Beer reviews, news, commentary, and more from a guy who just likes to drink beer!
Today, I check out a session ale from Yards Brewing Company in Philadelphia, PA. Check out Brawler!
Starting next week, I'll be checking out the new Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across the World series. It's 12 beers, so I'll do 2 per video. That will book up my video reviews for the next month. That will probably start next weekend.
Greetings, all. It's been a few days. I now bring you a review of Yards Brewing Company's very good IPA. Check it out!
As a programming note, if my internet decides to work with me, I might do a YouTube live stream around 8pm Eastern for a little while. I have a brief commentary I want to discuss, and I will talk about the next things up for PRB after the alcohol-free month of February concludes. Keep an eye on www.twitter.com/pourlyreviewed for info on whether this will be happening or not!
As promised, let's get into the myriad of beers I had while on vacation. This particular entry will deal with three Philadelphia-/New Jersey-based breweries. We'll start with the one-offs.
First up is Sol Reaper Pale Ale from Demented Brewing Company. It pours a fairly clean golden color, and the ale brings a moderate hop bite with a bit of citrus and even some light dank hop notes. There is also a nice spicy note at the end that tends to linger after the drinking experience.
Next, from Tuckahoe Brewing Company, is Colubris dry-hopped amber ale, and they nailed the style. It pours a pretty red-gold color. I was impressed by the well-balanced malt and hop presences. Flavors included nice piney hop notes, and a really delightful and bright orange note. As a guy who can appreciate more malty beers, this beer's balance really hit a nice chord with me.
As I mentioned in yesterday's video, Yards Brewing Company provided a bit of mixed bag while I was up north. I first had a bottle of their long-time standard Philadelphia Pale Ale. They refer to it as "sessionable", so I wasn't expecting anything too bold or strong in this beer, but I found it still quite mild overall, perhaps TOO mild for my liking. Pouring a pale yellow color, I found it quite aromatic, but was surprised by grainy flavor notes, along with some mild spice notes. There was a very mild--nearly non-existent--hop presence. Frankly, this particular beer was a bit of a disappointment, though given the beer's reputation, and the quality of the beers that followed, I would certainly give this Pale Ale another try.
Next from Yards was General Washington's Tavern Porter. This Tavern series is Yards' attempt to create modern beers while trying to closely replicate the recipes of ales created by our country's Founding Fathers. In this case, the result is a beer that is a moderately dark brown, lighter than cola, and lighter than I expected. Despite being lighter than expected, this porter did not lack for taste. It features a nice, well-balanced sweetness, with strong notes of cocoa and molasses. It is a malty and rich beer, and it really is tasty and quite excellent.
Finally, at the complete opposite end of the beer spectrum is a tart fruit ale called Pynk. It pours a light red to pinkish color, and features sour and sweet cherries and raspberries. My palate brought this all together--most notably the sour cherries, I think--and came up with cranberry-like flavor notes. Indeed, it was quite sweet, making it taste almost like a cranberry soda. Pynk was crisp and clean, and so incredibly tasty.
Another beer I had while at the parents' place for the holidays was Philadelphia-based Yards Brewing Company's Love Stout. Really solid overall, it pours a beautiful inky black, and doesn't have a ton of body. Flavors are fairly standard for stouts, but really quite delicious; cocoa notes take the lead, along with a hint of coffee. Toasted malts are also integrated into the flavor profile. A really well done stout.
Now, we cross 3 time zones to the West Coast's Firestone Walker Brewing Company, and their well-regarded Union Jack IPA. A pale gold-ish color, there are some hops with dank and citrus notes. The Union Jack sports lots of flavor with mild fruit and malty sweetness. Maybe a bit of alcohol is present (7.5% ABV), but it certainly doesn't detract. If it were any sweeter, it might push into the Double IPA territory. Overall, really great with a major hop punch.