So you like Pale Ales – tropical, American or otherwise – but do you know how they came to taste the way they do, and why? Well, with the range of them available we thought we should take a quick look at their history.

As with a lot of things, technology played a big part in the rise of Pale Ales. There came a point in time when new technology allowed brewers to kiln their grain in a more controlled way – instead of roasting it completely, they could control the temperatures to effectively produce a more lightly coloured malt from their barley.

Combined with all the regular ingredients (and brewed just right) this lightly coloured malt produced the first Pale Ales. England and parts of Europe were touted to be the first to create the style, with the Americans coming to the party using their regional ingredients in the late 1970s. At that point in the US they’d found a new species of hop to accompany the lighter malt, which produced characteristics of lychee and grapefruit.

It was a pretty exciting time for the US, with their version of the Pale Ale effectively kicking off the craft brewing revolution.

Our 28 California Pale Ale gives a little nod to these original American Pale Ales, boasting a complex fruity character of citrus, grapefruit, passionfruit and lychee. Like all our beers, the 28 is brewed from only malted barley, hops, yeast and water.

Check the 28 Pale Ale out here.

Since the ’70s, though there’s been plenty of developments in Pale Ales including the Tropically flavoured variety that we now know and love.

You might’ve heard, we also brew one of those here in Burleigh with local ingredients that lives up to its tropical name offering flavours of orange, mango and papaya by way of the hops. Again, despite the fruity character you might be surprised that we brew it with nothing but malted barley, hops, yeast and water.
Take a look at our Twisted Palm Tropical Pale Ale here.

Have you still got an unanswered question about craft beer or Burleigh Beer? Let us know below and we’ll add it to the list of topics for Brennan the brewmaster to talk about. Follow us on Facebook to see the video as soon as it comes out!