Judges at the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver handed out medals in 83 categories in September, but no beer type received more attention than pale ale. That’s because pale ale is divided into seven distinct categories for the annual judging to accommodate stylistic variations and the sheer volume of entries. And if you think that is splitting hairs, consider these facts:
- The American-Style India Pale Ale category is perennially the hottest contested style. This year Elevated IPA from La Cumbre Brewing in Albuquerque, NM, was selected as the gold medalist out of 176 entries.
- Just five of the 83 categories at the 2011 GABF attracted more than 100 entries. Four of those categories were pale ale styles.
- While the seven pale ale categories account for 8 percent of the styles judged, they attracted 15 percent of the total entries.
Clearly there is nothing that gets American craft brewers competitive juices flowing like the opportunity to proclaim they make the best pale ale in the nation. Brewers know that many consumers judge a brewery’s worth based on the quality of the pale ale they push across the bar.
Ask volunteers pouring at the GABF—or nearly all other beer festivals for that matter–and they will tell you that “I’ll have your pale ale” is the most common phrase they hear. That can get a little confusing at some booths. For instance, Firestone Walker Brewing from California took home GABF medals this year for no less than five pale ales: Firestone Walker Extra Pale Ale, Pale 31, Mission St. Pale, Double Jack and DBA. So exactly which pale ale do you want?
Chris Erickson, a brewer at Snake River Brewing in Jackson, WY, said it is hard to put your finger exactly on why both brewers and beer drinkers appear to be drawn to pale ales.
“You can’t come up with some new crazy thing and push it on people. That’s been tried and it doesn’t work,” Erickson said. “People are drawn to certain flavor notes. Some people crave hops. Once they are into hops, they need more and more to get the flavor. That’s why they like pale ales.”
