Beer Styles

The region's flagship beers are American Pale Ale and American IPA. That fits with the local hops: Cascade, a US classic, grows right on El Bolsón's doorstep and defines the style in which it first became famous.

An American Pale Ale is a golden to copper-colored, top-fermented beer with a pronounced citrus aroma. According to the style guidelines of the BJCP competition handbook, it runs around 4.5 to 6.2 percent alcohol with moderate bitterness. It's the entry point for anyone trying hopped craft beer for the first time, and it appears on nearly every menu in the Comarca Andina. There, it typically tastes fresher and more floral than comparable beers from overseas, since the hops and the brewery sit just a few kilometers apart.

The IPA is bolder. The abbreviation stands for India Pale Ale, a pale, heavily hopped beer that originally succeeded as an export beer, especially to India. The American version runs 5.5 to 7.5 percent alcohol with plenty of bitterness, along with aromas of grapefruit, pine, and resin.

The difference between the two comes down to quantity: the IPA gets more hops and more malt, so the bitterness doesn't stand alone. The Pale Ale stays lighter and less bitter. Both count as top-fermented ales and are close relatives—just pitched at different volumes.

Dark beers like stout and porter also appear on many menus in the region, though they don't follow any fixed regional style standard. Anyone looking for specifics needs to check with the individual brewery.