Robin Shepard
Parched Eagle Brewing is one of Madison’s smallest breweries. It’s operated a one-barrel house in Westport since 2015 and opened a slightly larger taproom on East Washington Avenue in 2017. Parched Eagle is now introducing 12-ounce cans of its Crane Ale. It’s a beer that has been a mainstay since the brewery opened.
What is it? Crane Ale from Parched Eagle Brewing
Style: The American pale ale is a medium-bodied beer with solid hop character in flavor and aroma. American pale ales feature American hop varieties that lend strong floral, fruity, citrus or resiny character. English pale ales often have an herbal hop character. The pale ale will commonly range from 4.4 to 5.4 ABV.
Background: Brewery owner and brewmaster Jim Goronson picked Crane Ale for his first can release because it’s an all-around favorite of his taproom customers. The recipe dates back to 2010, Goronson’s home brewing days. At that time, he drew inspiration from regional variations of the style like Great Lakes Brewing’s Burning River and Three Floyds Brewing Company’s Alpha King. Both are assertively hopped beers with a modest malty background.
Parched Eagle’s new release of Crane Ale is tweaked slightly from its original form. It now features Nugget (instead of Simcoe) hops for bittering along with Amarillo and Centennial for flavor. The latter two are used in dry-hopping the beer for a bump in aroma.
Goronson turned to Madison’s Ale Asylum for help in making the larger batch size and packaging. The label artwork featuring a distinctive crane was developed by local artist David Mueller.
Crane Ale finishes at 5.8 percent ABV and 44 IBUs. It sells over the bar at Parched Eagle for $5/glass. You can find six-packs at both Parched Eagle locations, and at a handful of local liquor stores selling for $8-$9/each. Goronson is self-distributing and the list of locations is initially limited.
Goronson’s next release in a six-pack will be a double-dry-hopped German pilsner.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Light to medium notes of citrus. An even lighter herbal pine aroma.
- Appearance: Clear copper with a thick, bubbly, light tan head.
- Texture: Medium-bodied and bubbly.
- Taste: Firm hoppy citrus notes dominate up front, while the resiny, spicy and woody bitterness comes in later and as the beer warms.
- Finish/Aftertaste: A light lingering spicy dry bitterness.
Glassware: The Willi Becher moves the citrus aroma under the nose, while its tall slender shape shows off the clean copper-amber color of Crane Ale.
Pairs well with: modestly spicy pizza and flatbreads.
The Verdict: The American pale ale style has been pushed aside as drinkers look to more assertive hop combinations. However, pale ales like Crane Ale shouldn’t be overlooked. This pale ale is flavorful and well balanced. The Nugget and Centennial hops stand out, offering resiny bitterness matched by a malty backbone that provides depth of flavor. The recent tweaking of the recipe hasn’t changed it much; there is now just a bit more spicy hop character. There’s still nothing too flashy about Crane Ale: this is a drinkable hop-forward beer with balance.
