Civil Life Pale Ale

Introducing Our Newest Beer: Civil Life's Pale Ale
We just started pouring our newest beer called simply Pale Ale. For those who follow the intricacies of craft beer, it drinks very much like what the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) calls British Golden Ale. It’s basically a type of pale bitter. In Australia, beers called Sparkling Ale fall into this category. But all of this nomenclature makes drinking a refreshing ale unnecessarily complicated.


Our Pale Ale sits somewhere between our bitter and our APA. It’s something of a hybrid, with English ingredients predominating, but some American hops adding pleasant bitterness and some spice, citrus, and floral notes. There is a little bready malt, but less than the bitter. It is noticeably less hoppy than our APA.


We start with good old Maris Otter, a classic English barley, as a base. We use our ESB yeast strain and finish the beer with both Cascade and First Gold hops. The result is a beer for all seasons. Crisp, dry, and quenching with a very pleasing sharp, spicy hop finish. The beer is light bodied with subtle malt and layers of spice, citrus, stone fruit, and floral characteristics. It’s food friendly and session strength.


We hope the Civil Life Pale Ale becomes one of your favorites and that it soon graces the tap towers of the finest bars in the area. You can enjoy “pale ale” without worrying about categories and classification schemes. In a world of extreme styles and ever-changing trends, Civil Pale Ale is a true classic.


And as with all of our beers, it’s value priced. An imperial pint of delicious ale for five dollars is the best deal around. We like to think that craft beer is just beer the way it’s supposed to be, the way, in fact, it was for many years. That’s why we take so many cues from beer brewing countries like England and Germany, where great beer has a long, uninterrupted history.


Please join us at the pub soon and try our new beer. And let us know what you think. Many customers tell us, “you just don’t make a bad beer.” We appreciate your confidence and support and remain unflagging in our efforts to keep making the best beer we can for you. It’s been almost six years … we couldn’t have done it without you. We’re raising a pint of  Pale Ale to you now. Keep drinking and being civil!