Patriotic Pale, Revolutionary IPA
American Brewing Co., Edmonds
Style: Pale Ale, India Pale Ale
Stats: Patriotic: 5.8 percent ABV, 45 IBU; Revolutionary: 6 percent ABV, 80 IBU
Available: At the brewery and most local bottleshops
My thoughts: Budweiser recently pandered to all lovers of the ol’ red, white and blue by boasting that it will be renaming its “classic” lager “America” for the summer.
Putting aside the fact that Budweiser isn’t even owned by an American company — and the opinion that this is a large red-warning-light of desperation from the country’s most recognizable macro beer brand — I think it’s interesting that anyone would even think of Budweiser as inherently “American.”
When I think of America, I think of hard-working entrepreneurs striving to grow and using capitalism to reach their dreams. That sounds an awful lot like what craft brewers are doing during this craft beer renaissance in America, and especially in the Northwest.
That’s why I wanted to highlight a couple of “American” beers you should drink this summer instead of Budweiser. American Brewing head brewer Adam Frantz recently released these two ales and both are a nice improvement on American’s flagship lineup.
The Patriotic Pale has a bit more upfront hoppiness than most pales. It’s well-balanced and very drinkable, and puts to shame anything currently being brewed in St. Louis.
The citrus flavors really shine through in the Revolutionary IPA, which is a nice update on the brewery’s flagship IPA, Breakaway IPA. The bitterness and the malt in the Revolutionary is toned down, accentuating the hops and making it a very drinkable IPA and a good Northwest-style IPA. Frantz said that more dry hopping and late additions of hops give the beer a lighter but still flavorful hop profile.
American Brewing will host a release party for the Patriotic Pale and Revolutionary IPA at the brewery on May 12.
From the brewery: Patriotic Pale Ale: This Northwest style pale ale is made with copious amounts of Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Aromas of stone fruit, pine, and orange peel lightly accent this highly drinkable pale ale. It is medium-bodied and decently bitter with lingering citrus hop flavors that balance the sweet caramel undertones from the malt profile.
Revolutionary IPA: This IPA is designed to be the first shot of the American Brewing Revolution. Hopped with Citra and Amarillo all the way through to the dry hop, this beer comes across loaded with citrus and melon flavors to back up an assertive bitterness. We’ve dialed back the specialty malts to let the hops shine, but added just enough to accent them perfectly. Light-bodied with a beautiful orange color, this beer may have the British thinking twice about what they gave up.
A photo posted by Aaron Swaney (@swaney_aaron79) on May 10, 2016 at 8:35pm PDT
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