Tough To Label

It’s that time of summer again, and over six years (and a label switch from session IPA to oat pale ale) later, Rollin’ Oats Tampa Beer & Wine manager and Easy Rollin’ Ale collaborator Neal Whitney is still on the fence: just how do you label Easy Rollin’ Ale?  

“Oat pale ale isn’t really a style, “session IPA” isn’t TECHICALLY a style…realistically they are the same thing,” he explained.

Easy To Roll With

Categorization arguments can quickly get complicated, but Easy Rollin’ remains simple in its purpose: something hoppy that you can enjoy during the relentless Florida summer. Unlike other adjacent styles, you don’t have to worry about a high ABV doing you in. As far as flavor, the hops actually contribute most of the grapefruit taste, the addition of the grapefruit zest provides more citrus aromatics to really complete the sensory experience.

“It still has the aromatics of hops, but is light-bodied and easy to drink. You can mow your lawn and have this.”

– Neal whitney

Easy Rollin’ is Rollin’ Oats’ longest running collaboration. Neal met Khris Johnson of Green Bench Brewing Company while he worked at Cigar City Brewing. Neal reached out to do the collaboration after landing at Rollin’ Oats, from which it’s been a recurring annual project.

No Crying Over Spilt Beer

“This year (2022) is the first year that I can recall nothing unforeseen happening during the brewing process,” Neal divulged. “One year the gasket was put on improperly and it started spewing out the door, we had to drain it, reattach the gasket and fill it back up.” In other years they dealt with issues such as the oats not cracking properly during brewing, to events resulting in the crew having to rebrew the entire batch! 

“There’s been a lot of hurdles in just making this be a thing.”

– Neal, reflecting on six years of easy rollin’

Ready To Enjoy

Despite any setbacks, Rollin’ Oats is committed to providing great products at a fair price. Even more so, we are grateful for team members like Neal who bring their talents and passion into everything they do. Easy Rollin’ Ale is available in 6-packs at both The St. Pete and Tampa locations while supplies last.