Brawler Champion Ale
Yards Brewing Co.

 

Pours a crystal clear brown color with a cream colored head. Malt dominates the flavor profile with caramel, raisin and nut notes. Despite all the malt, it is a surprisingly light bodied beer. If there's a fault with Brawler it's that the mouthfeel is too light, however that's generally how it goes with an English mild.

 

 

 

 

 

Clear, brown color. Caramel malt dominates the aroma, with faint notes of bread. Same caramel malt in taste. Balanced, easy to drink. A good example of a not-so-common style.

 

 

 

12 oz can from an Acme in the Philly metro area. A 28 June 2023 bottling date is stamped on the neck.

Appearance. Excellent, with an unusually durable off-white head.

Both the aroma and the flavor seem off

 

 

12oz undated bottle poured into a pint glass shows a dark yellow amber body and floats a 1/2" head of cream colored foam with a persistent filmy cap, and leaving virtually no lacing.

Nutty malt aroma dominates with hints of toast and cherries and the flavor matches.

Mouthfeel is smooth, light and slightly slick.

Overall an easy drinking example of an all too hard to find style around here, but this might be changing as more local breweries are upping their game in classic styles.

5/10/23 Poured from a 12 oz bottle from my BIL!

Brown bread malty aroma with the same taste. Beautiful deep amber, light copper. Very little head or lacing, per style that is to be expected.

First time trying this style. It has lager characteristics to me.

12oz bottle purchased from the fridge as part of a mix-a-six pack for $13.99. Bottled on 10/10/22, so this beer is almost 7 months old.

Look: Pours a very pretty perfectly clear ruby amber color. There was a nice one-finger of khaki-colored head that reduced to a thin layer. Lots of very tiny bubbles are quickly rising up the glass.

Smell: It has some interesting, very malty aromas. Initially, I get notes of chestnuts and some subtle, underlying cherry notes. There's a lot of molasses and some caramel coming through. The finish has light cocoa and some woody/leathery notes. I also get allusions to root beer from this beer. There were some medicinal notes on the nose initially that blew off.

Taste: It's nice. If you wanted an English Dark Mild Ale then that is what this tastes like. Honestly, it's a bit watery and that just might be how it's supposed to be. As I picked up in the nose, this beer has some root beer vibes going on. I also get subtle raisin notes on the finish. There are a lot of dark malts here, it's very pleasant. Prominent toasted grain character (reminiscent of grape nuts cereal). What's interesting is that this beer is not sweet, not bitter, very malty, and it's pretty dry. Compared to a porter or a stout, it doesn't have pronounced roasted malts or strong chocolate/coffee flavors. It's kind of like a "light" malty beer. Very subtle hop notes and bitterness on the finish.

Feel: It's on the lighter side of medium bodied. I think that this may be slightly over-carbonated.

Overall: It's a nice low ABV English-style ale. It has a nice amount of flavor and it's pretty tasty. I'm not blown away by it and I am pleased by it.

From the website:
SMOOTH, CRISP, CLASSIC
Crafted in the style of an English mild, this malt-forward ale is great when you want to go a few rounds. Its smooth character, hints of caramel and toast and remarkable drinkability define this ruby-colored brew as a knockout session ale.

4.2% ABV
12 IBU
11°P OG

Style
English Mild

Color
Ruby

Ingredients
Crystal and amber malts; roasted barley

Availability
Year-Round