Go A Few Rounds With Yards Brawler Ale

This post has been a long time in the making and for no reasons other than I'm lazy and school sucks. I have finally decided to write up a review for one of my favorite regular brews.  Being in Philadelphia has afforded me the opportunity to try some very excellent beers from the eastern Pennsylvania area, as well as Delaware and Maryland.  However, this one comes right from the "City of Brotherly Love", Philadelphia, more specifically Yards Brewing Company down along the Delaware River.

Anytime I think of Yards I immediately think of their Brawler Ale.  This is one of their year round available ales.  While very abnormal for craft beer it has a very low ABV coming in at only 4.2%.  This may have you thinking it is a very light and flavorless beer as mainstream beer marketing has unfortunately done.  However, it has a considerably robust and strong flavor, especially since it has such a low alcohol content.  It has a very caramely and almost bready taste to it with subtle hints of lemon or something citrusy at the end.  One would not find this flavor a shock if they did not know the ABV in advance though because it pours a very pretty dark red and brownish color that had a very light, almost white head (that was also very small). It is most certainly a session beer in that it is a very flavorful and filling beer, but drinking one of them will not severely impact your level or judgement and coherence. To me this means it's the perfect beer to have when doing homework and projects at night.  I can grab a few of these and drink them throughout the night and relax a bit without feeling drunk to the point of not being able to complete my work.

I absolutely love the labeling on this bottle as well as it has a classic style image of a manly man boxing a devilish creature.  They also give it the appropriate title of a Pugilist Style Ale (which after using the google machine means it is a "boxer" style ale).  You can certainly go a few rounds with this one.  For someone like myself who is on a somewhat restricted budget these were also great on my wallet not costing much more than a dollar and a half a beer (when purchased in a 6 pack), which I find to be very beneficial for my stomach, liver and wallet.

Such a Procrastinator

Hey folks - my apologies for not posting in quite some time...I should probably do less tasting and more writing, but hey, at least I'm enjoying myself.

This review was long time coming. I think I tried this one before the new year, before Christmas, even before the trip to the Outer Banks...that's how long it's been. Today I'm bringing to you Saranac's Chocolate Orange Porter, part of their High Peaks series.

From the Brewer:

Saranac Chocolate Orange is a limited edition small batch brew from our "High Peaks" series, a line of beers that are bigger, more complex and flavorful.  Brewed as a full-bodied robust Baltic-style porter with five different hops and four different malts, this beer pushes the porter style to a new level.  We start with generous amounts of chocolate malt, and then add blood orange peel.  In fermentation, the finest hand-selected, purest cacao nibs are added to enhance the chocolate malt flavor.  Look for a dark chocolate roasted flavor finished off with a unique surprise from blood orange peel, making this an extra special treat!

Sounds delicious, right? Well, I must say that this was actually quite disappointing. Weighing in at a decent 9% ABV, the pour on this can only be described as "straight up like motor oil", rich, smooth, and almost black in color. The head is an astounding dark brown color, and long lasting. The nose lends to the chocolate malt, as well as a roasty-toasty smell with some sweetness to it.

The excitement pretty much stops there. I hardly picked up any orange whatsoever - at least not a citrusy orange. They use Orange Peel and Chocolate Malt, but it's more of an orange blossom flavor, if anything at all. its full-bodied and creamy, but the orange is severely lacking. I'm sure it's more aromatic and fruitier on tap, but this was just a bit disappointing for me. I know Mike liked it a bit more than I did. This was worth trying, but I'm probably not going to buy it again. I expected so much more chocolate-orange deliciousness. The malt overpowered the beer and the orange just wasn't there. But hey, at least it's pretty.

How this beer made me feel.

Womp womp.

I know there are other Chocolate Orange porters and stouts out there, perhaps I'll try another one and won't be as sad afterwards.

Any suggestions from the crowd out there? Comment below or tweet at us @DrinkLikeAdults.

Cheers!
-Maggie