Finding balance at Brewfest

What makes a good pale ale?

This was the question which 10 Wyoming breweries sought the answer to at the 27th Annual Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival on August 12. While the question may seem simple enough to answer—pale ales are identifiable by their golden to amber colors—there comes with it a long history dating back to the 1700s. Additionally, the brewing style is diverse with types ranging from the well-known India Pale Ale (IPA) to American Pale Ale (APA), English Pale Ale and European Pale Ale.

Hop to it

Along with its lighter color, pale ale as a brewing style is known for the hops used in the process. IPAs, for example, are extremely hop-forward in their composition due to originally being brewed in England and exported to India in the 18th century. To help it survive the voyage, it was brewed with extra hops and a higher alcohol content. Its lighter, more bitter and hoppier profile made it a welcome drink for the British Indian Army over porters which were dark, heavy and lukewarm.

“All beers are brewed with some amount of barley and then some other grains, sometimes it’s 100% barley and sometimes you add wheat or oats,” said Luke Bauer, sales and marketing director for Snake River Brewing Company of Jackson. “There’s only so many ways you can roast a grain whereas (with) hops they’re constantly crossing strains and doing new stuff and developing new flavors and new aromas.”

The hop belongs to the Cannabaceae or hemp family, though it and its cousin cannabis are the most well known members of the family.

“Hops are in the same family as cannabis, so they share some of those flavor qualities. The dank quality you can get out of hops, some people try to describe it as garlic-y or onion-y or even like diesel,” said Sean Minichiello, head brewer for Altitude Chophouse & Brewery in Laramie. “The hops I use have more of that garlic/onion type of dankness.”

The hop’s flavor can range from the dankness described by Minichiello to more of a grapefruit or citrus-like flavor while still giving the ale a bitterness.

“The advantage of a pale ale over an IPA is that you are playing around with the limitless range of flavors from that hop plant once you add it. A pale ale is going to be your gateway to a hop: it’s not aggressive, it’s not incredibly bitter, it’s not going to punch you in the mouth like an IPA might,” said Bauer. “On the spectrum of pale ale to IPA, the hop is almost entirely what you want whereas in a pale ale it’s still going to be a little more balanced.”

Finding balance

While the IPA stands out due to its intense hop-flavor, other pale ales seek to achieve a balance between hops and the other ingredients such as malt and barley.

“I know IPAs—Indian Pale Ales—have been popular for a long time. APAs may be a little more balanced,” said Richard Zielke, brewmaster for Snowy Mountain Brewery in Saratoga. “There’s not (a lot of) dry hopping in the process, compared to an IPA, so to me it’s a little more neutral. For those people who can’t handle all those hops or don’t prefer a lot of hops, this is the next step down.”

American Pale Ales were the most represented at the Steinley Cup this year with nearly every brewery entering one for judging. Though popular, the American Pale Ale is a relative newcomer to the brewing style and, like other pale ales, it came down to the type of hops used.

“The American Pale Ale as a style really started in the late 70s with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. The key to that was a brand new American hop, called Cascadia hops, which just happened to grow really well in Washington (State) in particular,” said Bauer. “What was different about that was that they really just had a more bold flavor than what was grown in Europe. So it was a new flavor.”

Since their introduction, Cascadia hops have been the most popular in brewing up until 2018 when Citra hops arrived on the scene. Though originally grown in Washington State, Cascadia hops are now found worldwide. Two Cheyenne breweries, Accomplice Beer Company and Blue Raven Brewing Company, presented the same type of American Pale Ale but brewed with Cascadia hops from different locations. Accomplice brewed theirs with hops from New York while Blue Raven brewed theirs with hops from Canada.

“We’re doing a presentation at the Wyoming Brewers Conference in September where we chose pale ale as a style and we’re comparing the tare war of hops,” said Victor Gabriel, head brewer at Accomplice Beer Company.

A Matter of Taste

Despite all the technical details, it seems what makes a good pale ale can still be subjective.

“A good pale ale has a lot of the hop flavor without quite the bite of the hop. It’s not quite as hoppy as an IPA, but more hoppy than a standard Pilsner. It has a lot of that flavor. Ours has a strong grapefruit note from the hops. Ours is pretty smooth, too,” said Katie Kiever of Gruner Brothers Brewing of Casper. “It should be a little easier to drink than an IPA, a little bit better for a hot summer day.”

Gruner won People’s Choice for their North Platte American Pale Ale.

As it would turn out, it wouldn’t be either an IPA or an APA which would get the nod from the judges. Instead, it was the only English Pale Ale in the competition, the E-Z Breezer submitted by Freedom’s Edge Brewing Company of Cheyenne. Much like its American cousin, though, it came down to one thing.

“Balance, especially in an English Pale Ale,” said Eric Kilmer, co-owner of Freedom’s Edge. “The malts and the hops have to marry just right so that nothing’s really coming to the front. It’s easy drinking, you forget that you’re drinking a beer and you’re having a good time.”

According to Eric, the judges told him that the E-Z Breezer was “perfect to style.”

“There’s a framework that you’re supposed to fit in and when someone says you fit in there perfect, that’s a pretty good compliment,” said Eric.

The E-Z Breezer made the Freedom’s Edge a back-to-back winner. Last year, the brewery won with their sour beer, the Beerlini Punch. For Eric and his wife, Mariah, another win came as validation to their brewing approach.

“I actually just reached out to my business partner, the head brewer Joel (Emerick), and I asked him if they put anything where the trophy was before because it’s coming back home,” said Eric. “It feels great, reassuring that what we do in-house is good stuff. It’s good to be recognized by your peers.”

“Going up against breweries like Snake River, we know their pale ale is excellent,” said Mariah. “It’s a badge of honor to be able to be where we’re at right now with our pale ale.”