Chicago does not lack for pale ales, which makes it slightly bold for a brewery to release a brand new one and simply call it Haymarket XPA, as if daring the rest of the city's taprooms to come up with something better. Haymarket Brewing Company has done exactly that, brewing this Extra Pale Ale in their original brewhouse downtown and giving it a hop bill of Citra, Idaho 7, and Mosaic for bitterness and a light citrus character.
At 5% ABV, this is not a beer trying to impress anyone with strength or complexity. It is built to be the beer you order a second and third round of without really thinking about it, easy drinking in the most literal sense, and currently available exclusively on draft at Haymarket's brewpub and taproom. There is something refreshing about a brewery that can clearly brew ambitious, hop-loaded IPAs when it wants to, choosing instead to release something whose entire purpose is to simply be good company on a hot Chicago afternoon.
The Haymarket name itself carries a bit of the city's history along with it, a nod to the historic Haymarket Square just west of downtown, and the brewery has leaned into that sense of place since opening, brewing beer literally blocks from where Chicago's craft beer scene first started taking itself seriously. Releasing a beer this straightforwardly named and this unfussy feels entirely in character.
This drop lands during a busy stretch for the brewery, who are also celebrating the 75th anniversary of the nearby Nisei Lounge with a special anniversary pale ale, hosting World Cup watch parties on every screen they own, and gearing up for their annual Autos and Ales car show later this month. A new XPA might be the quietest release of the bunch, but sometimes the quiet one is exactly what a busy summer calls for.
Head to the brewpub or taproom to try it while the World Cup crowds are still packing the patio, because a cold Haymarket XPA and a soccer match on a big screen is about as Chicago summer as it gets.