Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in Westford, MA

CBC Liquors at 142 Littleton Rd in Westford carries Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and you can pick it up in store, order it for pickup or have it delivered. Along with the Pale Ale, we carry Torpedo, Hazy Little Thing, Oktoberfest, the Hazy IPA Pack and Trail Pass Golden from Sierra Nevada. Below: what the beer is, how it tastes, what to eat with it and how to get it from us.

What is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an American pale ale brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which started in Chico, California. It was first brewed in 1980 and is often credited with helping define the American pale ale style, built around Cascade hops rather than the English hop varieties that came before it.

An American pale ale sits between a lager and an IPA. It has more hop character than a lager, with citrus and pine aromas and a clean bitter finish, but it is lighter in body and gentler in bitterness than most IPAs. That balance is why it gets reached for as an all-purpose beer.

You can see the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale listing on our site and check it before you drive over. Everything else we carry from the brewery sits on the same Sierra Nevada brand page.

What does Sierra Nevada Pale Ale taste like?

The first thing you notice is the hop aroma: grapefruit peel, a little pine and a floral edge from the Cascade hops. The malt underneath is lightly toasted and bready, which keeps the bitterness from feeling sharp.

The finish is dry and moderately bitter, and the carbonation is lively. It is a beer with plenty of flavor that still reads as clean rather than heavy.

If you usually drink lager, it is a sensible first step toward hoppier beer. If you usually drink IPA, it will taste restrained next to what you are used to, which is the point of the style.

How strong is it and how should you serve it?

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is 5.6 percent alcohol by volume, which puts it a little above a typical light lager and well below most double IPAs. Check the label on the bottle or can in your hand, since packaging details can change.

Serve it cold but not ice cold, around 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. A beer served straight from a very cold fridge hides the hop aroma that this style is built on. Pouring it into a glass instead of drinking from the bottle lets the aroma open up.

Keep it cold and out of sunlight until you are ready to open it. Hop flavor fades with age and with warmth, so fresher is better.

What food goes with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?

The bitterness and carbonation cut through fat, which makes pale ale a good match for burgers, grilled sausages, fried chicken and sharp cheddar. The toasty malt also works with roasted vegetables and pizza.

Citrusy hops pair well with spice. Tacos, Thai dishes and Buffalo wings all sit comfortably next to it, because the beer refreshes the palate between bites without clashing with the heat.

It is a less obvious partner for very delicate food such as plain white fish or lightly dressed salads, where the hops can overpower. For those, a lager from our easy drinking beer section is usually the better choice.

How is it different from Torpedo and Hazy Little Thing?

Both of these also come from Sierra Nevada and both are IPAs, so they sit one step up from the Pale Ale in hop intensity.

Torpedo is an American IPA with a firmer, more resinous bitterness and a bigger hop aroma. If the Pale Ale seems too mild for you, Torpedo is the obvious next beer. You can browse more in our American IPA section.

Hazy Little Thing is a hazy IPA, a different style entirely. It is cloudy, soft in the mouth and led by juicy tropical fruit flavor rather than pine and bitterness. If you prefer a smooth beer with little bite, this is the one. The Hazy IPA Pack is available if you want to compare different hazy beers from the brewery side by side.

The wider IPA category shows how these fit alongside other brewers.

Is there a seasonal Sierra Nevada beer right now?

Yes, we carry Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a seasonal style, a malt-forward lager traditionally brewed in the autumn, with a toasty, slightly sweet character and a clean finish. It is a different experience from the Pale Ale, with the emphasis on malt instead of hops.

Our seasonal beer page shows what else is available this time of year.

We also carry Trail Pass Golden from the brewery. Trail Pass is Sierra Nevada's non-alcoholic range, so it is worth knowing about if someone at your table is not drinking.

How do you get Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from CBC Liquors in Westford?

You can walk in at 142 Littleton Rd, Westford. We are open Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pickup runs the same hours.

We also deliver, from 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM on Sunday, 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM Monday to Thursday, and 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. Our delivery areas page lists where we go, including Chelmsford, Acton, Littleton and Lowell. Shipping is available as well.

If you are curious about other styles while you are in, our beer section has the full range. We have a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google from 339 reviews.