Craft Pale Ales

BY TIM TEBEAU

Dubbed the perfect session beer for its smooth equilibrium of lightly roasted malt and subtle hop nuance, the pale ale, or bitter beer, is one of the most widely guzzled in contemporary craft brew culture. Typically sporting a light copper color, pale ale flashes floral, citrus and herbal aromas, smooth medium-weight mouthfeel and a faint residual bitterness. Pale ale, happy to fly solo, is also the definitive pal of new and old school pub fare as its lightly bitter edge complements all things fried, cured, smoked or salted. Read on as we drain the bitter glass Up North style.

North Peak Pale Ale

400 1/2 W. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231-941-7325, NORTHPEAK.NET

The runaway favorite of North Peak patrons, Dave Hale’s rich American-style pale ale, shows a solid malt backbone with mild caramel and citrus notes.

Short’s Pandemonium Pale Ale

121 N. BRIDGE STREET, BELLAIRE, 231-533-6622, SHORTSBREWING.COM

Short’s brings the ‘bitter hysteria’ with their cultish and hopdriven take on pale ale. Sweet caramel on the initial attack gives way to bright fruit and floral aromas finishing with a trace of earthy, bitter hops.

Right Brain Brewery Will Power Pale Ale

221 GARLAND ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231-944-1239, RIGHTBRAINBREWERY.COM

Smooth with the signature citrus undertones of Cascade hops, Right Brain’s pale ale has a bitter, enduring finish that pairs brilliantly with lake perch and remoulade.

Dave Hale

Mackinaw Brewing Company Peninsula Pale Ale

161 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231-933-1100, MACKINAWBREWING.COM

Mackinaw Brewing’s Peninsula pale ale has assertive hop and floral aromas that give way to a light caramel sweetness to complement barbecue pork.

Leelanau Brewing Company Petoskey Pale LEELANAUBEER.COM

Brewed and barrel-aged at Jolly Pumpkin, Petoskey pale shows apricot and bright citrusy hop notes somewhat reminiscent of the Franco-Belgian farmhouse style. Yum!

BREWER, NORTH PEAK BREWING, TRAVERSE CITY

A refugee from the Detroit suburbs, North Peak’s new brewer Dave Hale caught the craft beer fever in the taproom at Bell’s during his college years and followed the foam to beer school in Davis, California. After apprenticeships in the West, Hale returned to Michigan to brew at Bell’s and Arcadia before joining North Peak last May. We grab Dave for a pint and a few words on pale ale.

Pale Ale is definitely North Peak’s signature. What defines your approach?

As a brewer, I’m very style-driven, I want pale ale that tastes like pale ale. That means a beer that is very drinkable and has some bitter character that’s set off by light to medium caramel sweetness. We go for a less aggressive hop presence in our pale ale and focus on balance.

What do you recommend for soaking up a few pints of pale ale?

Pale ale and fish and chips are the proverbial peanut butter and jelly of beer and food pairings, which goes back to the beer’s English roots. Because pales don’t have huge, dominating flavors themselves they can pair with a wide range of foods. I also think of them as the quintessential burger beer.

Food editor Tim Tebeau writes from Petoskey. dining@traversemagazine.com