It’s known for its balance of fruity, citrus, and herbal flavors, all with a caramel malt backbone. Named for a miniature local fish, it began as an entry in a Ballast Point employee home brewing competition.

This award-winning pale ale has an interesting origin story. 8) Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale Ballast Point

Keep scrolling to see how your favorite pale ale stacked up. And with spring having sprung, we decided the time was right to pick eight well-known pale ales and rank them based on balance and flavor. There are a ton of great choices available almost anywhere.

Nowadays, you can walk into any grocer, supermarket, or beer store and find a seemingly endless number of American pale ales. This has led to countless brewers emulating his style all while adding their own unique takes on the style. The original English-style pale all is known more for its malts than hops, but when Grossman dropped the now iconic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, he made something focused on the floral and citrus aromas and flavors of Cascade hops. Way back in 1980, Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman decided to make a pale ale that utilized the aromatic, flavorful hops found in the Pacific Northwest: Cascade hops. Even though the IPA gets all the press, it’s the American pale ale that we can thank (at least in part) for the epic rise in hoppy craft brews in the US over the past forty years.

Snappy origin