BJCP style (2015) for S & W Pacific Ale

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amarks6

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Do any of you learned people know what BJCP style the popular Pacific Ale would fall under?

It doesn't really seem to fit the bill for anything.

Has anyone entered something similar in a comp? What style did you call it?

Cheers.
 
American wheat seems to be the closest BJCP style in both the old and current style guides; British golden ale is also a possibility in the current one.
 
English summer ale is not a bjcp style, American Wheat is the pacific ale guide.
 
Would also probably fit into the British Golden ale style (12A in the 2015 style guideline): "A hop forward, average-strength to moderately-strong pale bitter", "well hopped, quenching beer with and emphasis on showcasing hops".
 
My 2c: It should be a separate category.

Light sparkling ale with a little maltiness and a solid hops impact on aroma & flavour but with minimal (smooth) bitterness, and virtually no yeast element other than a moderate attenuation.

Doesn't fit into any current category properly - it's not really a wheat (i disagree it has much "wheat element" and i'd suspect the %-age is quite low, despite what is frequently reported to be the %wheat); and is different to typical milds. Too light to be an APA & bitterness is too low, no yeast element and too strong in hoppiness to be an Aussie Sparkling Ale. Not sure wtf an UK Summer ale is. Is close to a British Golden Ale, but i'd wonder if the hops elements are quite (distinctly) different to what is typical for BGA - similar to the difference between an English Pale Ale & an APA, which prompted the recognition of a new style, the APA.

Time for a new style: Pacific Ale.

FWIW, i've already added a customised entry into my ianh spreadsheet for Pacific Ale:

Aussie Pacific Ale 1.030 1.045 1.005 1.015 15 35 6 10.0 3.5 5.0
OG min OG max FG min FG max IBU min IBU max EBC min EBC max Alc% min Alc% max

I'm not sure where i got these specs from - i think i might've cobbled them together a bit, so grats to whomever the sources were.
 
UK Golden or Summer Ales are mentioned in the 2008 BJCP guide but only as a type of Bitter or Best Bitter brewed with pale malts. However British Golden Ale has been "split off" as a distinct style in the 2015 guide and references to Summer Ales have disappeared.

There's a lot more to it, IMHO.. I can remember back in the 1970s a lot of popular bitters and best bitters were lager coloured and brewed just from base malt, and would pass as a Golden or "Summer" ale - not that such a "style" existed back then. Examples were Stones Yorkshire Bitter from Sheffield, and Theakstons.
Over the years Theakston has been darkened.

Boddingtons and Tetley were also extremely pale compared to modern versions.

Since the majors closed down in Sheffield, including Stones, the Abbeydale craft brewery there does a tribute beer that looks spot on from what I remember.

Abbeyvale bitter.jpg


"Summer Lightning", that BJCP credits with kicking off the style, was a latecomer. However BJCP often just plain misses the point with UK beers.

Anyway none of that helps the Pacific Ale argument :lol:
 

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