Accusation Ale
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

 

 

 

 

Phillips Accusation Ale pours a bright, light brown, with a slightly off white head. There is a nice nutty, malty character in the aroma, with some hints of caramel and raisins. The beer is dry but malty in flavor, with a bit more caramel and a some slight chocolate notes. Overall the beer is just a bit thin, but fairly sessionable despite being out of the session range.

22 oz bottle, thanks to pubstyle for sharing.

Pours a clear dark reddish brown, orange highlights, thick off white head forms, slowly drops to a thin layer and ring, nice lacing on the glass. Smell is quite nice, good hopping, citrus and some floral, caramel, bread and biscuit, light grains, fruit, nice aroma. Taste is similar, nice malty backbone, caramel and bread, lightly earthy, citrus, floral, light fruit, solid herbal bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, easy to drink. A pretty nice ESB. Thanks Troy!

Thanks to T for the share. Its nice to get to try some BC stuff!

Pours a rich copper with a finger of white head and good lacing. Citrus aroma with biscuit backing and floral notes. Citrus hopping (predominantly lemon), with the flowers again peeking through a strong crystal malt base. A touch of earth is also in the mix. Body is medium-light and thirst-quenching with medium carbonation - about par for the style. I'd like to see how this fares on cask. Reminded me a bit of Rogue's Brutal Bitter, but with the bitterness toned down, which actually makes this a far more drinkable beer.

Has this recipe changed? I feel its better than its current average suggests.

I remember when the Phillips brewhouse was a hole in the wall in an industrial area. The only identification of the brewery was their blue truck outside (as the beer advocate photo has illustrated for quite some time... did I take that photo? I should have snapped one of their new brewery). Shame on the Mark James Group & their concern for their Red Truck. Do they think their consumers are idiots? It's not like people confuse red & white wine. What happened to the comradery among brewers? Maybe they should consider Jim Koch's (of Samuel Adams fame) philosophy of raising the bar for ALL craft.

Anyway...

A: Copper with an off-white head, some retention, minimal lace.

S: Nice citrusy nose, grainy biscuits & a light spicing.

T: Earthy citrus, grainy biscuit, crisp bitterness (as many people feel for the MJG), and lightly fruity (like the MJG execs).

M: Moderate body is smooth with an earthy dry finish.

D: Good drinkability.

Score on for Phillips..."Sometimes bitterness comes from frivolous trademark disputes." I never understood the whole debacle over Blue Truck vs. Red Truck, especially since a)Red Truck is ONLY available in MJ Group brewpubs and b)Blue Truck was named after, inspired by, and featured the Phillips delivery van.

But, as others have mentioned...this is a meld of the IPA and Blue Truck...er Blue Buck. Maybe I'll buy a sixer of each and mix it.

Nice medium copper-borwn with a foamy white head. Metallic hop smell with a faint malt profile to temper the bitterness somewhat. Better flavour, but this really does taste like a maltier version of their IPA or perhaps a hoppier version of their dispute-inciting pale ale. Rich hops, zesty flavour, good dry-sweet malt character. See descriptions of the aforementioned beers for more info! :)

Nice carbonation through and through and good drinking. I like the angry judge on the label.

Ok this is a decent ESB worth trying but the reality is that with an IPA and a pale ale (Blue Buck) on the shelves why brew this ESB?. The beer has decent hops on the nose and the taste is fresh and certainly hoppy but the beer tastes like a mix between the two aforementioned beers. An ok ESB but not needed in the lineup.

A new Phillips product, glad to see them continuing to produce styles that other B.C. breweries do not.

Appearance - Pours burnished gold/amber with a towering head and lively carbonation - great to look at.

Aroma - Almost entirely hops, with a faint hint of bready malt background. Not the greatest hop aroma either, smells very nettle-like.

Taste - As the aroma foretold, this is quite lacking in balance. Fairly uninteresting hop profile with precious little support from the malt. Seems rather watery, truth be told. Indeed, there is precious little flavor of any kind to be found here.

This is quite a disappointment from Phillips, who generally produce decent-to-good beer, and who are adventurous in a market that is generally not. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.