We know that a lot of you are interested to hear what we are going to brew at Trek. The answer John likes to give is “Any kind of beer we like to drink.” Good news guys… that’s pretty much all the beers.  

The additional good news is – John is pretty darn good at brewing across styles. He’s won medals in several different categories of beers, from lighter ales, to red ales, to stouts and barley wines. We’re going to start picking out some beers to highlight for you all and for you to get excited about. We’re still working on naming the beers for our taproom – it’s surprisingly difficult to select a name that hasn’t already been a beer. We’ll keep you posted when decisions are made, I promise. However, we’ll refer to them generically for now. The first style we’re going to highlight is John’s Pale Ale.

Pale Ales are notoriously lighter in color but they pack a surprising amount of flavor. They are often moderately hoppy, and are usually in the lower-to-mid range as far as ABV (alcohol by volume). Pale Ales are the gateway beer to the “granddaddy” of the category; IPA.

Pale ales originated from England at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Coal was widely used to power machines, and the coke that was derived from coal allowed for the production of steel. The advent of coke, gave manufacturers an alternative to wood for their kilns, and better kilns were built out of the steel. All of these things are important to our story because they made it possible to make malt that was not brown or smoky but instead pale. (Ah-ha!) This pale malt begot pale ale, which made its first appearance during the reign of Queen Anne.

When you pick up a pint of Pale Ale from Trek, you’ll get an extremely drinkable beer. John’s Pale Ale is golden in color. It is brewed featuring Cascade and Centennial hops, which give a pleasant, citrusy flavor. John designed this beer to be “sessionable” meaning it’s a beer that is low in alcohol content – about 5%. This beer is a go-to pick for us year round; it’s as easy to drink on an extremely hot day as it is on a frigid one. It will become a staple in the taproom at Trek.

We’ve been enjoying the Pale for a few weeks now, and we’ve pushed a few growlers of our test brew out into the wild here in Ohio. If you’ve had it, we’re interested to hear your thoughts! Share them loud and often on social media. Or, if you’re a really awesome friend- share your beer.

Stay tuned for some more pictures of demo happening over at Trek. I apologize that it has been a slow week on Facebook. I started a new job this week and I’ve been working hard to figure it all out! I have not forgotten you all, and more pictures/progress notes are coming ASAP.

Cheers to you friends! We can’t wait to share this awesome beer with you.