The Gateway to Craft Beer: Philadelphia Pale Ale
My introduction to craft beer came a few years back when I decided to branch out from local favorite Yuengling to some other styles produced by nearby breweries. Like many people who live in Philadelphia, Yards Brewing had a profound impact on my early craft beer experiences. The sampler to this day includes the Brawler, ESA, IPA, and Philadelphia Pale Ale. It was inexpensive and of much higher quality than what I was used to.
The Philadelphia Pale Ale, however, stood out even more than the rest. Amazingly drinkable, refreshing, and unique, this grapefruit-tinged beer would prove to be my go-to brew whether it was a 90-degree day in the midst of the summer or a crisp day in mid-October. Not too sweet, heavy, or bitter, the Philly Pale Ale is the epitome of a session beer. Hell, even the label on the bottle screams “class”. It would be the beer that led me to the beer genre, if you will, of the pale ale at large, which, in turn, led me to the wondrous world of IPAs. It would also become the beer that I would use to get friends into craft beer as well as the fantastic beer scene of Philadelphia.
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