as my eyes surveyed the shelves of our upstairs refrigerator, i happened upon a can of beer that wasn’t miller lite, a strange sight in our house.  we are a miller family, thanks to mark and kathleen, and i promise i mean it in the best of ways, really!

back to the mysterious can of pale ale beer:  i plucked it from its spot and read “good people brewing company.”

“dad, isn’t good people a local birmingham place?”

“yes, somewhere downtown, i think.”

“cool.  can i give it a try?”

“of course!” he sweetly obliged.  i popped that can open and gave it a sip, immediately thrown, for no apparent reason, by its innate hoppy taste.  i typically know what i like and what i do not like, and pale ales tend to be on the latter list.  however, i am determined to like pale ales because they seem so cool and trendy, a real “beer drinker” beer.

not one to shy away and let something go to waste, i poured the beer into a frozen pint glass.  my hopes were that drinking it out of the can was my mistake, and to my pleasant surprise, it did go down much more smoothly out of the chilled vessel.

american pale ales are the game at good people, and they offer five varieties year-round.  apa’s are known for their generous quantities of american hops that distinguish them from european or british pale ales.  well, since i usually stray away from choices that are on the hoppier end of the spectrum, i took this chance to learn more about this particular beer and strive to find something i like in it.  things i like about it?  it’s on the lighter side and has subtle caramel tones that you can really taste if you really stop and think about it.

as i sit here writing to you, my adoring fan, i happily notice that my glass is nearly empty.  i’ve drunk an entire pale ale with nearly no complaint at all!  as i take the last few sips to finish it off, i pleasantly notice that it is not as hoppy as i thought.  it’s just that first taste you get, right on the middle of your tongue, that catches me off guard each time.  perhaps pale ales are one of those brews that you have to drink much of to really like it…?  am i reaching here?  perhaps, but at least i stuck with it, right?  right!  i’ll take a moment to pat myself on the back here.

if pale ales are your thing, and you live in alabama or tennessee, look in your local grocer for good people beer.  from what i gather on their site, the pale ale is the least bitter.  they’ve got a brown ale that looks like it could be a contender for me, but it might be one i try with someone else close by, so that i can kindly offer it to them in case it’s not for me.