Little Barley Session Ale
Barley John's Brew Pub

16 oz. can. Hazy deep orange. Smells of bready malts, some floral hops, and a little citrus. Tastes of fruity and bready malt. A touch floral again. Light grapefruit bitterness. Medium light. Not bad for an American bitter.

 

 

Slightly hazy copper colored with a thin white frothy head that lasted a short while. The flavor is very malt forward with hardly any hops. Crisp feel and goes down easy.

 

Clear golden amber with moderate carbonation and a 1 inch slightly off-white creamy head, receding fairly quickly, leaving nice lacing. Sweet malty aroma, a bit of a surprise for a session ale. Nice mouth feel - not watery, substantial (for the style). Very mild taste with only slight bittering in the finish. Balanced, but perhaps a bit low on the hops presence (again, not typical for an American session ale.) I enjoyed it, but it could use just a bit more bittering in the finish. Easy drinking, like and English pub ale. Most definitely NOT an American hop water of a session ale. This one has some backbone, some mouth feel. Pleasant and enjoyable. Could use a bit more hops, but otherwise, a good summer beer.

 

Slight creaminess, slight bitterness, easy drinking and very pleasant. Well balanced. While classed as an APA it could, kind of, pass for an English bitter too - at least in the Boddington's style, but better!

This is my first barley johns, despite living 10 miles from the original place for a decade.

Pours a golden amber with very thin lacy head that quickly dissipates. First taste and nose are almost adjunct. Toasty. Corn. Earthy. Clean mouth feel. Not heavily carbonated but a nice finish. Bright almost.

A very decent beer that I think is very Minnesotan. Would be more than happy if I or a buddy brewed it. Happy to receive it, wouldn't reach over some EPA to buy it.

Huge lack of flavor in this one. I get that it is a session ale, but the hop profile is minimal and it is grainy. Some very light floral and citrus notes but that's it. Very mediocre.

(Re-review 2/23/17, original score 3.75)

This beer pours a hazy dark orange color. The head is a half inch in height, and recedes slowly leaving a nice cap of foam. The aroma is floral with dandelions, clovers and chrysanthemum. There is also a vibrant blood orange note. The taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some bready malt tones. The mouthfeel is remarkably medium bodied for such a low ABV beer. The texture is velvety, and the carbonation is mild (which I prefer in a session ale). Overall, I like this beer quite a bit, and would gladly drink it again.