First Posted: 7/7/2013

Beer: Lunch Pail Ale

Brewer: Breaker Brewing Company

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.50%

Description: Breaker Brewing’s Lunch Pail Ale pours a beautifully clear amber color with a slight off-white head that lingers and leaves a wonderful lacing on the glass. The aroma is a pleasing assault of citrus hops emanating aromas of grapefruit, lime, and hints of pine needles balanced with aromatic malty sweetness. The taste matches the nose perfectly. The hops are really on display in this brew, especially the cascade imparting a slight grapefruit hint on the palate. The hop bite is balanced perfectly against the sweetness from the malt, especially the Marris Otter, which imparts a nice body to the beer as well. The malt selections also give this beer a lingering quality on the palate before a nice dry finish. All in all, this is a superb pale ale that I could drink all night and not get tired of it – hell, I could drink it all day and not get tired of it. I would gladly include this beer in my lunch pail, that’s for sure!

Food pairing: This is a pale ale that is a great match for most summer food, but is perfect for many Cal-Mex dishes such as quesadillas, burritos, pork or fish tacos, and just about anything that includes lime juice, chilies, and cilantro. The slight hints of lime coming from the hops will intensify the slight citrus characteristics of these dishes and the malts will enhance the slight caramel tastes from the meat; it’ll all combine for a truly intense and delicious dinner. Lunch Pail Ale is also great for your favorite burgers and can certainly handle a wide variety of toppings, so pile them on and enjoy! Also, a nice oily fish such as salmon can truly appreciate the hop characteristics of this wonderful beer. One last suggestion is to try this with your favorite fried chicken; the crispy coating and juicy chicken will melt into the sweet malt and citrus hop characteristics.

Is it worth trying?: Without any hesitation, yes! There is a reason that this fantastic pale ale is Breaker Brewing’s most popular beer and that is because it is absolutely fantastic. Pale ales can be a very tough beer to pull off, as the style typically does not leave too much room to hide any flaws within the beer, but Breaker Brewing pulls this off perfectly and has created a great beer for craft beer junkies and newbies alike to enjoy. I personally love a nice liquid lunch on these hot summer days and Lunch Pail Ale certainly deserves a spot on my lunch table, and yours as well!

Rating: W W W W

Where can I get it?: Currently available on draft at: Sabatini’s Pizza, Exeter; The Office, Nicholson; Dugan’s Pub, Luzerne; and also available at the Breaker Brewing Tap Room, Wilkes-Barre.

Remember, enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

-Derek Warren is a beer expert, avid homebrewer, and beer historian. Follow Derek’s beer blog at idtapthat.org.