Cell Block 304
Parkersburg Brewing Company

 

 

 

First beer that I ever had from Parkersburg, as I picked it up while in West Virginia not too long ago at Studio B in Fayetteville. Saw that this won a medal at the World Beer Cup and also had a relatively high ranking on here and although this wasn't a bad beer by any stretch, nothing in particular about this blew me away. This had plenty of body, flavor, and just the right amount of alcohol to be easily enjoyable although it was missing something that could have made this truly great!

Naturally, this poured a mahogany brown as it was topped off by a *ton* of full and frothy head that quickly and unevenly settled down. One deep semblance of a ring remained near the top of my glass but below that, it was just a leopard print pattern of suds that remained. Lots of Roasted Malt, brown nuts, and caramel in the mellow nose as some dark bread, dark fruit, and a bit of wood emerged in the taste. Relatively heavy on the palate, the honey lent itself more to the body than the taste as the sweetness wasn't really here. Earthiness lingered in the aftertaste as the hop presence was recessed throughout.

The same could be said for the booze as only a bit of warming took hold of me after the last sip. No date was to be found anywhere on the can as I would prefer this to be fresh. This was a fair take on the style that wouldn't, and couldn't, disappoint but this was a bit too heavy and toasted for a beer of this style when all was said and done.

 

2/29/22 On tap at Pies and Pints, Fayetteville WV on our trip back from Asheville!

Surprisingly toasty/smokey for this style! The favorite of our server.

 

 

This one pours a golden dark brown color, with a small head and lots of lacing.

This smells like caramel, dark fruit, bitter hops, and a touch of stale astringency.

The hop character on this one is a bit too astringent. It’s over hopped for the style, which is a shame, as the base maltiness is really not too bad.

This is medium bodied, creamy and sweet up front, but bitter and biting on the back end.

This has some good points but also has some clear issues as well.

 

12oz can into a tall glass. NO freshness dating.

Looking very good in the glass. Dark brown body, caramel when held up to the light. Small off white head shrinks to a fat ring and covering. Scattered lacing.

Malty, bready, caramel aromas.

On tasting, clean, malty, dark bread, faintly sweet. Can boasts of being "criminally hopped with English hops", but this must be a light touch.

Mouth medium, finish earthy bready malts.

Overall, very good clean brown ale. Not a hint of harshness, bitterness, or sour notes. Good beer.

Taster at brewery. Brown, mostly clear, ring of head, streaky lacing. Woody, nutty aroma. Taste is toasty malts, woody flavors, nutty, incredibly smooth.

 

 

 

 

12 ounce can, no dating on it but it does have a 2018 World Beer Cup logo on the label so I'm pretty sure it was canned sometime this year. Label says 5.7% ABV. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown with about an inch light tan head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like toasted malt, toffee, dark bread, nuts, and some caramel. Taste is similar to the aroma, with toasted malt, nutty, toffee, dark bread, caramel and a bit of bittersweet chocolate and coffee flavors. Also some earthy hops in the finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's coating and easy enough to drink with a good amount of carbonation. I liked this brown ale a lot, glad I bought a sixer of it! Definitely worth picking up.

 

12oz can poured into a teku

A- pours a deep brown color with a two-finger creamy off-white head that has great retention and leaves some nice lacing behind

S- classic brown malts on the nose with notes of chocolate, brown bread, toasted bread crust, caramel & toasted nuts. Undertones of earthy and herbal english hops, as well as a trace of coffee

T- immediately notice that it's more hoppy than a typical brown, earthy English hops give way to brown malty notes of toasted bread, caramel, brown sugar, chocolate & walnuts. The finish gives more nutty malt, chocolate & a hint of coffee and lingers of light hop bitterness

M- medium light body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a creamy finish

O- WBF Gold Medal winner? No argument here, probably one of the most flavorful brown ales I've ever had with superior drinkability. It almost drinks like a black IPA, but less char that typically comes from that style. A welcomed addition to the canned/bottle lineup of WV brews

Pours a regular brown color with only a slight off white color head. Smell is nutty and almost Guinness like. Initial taste is sweet then moves into a cold coffee flavor and aftertaste. The feel is not heavy at all. Slight lacing on glass. Overall, I feel that this is a solid version of the style but not overdone with to many competing flavors like others.

tastes like coffee.