Pale Ale

What is Pale Ale?

Pale ale, originating in England, is a copper-coloured beer with a hoppy character. Today, the pale ale family encompasses a range of variations in terms of strength, hop content, and colour.

Origin Story

The roots of pale ale date to 17th-18th-century England, where brewers introduced the term "pale ale" to refer to beers that were not dark in colour. It was first mentioned in writing in 1703.

Until that time, practically all beers were brown due to the absence of adequate methods, expertise, or technology for crafting lighter malts. The introduction of coke made it possible to brew lighter beers. As it burned cleaner and emitted less soot than charcoal, it could produce considerably lighter malts: reddish rather than brown.

Both pale ale and bitter were used to describe these lighter-coloured beers: brewers preferred pale ale, but consumers tended to use bitter. This gives us a clue about the flavour profile of these beers: pale ales were hoppier and therefore more bitter than other common English ales like porters and mild ales. 

Pale ales began to spread more widely in the mid-19th century when the development of the railway network made it easier to transport and distribute beer. 

During the 19th century, the even more celebrated Indian pale ale (IPA) evolved from pale ale.