Bancroft Beer
Second District Brewing Co.

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a 4-pack for $15.99 plus tax. Canned on 09/04/24, so it's exactly two months old.

Look: It's very pale and has lively carbonation - tons of bubbles are rushing up the glass in multiple streams like champagne. There is a somewhat compact off-white head that is about half a finger thick. The beer is a medium straw color, very clear. It looks very nice and inviting. The beer became slightly hazy after pouring the bottom of the can. Still looks nice.

Smell: Right off the bat, I get the appetizing Mosaic aromas - floral blueberry, juicy lychee, and citrus notes (it's a combination of lemon, grapefruit, and orange). Subtle guava note along with some honeydew melon. The beer smells very bright and it also has some more subtle dank notes, which is pretty cool. It's also a bit earthy and peppery. The nose is very clean and expressive. It smells really nice!

Taste: This is a chugger. It's super drinkable - really clean, flavorful, and refreshing. The flavors in the taste mirror the nose - the beer is hop-forward with nice citrus and blueberry notes and the backdrop is a very pale, mostly crackery and somewhat biscuity malt base. I am very impressed that this beer is only 4.2% ABV. The fact that the finish has a long lingering bitterness is also really awesome. Nice dry pineapple flavor also lingering on the finish after the bitterness fades.

Feel: It's definitely on the lighter bodied side, which is to be expected for a 4.2% ABV American Pale Ale. I would say that it is light to medium bodied. It still tastes more like a pale ale than a hoppy pilsner. The beer is very clean and crisp.

Overall: This is my first Second District beer, apart from a 5-way collab that I had that was canned by 2SP for Philly Beer Week 2019 called Weird & Fancy. These guys seem like they are making really simple, yet delicious beers along traditional style guidelines. The world needs more beers like this! We need more lower ABV beers that maximize flavor! I would have no problem drinking only this beer in a session.

 

I love this clear beer, I buy a lot of cans. Great bitter flavor, no hazy bullcrap. Great dryness. What I want beer to taste like!

Clean dry but complex enough to lift it up to a star performance. Seemed like a Brett dryness, must be the pils hops.

 

 

On tap at the brewery taproom in Philadelphia. Slightly hazy (unfiltered), pale golden body with a decent white head. Crisp and dry, medium-light body. Moderately strong and bitter for style. Fine hop flavor with lemon and other tropical fruit notes.

I could drink this every day for the rest of my life. Simple and delicious with just the right amount of mosaic to go along with a clean malt bill

 

 

Second District Brewing Co. "Bancroft Beer"
gravity poured cask @ the Yards Real Ale Invitational on 30 April 2017

Notes: Hazy golden body beneath a short cap of white. Aroma of grainy malt with an almost but not quite toasty edge, and a soft fruitiness that leans towards tropical without being too citrusy. The flavor follows with an almost water-biscuit maltiness, and more fruit that includes mango, peach and delicate berry, and perhaps a light spritz of lemon. A firm bitterness balances it and keeps it in check, leading to a dry finish. Light-medium in body and very soft and smooth with a low level, fine-bubbled carbonation.