To Brawl or Not to Brawl?

June 5th, 2009

To Brawl… definitely!

ales_gallery_brawler_6pck

Yards describes Brawler as follows:

Boasting superior taste and champion flavor, the Brawler is crafted in the style of English session ales. This malt-forward, ruby colored ale is great for when you want to go a few rounds.

While I’m not so sure I’d call it “ruby” colored, I would agree that it is a malt-forward beer of superior taste and flavor. I poured my bottle (chilled for over a week in my fridge) into a regular pint glass. This was not my first taste of Brawler, but it was the first I had stopped to take notes on. Here are the tasting notes from my Beer Journal:

Appearance:
thepaintedman rates this: ★★★★½

The translucent dark amber/brown color is beautiful. I know this is my type of beer from the start. No sentiment, pours with a small head that it maintains throughout.

Aroma:
thepaintedman rates this: ★★★★★½☆☆☆☆

The beer lacks in this department. While there is nothing to deter one from wanting a sip, nothing wows me either. Mild aroma, slight sweetness, no hints of diacetyl that I could tell.

Flavor:
thepaintedman rates this: ★★★★★★★½☆☆

This is by no means a big beer, full of big flavor. However, the flavor has a beautiful and simple overall quality. Smooth throughout, very malt-forward, but not overpoweringly so.

Palate/Mouthfeel:
thepaintedman rates this: ★★★☆☆

This is what my Aunt Debbie calls a chewing beer, but I wouldn’t class it as such. It’s a tad chewy, but heavy or stout-like at all. It has great body and, as noted above, is very smooth. It does have an ever so slight aftertaste that isn’t entirely desirable. It’s not really noticeable until later into the pint.

Overall Rating:
thepaintedman rates this: ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Overall, an excellent session beer that makes me wish I was sitting at an English pub chatting it up with a few old chaps. Definitely worth a drink or six!

Thanks for reading. Cheers!