For eight and a half years, Off Color has been exploring underserved styles of beer and we now feel traditional American Pale Ale fits in that category. But they always add their own little twist, so their American Pale Ale differs from the most traditional in several ways. First, they use pilsner malt as the base with only a small amount of pale malt and very light toasted caramel malts. The base is designed to showcase Cascade hops in all their piney, grapefruity glory. To do this, Off Color selected from several different whole cone Cascade hop lots from their supplier in the Pacific Northwest. As the boiled wort is transferred to the fermentation vessel, it runs through a hop back full of whole Cascade hop cones. This infuses the wort with hop essential oils while minimizing the myrcene oils and limiting the grassy flavor often associated with dry hopping, but still imparting a strong hop aroma. Strong hop aromas of grapefruit, pine, orange rind, and pear are the focus that mostly dominates a slightly sweet, bread crumb base. These hop aromatics make it a Beer for Lounging, as hop oils have a sedative quality, while a moderate alcohol content (5% ABV) stops short of making this a Beer for Passing Out. Maybe Off Color doesn’t need to explain why they made this American Pale Ale, maybe they are stupid for not doing it earlier… but for a peek into the site glass of their minds, check out the Medium post featuring this beer.
And the capybara? As it happens, the world’s largest rodent is a a very chill, social creature — who apparently welcomes animals of all shapes and sizes to use it as a chair, to lounge upon if you will. Here’s the Tumblr that tickled Off Color’s ribs, particularly co-founder Dave’s, and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face (or at least provide you a break from all the doom scrolling). So, crack open a can of Beer for Lounging and enjoy the show!
Launching today at Mousetrap with Chicago area distribution beginning next week. To ensure freshness, this APA will not see wide distribution. They only want the best for you. And in this case, fresh beer is best.
Terry Bunch
