REVIEW 11: BRAWLER PUGILIST STYLE ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Yards Brewing Company

STYLE:  Mild Ale

ABV:  4.2%

PURCHASE:  Case of 24 12-oz. bottles, $24.99

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. Heady from the bottle (three full inches), even with a modest pour speed. A super-slow pour was required to produce an initial, standard one-inch head. Moderate retention.

APPEARANCE:  Reddish mahogany. Mild transparency. Off-white head. Good lacing.

BOUQUET:  Mild ales are known to rest on the maltier side of the spectrum, but they maintain a subtle hop presence as well. This one was no exception. Caramel is conspicuous, as is a biscuity graininess. 

PALATE:  Light-medium body with minimal carbonation. Slightly grainy sweetness at the entry. The hop factor is present but subdued, allowing malted barley to take center stage. Tea-like finish and aftertaste, which also seems to hint at a tease of generic citrus. Smooth and easy-drinking, with a simple overall aesthetic. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This is an outstanding beer for baking. Ever have beer bread? I did a few months ago, and it was made with this. It was phenomenal. But it's the drinking we're concerned with here, and rest assured, the brawler comes out swinging. (I'm sorry. That was lame.) To call it phenomenal in that regard might be a stretch, however. In any case, this is a highly drinkable beer with microbrew character; so drinkable, in fact, that I would dare say it's "poundable." In other words, it's a great first craft beer for a lifelong Coors Light adherent.





GRADE:  B

A freshly baked loaf of beer bread.