WarPigs Salmon Pants 6Pk

WarPigs Salmon Pants 6Pk is a six-pack of 12 oz cans of hop-forward American pale lager brewed at 5.3% ABV in Munster, Indiana. Scoring an 87 on BeerAdvocate and logging nearly 20,000 ratings on Untappd, this collaboration lager from two legendary brewing operations has earned a loyal following for intentionally blurring the line between a clean lager and a citrus-driven pale ale.

Quick Facts: ABV: 5.3%  |  IBU: 60  |  Origin: Munster, Indiana, USA  |  Style: American Pale Lager  |  Brewery: WarPigs Brewing USA

Production & Heritage

WarPigs Brewing USA is the American arm of the collaboration between Three Floyds Brewing of Munster, Indiana, and Denmark's Mikkeller Brewing — two craft beer institutions known for bold, boundary-pushing recipes. Salmon Pants is brewed with water, barley malt, hops (including Saaz, among what appears to be a broader hop bill), and yeast. The result is a lager that carries an ale-like hop intensity at 60 IBU while maintaining the crisp, clean fermentation character expected of the style — a deliberate hybrid approach that gives the beer its distinctive personality within the WarPigs lineup.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Citrus peel and ripe melon greet the nose first, followed by gentle floral and dandelion-like hop aromatics. A quiet malt sweetness sits underneath, lending a honey-gold warmth without competing with the hops.

Taste: The entry is light-bodied and refreshingly crisp, with tropical and citrus hop flavors arriving immediately on the palate. At mid-palate, subtle grape and melon rind notes emerge alongside a faint honey-like malt backbone. The back end shifts decisively toward pronounced pine bitterness and dank hop resin, delivering a punch that reads far more like a pale ale than a conventional lager.

Finish: Dry and persistent, with lingering pine and herbal bitterness that cleans the palate efficiently. The finish is what keeps this beer from feeling heavy despite the generous hop load — near-perfect crispness that invites the next sip.

How to Drink Salmon Pants

Serve cold, straight from the can or poured into a pilsner glass to release the hop aromatics. This is a beer built for drinking without overthinking it — the light body and dry finish reward a brisk pace.

• Michelada: The assertive hop bitterness and dry finish stand up to lime, hot sauce, and tomato, adding depth where milder lagers fade.
• Beer-Battered Fish Tacos Pairing: Use Salmon Pants as both the cooking beer and the drinking beer — the citrus hop character echoes fresh lime and cilantro.
• Shandy: Mix with fresh lemonade for a summer session drink where the pine and citrus hops add complexity beyond a typical lager shandy.

Best For

• Craft beer drinkers transitioning from IPAs who want hop flavor without high ABV
• Backyard cookouts and warm-weather sessions where crushability matters
• Introducing lager skeptics to what the style can do with a creative hop bill
• Pairing with spicy or fried foods that benefit from a bitter, dry counterpoint

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Salmon Pants taste like? Salmon Pants delivers citrus, melon, and pine hop flavors up front with a dry, bitter finish — it drinks more like a mild pale ale than a traditional lager, with a light body and crisp mouthfeel throughout.

How does Salmon Pants compare to Bell's Light Hearted Ale? Both beers occupy similar territory as sessionable, hop-forward options under 5.5% ABV with pronounced citrus and pine character. Salmon Pants is technically a lager rather than a low-cal IPA, so it tends to finish drier and cleaner with less residual malt sweetness than Light Hearted.

Is Salmon Pants good for hop lovers? Yes — at 60 IBU with a generous dry-hop character featuring tropical, citrus, and pine notes, Salmon Pants delivers real hop intensity while keeping the ABV at a sessionable 5.3%, making it an excellent everyday option for hop-forward beer fans.

Where is Salmon Pants made? Salmon Pants is brewed by WarPigs Brewing USA in Munster, Indiana, a collaboration venture between Three Floyds Brewing and Denmark's Mikkeller Brewing.

What foods pair well with Salmon Pants? Grilled shrimp or fish tacos work well, as the citrus hops mirror lime and cilantro. Spicy Thai or Mexican dishes benefit from the dry, bitter finish that scrubs heat from the palate. Sharp cheddar or aged gouda complement the honey-like malt undertone, and classic pub fare like burgers or fried chicken finds a natural partner in the beer's crispness.

What sizes does Salmon Pants come in? This product is a six-pack of 12 oz cans, the standard retail format for WarPigs Salmon Pants.

Is Salmon Pants worth the price? Salmon Pants positions as a craft lager at a mid-range price point, and the collaboration pedigree of Three Floyds and Mikkeller — combined with hop complexity uncommon in the lager category — delivers strong value for drinkers seeking flavor above its ABV class.

Why Salmon Pants?

What makes Salmon Pants genuinely unusual is the ambition behind it: two of the most respected names in craft brewing — Three Floyds and Mikkeller — set out to build a lager that carries the hop intensity of a pale ale without sacrificing the clean, dry drinkability that defines the style. The 60 IBU hop bill, anchored by Saaz and complemented by what appear to be additional American or New World varieties, creates a layered citrus-pine-melon profile that most lagers simply do not attempt. An 87 on BeerAdvocate confirms this is not a gimmick but a well-executed hybrid that rewards both casual drinkers and attentive palates. For anyone who finds standard lagers too restrained and IPAs too heavy, Salmon Pants occupies a rare and compelling middle ground.