Last month I started a two-part series on my sherbrookeliquor.com Beer 101 column on overlooked beer styles. These are beer that, despite still being satisfying, delicious and challenging to brew, are often overlooked these days by beer aficionados. My first part looked at a number of styles, including pale lagers, that are unfairly maligned (you can read it here). The second part came out last week and looks at some styles that might be overlooked in a list of being overlooked (if you get what I mean). You can read the second part here.

As in the first part, I highlight a few different styles, explain why I think they are unfairly ignored and offer a couple decent suggestions available in Alberta (mostly). I start with pale lagers darker sister – amber lager. Amber lager gets absolutely no love these days. Not as full or interesting as an Oktoberfest, not as crisp as a pilsner, they fall in to a no-mans-land of beer. Yet, there are many moments when I feel an amber lager would hit the spot.

I also discuss blonde and cream ales, which are not really a surprise they get seen as boring, even though a well-made version definitely is not. I have written my defence of English Bitter before, which is also included. Bitter is a marvelous style (I am sipping on my latest homebrewed ESB as I write this) with amazing malt characteristics balanced by enough hops to keep the beer interesting. However, in this world of big citrusy IPAs, they tend to get lost. Such a shame.

I point to Irish Red Ales and the general red ale thing as well. They too often truly are boring, but the well-done examples are remarkably enjoyable.

My last style may surprise some. I add Pale Ale to the list for a reason. It used to be the alpha male of craft beer. Fifteen years ago every craft brewery worth its salt had to have one. They were the beer for the real craft fan. Fortunately and unfortunately the evolution of consumers’ palates have led them toward  hoppy IPAs, Double IPAs, barrel-aged beer and the like. The bitter but balanced pale ale couldn’t compete. They started to become a second tier beer. Unfairly in my opinion.

I remember ten or so years ago railing against faux-craft versions of pale ale – breweries making an insipid version to capture in on the name. That doesn’t happen anymore, simply because few bother to brew a pale ale anymore. I think that is a shame. As I have said before (here, for example) Alley Kat’s Full Moon Pale Ale was long a go-to beer for me – something I could knew I could always rely on. Flavourful with a nice citrus hop kick but with enough balance you can have more than one. Full Moon, of course, is now an IPA, and there are few quality pale ales left. There are still a few – I am a fan of Collective Arts Rhyme and Reason for example – but they are much harder to find than a decade ago.

Every one of the styles I discussed are quite attractive. They are hard to brew. They offer real flavour. Yet, somehow, they get ignored by the throngs of drinkers looking for the newest, biggest thing they can find. All I will say is: find some time for these old reliables. I promise you won’t be disappointed (if you keep your mind open).