Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The granddaddy of dilemma is for someone else to explain, but when it comes to beer, particularly ales and lagers, we’re glad to reveal that all beers were, in fact, ales.    

Before lagers, only a single yeast family made beers, and that’s ale yeast. It was only recently, around 150 years, that lager yeast was used, skyrocketing into popularity and never looked back. Even so, the wider variety of ales makes them intriguing for a lot of craft drinkers, thanks in large part to the strain that produces incredible flavor compounds. (Read this blog to discover more about the potent ingredient).  

Let’s move forward by looking back at the origins of some ale substyles, which have become mainstays in the lineup of many craft breweries around the world including Engkanto Brewery.  

A revolutionary revival in the Pale Ale

One of the cornerstones of the American craft beer revolution, Pale Ale beer has its roots traced back to English pubs from the 1800s. ‘Pale’ was a term coined to make the distinction of typically amber to copper beer to the dark-colored Porter. They also preferred more malt character and lower alcohol content in the Pale Ale, something that modern American brewers gave a twist.  

Amid the huge popularity of fizzy macro lagers in the United States, modern homebrewers from the eighties burst out of obscurity to introduce the American Pale Ale—hoppier, more bitter, and stronger alcohol content. They adopted the original style of the English Pale Ale, which faded out of popularity, then used local hops to give it their interpretation.   

Hop Coolture Pale Ale is our modern take on the American Pale Ale. The first, limited release of this seasonal hop-forward beer used Cryo-Pop Hops from Yakima Chief Hops based in Yakima Valley, Washington. Our creativity in brewing continues with Hop Coolture Series 2, which will showcase new hop varieties.  

IPAs and the immense creativity in craft 

Another example of a classic beer style that originated in England, India Pale Ale, now more referred to as IPA, is attributed to brewers from London, England. The IPA’s distinct character is its increased hopping to survive the long boat journeys of British soldiers to India in the 1800s, along with the significant bitterness and a dry finish.  

Modern US craft brewers once again adapted and revived the IPA from its English origin, which gave way to the American IPA, a style that emerged in the mid-seventies with increased usage of New World hops. The huge popularity of the IPA in the United States opened the doors to substyles like the Double IPA and the Hazy IPA.  

Clearing the air among the different IPAs, the style with distinct bitterness is known as West Coast IPA, referring to the place of origin in the US West Coast. Hazy IPA, coming out of New England on the East Coast, has a distinct hazy appearance from the use of oats and is typically less bitter. Finally, the Double IPA is the strongest of all, albeit it’s not really doubled, but made more assertive.  

A tasting session of different IPAs, particularly True Brew West Coast IPA, Mango Nation Hazy IPA, and Green Lava Double IPA will help you compare and appreciate the difference of one from the other. 

Honey Ale makes a buzz with a local ingredient 

Honey beers, a specialty style on its own, can either be a lager or an ale. In our case, High Hive is an ale that has subtle sweetness that’s not overwhelming. The fascinating connection of bees and fermented alcoholic drinks is commonly associated to mead and braggot, a couple of old-world beverages found in Europe and Africa. 

High Hive Honey Ale gets its distinct character come from locally sourced honey in the apiaries of Baguio. The unique, native floral surrounding of the endemic bees helps them produce the distinct aroma and flavor character of the honey in our award-winning beer.