CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- All too often, beer drinkers buy into the narrative that only ice-cold macro swill can refresh a thirsty palate when the mercury rises. Surely that's a myth that has been drilled into our brains by the macro-beer brewers.

Take a moment, though, and think about all of the great elixirs throughout history that have nursed mankind through many hot days: gin and tonic, Campari, mint julep and mojito, just to name a few.

These drinks have one recurring quality that makes them historic thirst-quenchers. It's their herbal and bitter qualities. Tonic water containing bitter quinine mixed with herb-infused gin served with lime or the pungent saffronlike taste of Campari or the tongue-tingling sensation delivered by the ubiquitous peppermint leaf; thirst-quenching indeed.

The beer world is no stranger to herbal and even minty infusions in the brewing process. We call them hops! Nearly every beer contains some variety and various amounts of hops.

Ironically, the ice-cold macro brews use very little hops and rely on basic qualities like "cold" and "wet" for thirst-quenching power. Hardly a match for the complexity and true thirst-quenching power of herbal elixirs.

One of the best general beer styles to show off the thirst-quenching power of the venerable hop plant is the pale ale. Though they come in many varieties and sub-styles, pale ales rely on the balance of sweeter malts and the bitterness of hops to quench even the biggest of thirsts.

Hops impart distinct bitters qualities as well as much more floral and herbal flavors to the beer depending on the hop variety and how they are infused. Some hop bitterness can come across as resinlike or a more mild tanninlike bitterness, and some of the herbal qualities can be spicy or tealike and even citrus.

Pale ales actually taste more balanced when they are not chilled to near freezing, making them hold up better unlike those few last gulps from that warm, nasty-tasting can or bottle of macro swill; It's still wet but not so cold!

Generally speaking, beers that are simply styled as pale ales are lower in strength and less bitter than beer labeled as India Pale Ale. I am sure you could have easily guessed that double or Imperial IPAs are bigger beers than an IPA.

Here are a few thirst-quenching pale ales recommended by the distinguished taste panel at Beers to You:

Blue Heron, by Mendocino Brewing Co.: The lightest of the pack with a citrus hop finish.

Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, by Sierra Nevada Brewing: The most bitter of the pack, using a generous dose of freshly harvested hops from New Zealand.

Orval Trappist Ale: The Trappist beer with an identity crisis. The beer takes many cues from traditional English pale ale, but this beer quickly asserts its Belgian heritage with its spicy and dry finish. The spiciness and carbonation are derived from the fermentation process and bottle conditioning methods that are similar to but predate methods used in making champagne.

Bridge Brew Works Pale Ale: A great beer from the boys in Fayetteville. This beer is only available on tap. The beer is very drinkable with a refreshing hop finish.

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale: A moderately bitter brew in which the bitterness is supported by the herbal complexity of juniper berries (also used in making gin) added during the brewing and conditioning process.

Widmer X114 IPA: A medium-bitterness IPA that uses a few special varieties of hops from the Pacific Northwest. The hops impart a distinct hint of orange along with floral and herbal notes. One of us tasted basil, and I tasted rosemary. Go figure.

For more on the craft of beer, see Rich Ireland's Beers to You blog at thegazz.com.