citrus flavors that hopheads crave.
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jeff
posted 2/23/09 @ 12:27 PM EST
I think its pretty clear the king of the American Pale Ale is Sierra Nevada. It's a classic and you can get it just about anywhere. The Berkshire Pale Ale is also very good, although it is a very subtle beer that isn't aggressively hopped. (Continued…)
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