Malt & Grain

What malt goes into an American Pale Ale? The foundation is pale barley malt—barley that's been allowed to germinate and then kilned, meaning gently dried in an oven. A small portion of caramel malt, called crystal malt in the US, is added too. It's heated while still moist until the sugar inside the kernel caramelizes, lending the beer color and a touch of sweetness.

California is an agricultural powerhouse, but not really barley country. The Sacramento Valley around Chico is known more for rice and almonds, while the slopes of Sonoma and Mendocino belong to wine. Breweries here source their malt from maltsters based in the barley-growing regions further inland and out west.

In both Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Pliny the Elder, malt plays the same role: stepping aside. A West Coast IPA should taste clean, bright, and dry, letting the hops take center stage. For an American Pale Ale, the original gravity—meaning the dissolved sugar in the wort before fermentation—falls between 11.2 and 14.7 degrees Plato according to BJCP guidelines. For a Double IPA, it climbs to 15.9 through 20.5.

Achieving high strength with a dry finish is an art in itself. Some brewers add a bit of dextrose, which ferments out completely and keeps the beer leaner. This is perfectly legal in the US, since there's no Reinheitsgebot to worry about.

These beers have little in common with the malt-forward profile of Munich beer. Where Munich beer tastes of bread crust, Pale Ale and IPA from Northern California are meant to taste of grapefruit and pine resin—malt stays firmly in the background.