Switchback Extra Pale Ale

The Extra Pale Ale (XPA) is a hop-forward pale ale that employs an abundant use of whole cone hops. They have balanced the amazing bouquet and flavors that whole cone hops possess with a subdued malt character, creating a crisp refreshing beer. They developed Extra Pale Ale as a test brew on our 5 gallon pilot system utilizing Vermont grown hops from the UVM Hop Extension Program, and they loved the test beer so much that they decided to put XPA into production on our original 15 barrel brew house. Using whole cone hops created the challenge of reconfiguring the brew house just for this beer, but we’re overjoyed with the resulting aromas and ­flavors of the Centennial, Chinook, and Cascade hops.