pale ale

Long before bright golden lager was developed in Continental Europe, British brewers had created a stir with translucent ales. A true pale ale is not golden, it is at least bronze, if not amber-red. There is a long history of brewing pale ale in England, where in my opinion, it is both lighter and sweeter than here in America. I prefer stronger, hoppier pale ales. Excellent examples of North American pale ales are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Anchor Liberty Ale. Liberty has supplanted SN Pale as my favorite pale ale.

If a pale ale leaves you wanting, (difficult to imagine with Liberty Ale), than you can step up to an India Pale Ale. IPAs were originally brewed by the British, who realized that strong, richly hopped ales survived the long trip by sea to India better than milder ales. An excellent example is Victory's Hop Devil India Pale Ale.