Releasing a Pale Ale under the Tooheys banner gives newcomers to the style a safe option to try, according to creator Lion.

The Tooheys Darling Pale Ale deliberately offers a more easy drinking, moderate flavour profile than is typical for the Pale Ale category, Lion brand director Tanya Marler told Australian Brews News.

“A lot of Pale Ales in the more niche craft beer area, they are quite challenging,” she said.

Marler said the new Tooheys product should not be construed as a lack of faith by Lion in its other Pale Ales, such as the tremendously successful James Squire One Fifty Lashes, which she said plays its own role as a “welcome mat into the craft segment”.

“It’s about launching a product in the Tooheys Darling Pale Ale that appeals to a much bigger base,” she said.

“Tooheys has been around for around 145 years so you’ve got a lot of trust, introducing it under that brand.

“Drinkers more than ever are looking for choice and diversity. It’s about testing and trialling new flavours and serving it to them in a brand that they know, that removes some of the risk for them.

True to Pale Ale genre
However, the focus on drinkability did not come at the expense of the beer’s credentials as a traditional Pale Ale, Tooheys brewery director Mark Toomey told Radio Brews News.

He confirmed the beer has an all-malt recipe, unlike the other Tooheys beers, which use sugar as an adjunct to lighten the body.

“We’re recognising that to be true to the Pale Ale genre, we need to ensure that we meet that sort of requirement,” he said.

Toomey said the beer features a combination of Australian and American hops in Galaxy, Willamette and Amarillo, “as well as quite a complex malt bill where we’ve got a range of roast malt, pale malt, Munich malt and also malted wheat”.

“That all combines together to give a really well-balanced Pale Ale that’s actually quite easy drinking, but still has a level of complexity in terms of its aroma and flavour,” he said.

“Our team were chuffed at the opportunity. We involved people off the shop floor in the creation of it. They’re really extremely proud and very excited to see how it goes.”

Episode 58 of Radio Brews News is available here.

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