10 Great California Pale Ales

Top 10 California

Food GPS beer editor Sean Inman chooses 10 great California beers by style.

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Drake’s Brewing – Alpha Session Ale

For the amount of alcohol, this beer is really flavorful. I get some citrus notes. Good amount of sticky bitterness. Pours a nice orange color. Good citrus aroma. Awesome session beer.

Firestone Walker – Pale 31

Firestone gets a lot of press for their barrel-aged beers and love for their sour program but Pale 31 is a delicate but stridently hoppy golden colored ale that on tap is fantastic.

Noble Ale Works – Breakaway Pale Ale

Very similar to the IPA they brew in many respects and I can’t believe that it is only 5% ABV. Pours a pretty orange color. Like the IPA it has a big aroma that hits the nose. This really coats the tongue in grapefruit and I like it.

Sierra Nevada – Pale Ale

This is the aforementioned forerunner.  The ubiquitous green label (in cans and bottles) can be found practically everywhere and will soon be brewed in North Carolina too.  This is the pale to compare to all other comers.

El Segundo Brewing Co. – Citra Pale Ale

Rob Croxall has a new IPA out and has a following for his Two 5 Left Double IPA but he makes a mean pale ale and the Citra version is the top in a very close race.  Find it in bottles or head to their taproom to try it.

Bonus points to those who counted 11 entries.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.

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Sean Inman

Find more of Sean Inman's writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.

Blog Comments

I have had Hoppy Birthday in sample form at a couple of festivals but due to the nature of the Fest atmosphere, I wasn’t able to try it at it’s best. It is good, Alpine knows the hop, for sure. Maybe with the increased capacity they are getting, it will come around more often!

Alpine’s Hoppy Birthday is the best pale ale (APA) you can get in California. They don’t brew it often, so maybe Sean hasn’t tried it…?

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