Northern Pine Extra Pale Ale

Same county but so far away. Northern Pine Brewing is in Oceanside, about thirty-five miles north of where I live. It is not on the way to anywhere I frequent, which makes a trip to the brewery more an aspiration than a likelihood. Lucky for me, my neighbor brought me a crowler of Northern Pine's hoppy extra pale ale, Oceanside Dip*. It is brewed with Simcoe and Idaho 7 hops. It is hoppier (and darker) then a typical extra pale ale, and has a 6.0% abv, which I think is at the high end for this style, too. It had an upfront, piney resin feel in the mouthful, but what else would you expect from a brewery with "Pine" in its name. I liked this beer, not only did it taste good, it was well made. Pulling out the resin on a 6% beer takes skill. Oceanside Dip was bolder than a typical extra pale ale and you could not be faulted for thinking it a hoppy pale ale, or even an IPA. 

Extra pale ale is a style that deserves more popularity. Extra pale ales have more character and flavor than one dimensional session IPAs, but with not much more abv. I know session IPAs are a dead trend, so advocating for extra pale ales to step in as a replacement is an empty argument. Culture Brewing has some decent session IPAs, but my favorite Culture beer was its extra pale ale, which had less than 1% more abv than its session IPAs. In the meantime, I will appreciate extra pale ales when I can get them, like Northern Pine's Oceanside Dip.

* A note to Northern Pine: Please list your beers on your website.