Collection: Norfolk Pale Ale

Discover pale ales brewed in Norfolk by independent breweries across the county – from light, refreshing and citrusy beers to fuller, hoppier modern pale ales packed with fruit and aroma.

Pale Ale is a wonderfully broad beer style. One Norfolk pale might be crisp, golden and easy-drinking, while another might deliver tropical fruit, citrus and considerably more hop character.

What connects them is a brewing tradition that has a particularly natural home in Norfolk – a county renowned for its barley and increasingly for the independent breweries turning it into distinctive modern beer.

What does Norfolk Pale Ale taste like?

There's no single answer – and that's part of its appeal.

Norfolk pale ales can offer flavours and aromas of lemon, grapefruit and orange through to mango, pineapple and other tropical fruits, depending particularly upon the hops used.

Behind the hops you'll usually find a malt character that provides balance, ranging from very light and clean to gently sweet, biscuity or bready.

Some pale ales emphasise refreshment and drinkability; others put hops and aroma much more firmly centre stage.

What is a Pale Ale?

At its simplest, Pale Ale is an ale brewed using relatively pale malts, producing a beer generally lighter in colour than traditional brown or dark ales.

But the category has evolved enormously.

Modern brewers have access to hop varieties from Britain and around the world, allowing them to produce pale ales ranging from traditionally balanced English styles to intensely aromatic contemporary beers.

That's why two bottles or cans both labelled Pale Ale can taste remarkably different.

What's the difference between Pale Ale and IPA?

There's considerable overlap between the two, so don't expect an absolute dividing line.

Generally, Pale Ale tends to be lighter and more balanced, while an IPA usually puts greater emphasis on hops, often with more bitterness, aroma, flavour and sometimes a higher alcohol content.

Modern brewing has blurred those boundaries even further. Session IPAs, heavily hopped Pale Ales and different interpretations of both styles mean the name on the can is only part of the story.

If you like hoppy beer but don't necessarily want the intensity of an IPA, Pale Ale is an excellent place to start.

What does DDH Pale Ale mean?

You may also encounter Norfolk beers described as DDH Pale Ale.

DDH usually stands for Double Dry Hopped. Dry hopping means adding hops during or after fermentation primarily to increase their aroma and flavour rather than bitterness.

Double dry hopping takes that idea further, helping create the pronounced citrus, tropical and aromatic characteristics found in many contemporary craft pale ales.

It doesn't necessarily mean the beer will taste extremely bitter.

Norfolk barley, Norfolk brewing

Norfolk is one of Britain's great barley-growing counties, so beer has an unusually close connection with the landscape around us.

Local breweries can brew with Norfolk-grown grains, while the county also has a particularly important association with malting barley.

Not every ingredient in a Norfolk Pale Ale necessarily comes from Norfolk – modern brewers frequently use hop varieties grown elsewhere in Britain, Europe, the United States and the Southern Hemisphere to achieve particular flavours and aromas.

That combination is part of modern Norfolk brewing: local grain and brewing heritage meeting hops and ideas from around the world.

Norfolk breweries making Pale Ale

Our Norfolk Pale Ale collection brings together beers from independent breweries across the county, including producers such as Duration, Moon Gazer and Stump Rat.

From an easy-drinking golden pale with gentle citrus character to a heavily dry-hopped modern beer bursting with tropical fruit, there's considerably more variety within Norfolk Pale Ale than the name might initially suggest.

Explore our current selection of Norfolk Pale Ales below.