Ester

Origin Story

Ester is Short's second version of a beer Tony describes as an Extra Pale Ale (Pretty Vacant was our first). Since the Brewer's Association has not created official stylistic guidelines for beers categorized as Extra Pale Ale, whether American or English, this style is fairly open to interpretation based on what the brewer's perception of these beers should be and what they were trying to achieve when brewing one. Upon a quick "google" search of the interweb, it's pretty easy to find an array of opinions on what exactly is an Extra Pale Ale (EPA). Ranging in differences, some would say that these beers can be close to a bigger Imperial Pale Ale, which doesn't quite fit stylistically into either the pale ale or IPA category. Others feel that these are beers that have the body of a Pale Ale, but they're super hopped to have similar taste characteristics and IBU of an IPA. Many people, Tony Hansen included, tend to think of EPA as having a lighter color and lighter body than a traditional pale ale, that's more assertively hopped, but has a lower ABV than an India Pale Ale (Session Pale Ale??). Basically, depending on who your talking to or where you are drinking one of these, an EPA can be defined as either a lighter pale ale or a bigger pale ale, and if they mean lighter body with bigger hop presence, then I guess it can be both! As for the name, Ester is a brewing term that refers to the aroma and flavor compounds created by yeast during fermentation that tend to be described as fruity, flowery, or spicy. It is also the name of Joe and Leah Short's dog.