Alyssa’s tasting notes-

Bright, clean, crisp.

Pine and bright citrus fruits, in a medley of lemon and lime, open the aromatics. Crisp and refreshing, the sharpness of the carbonation compliments the clean hop bitterness that is then rounded by light, crackery malts as it ebbs, faintly lingering on the palate.

About the name of the beer and its label

On the label you’ll find:

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be.

Langston Hughes wrote “Let America Be America Again” in 1935. Maybe crack a cold Let America Be and read Mr. Hughes’s poem that is as relevant today as it was almost 100 years ago while contemplating freedom – with a healthy dose of gratitude and trepidation.

At Gotahold Brewing, we believe in equality and the founding father’s words seriously in The Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (July 4, 1776)

In 2008, when Wendy heard Langston Hughes’ poem (written in 1935), it left a deep impression on her heart. That poem has come up again and again as we watch day after day all the ways that equality and unalienable rights are diminished, ignored, or stolen. Hence the cracks on the label.

So when we were talking about doing an American Pale Ale, we were thinking about what does it mean to be American, seeking to see if from various perspectives – the privileged, the poor, the transitioning, people of color, immigrants, and those who look to America and imagine what it means to be American.