Good Bye West Side Common Ale… And Relax, You’ll Be Ok…

Written By: The Gnarly Gnome

06/30/25

It’s hard to say goodbye. It’s even harder when we’re forced to say goodbye to something that holds a special place in our heart, which is the situation that a lot of loyal drinkers at West Side Brewing Company are faced with this month. The brewery is not only celebrating their 8th anniversary, but they’re also letting go of one of their core beers – Common Ale.

They did it, or are doing it (depending on when you read this), with a flight of four versions of the beer. If that isn’t a great excuse for a blogger like me to swing by, belly up, and get some thoughts out, I don’t know what is.

A Brief History Of Common Ale

Every brewery needs one. They need an easy, approachable beer that can win over drinkers of, you know, the fizzy yellow stuff that your Grandpa drank. They need something that tastes better than macro beer, but that isn’t too hoppy or too bitter. They need something that sits right in the sweet spot of “common folks” drinking “normal beer”.

That’s where West Side’s Common Ale was born.

The style is nothing crazy, it’s a Golden Ale. Slight sweetness and a bit of a crackery malt character, it goes down easily and quickly. It’s certainly not hoppy, and I don’t know of ANY beer drinker that will turn their nose up at a good, easy drinking Golden Ale, craft fan or macro nut.

The beer became a staple right off the get-go (not a surprise), and it’s seen many variants over the years, from Key Lime and Sea Salt to Coffee (along with everything in between). It has become ingrained in the habits and lives of drinkers at West Side.

If that sounds familiar to you, don’t be afraid… you’ll still have something.

You’ll Still Be Ok, My Dear Drinking Friends

I wouldn’t say that the world of beer has changed significantly in the last eight years. Actually, beer doesn’t really change all that much after being around for literally centuries. I will, however, tell you that craft beer drinkers have changed dramatically, and in turn, the industry that we’ve all fallen in love with has changed, too.

Change isn’t a bad thing. In craft beer, we’ve seen an absolute explosion of some of my favorite beer styles due to the evolution that has occurred in the industry. Lagers are finally the norm at craft breweries, and craft beer drinkers aren’t turning their noses up at them in some anti-big beer move anymore.

West Side is making some great lagers, too. Their lagers have been so freaking great that they have cannibalized some of the sales that used to go to Common Ale. It’s not shocking that light, crispy, refreshing, easy drinking lagers are pushing aside Common Ale… and I know that no matter how dedicated or stubborn a die-hard Common Ale drinker you are, there are plenty of things on tap that will make you happy.

How I Feel

As I sit here in the West Side Taproom with my flight of four different variants of this OG beer in front of me, I’d be lying if it doesn’t make me a little sad, or a little nostalgic. It’s a solid beer, full-flavored, yet still remarkably easy to drink.

At the same time, I no longer order it often. To illustrate that point, when I finished the flight of Common, I immediately leaned right into the Cerveza Especial. I can’t pretend that none of this makes perfect sense to me with my own drinking habits.

We often become overly attached to things without truly considering why we’re drawn to them in the first place, and that’s a big “problem” in the craft beer industry. People don’t always know why they’re upset about a change; they just know that they are upset. It’s part of what makes beer what it is. The drink welcomes traditions; it thrives on celebration and ritual… and that can make us a little stubborn when it comes to change.

Take a breath, get a pint… it’ll be good.