Shagbark Old English Style Ale
Perkiomen Valley Brewery

Had it at the brewery and then bought this four pack of bottles. Simply delicious. Who would have thought bark would taste so good? Slightly sweet, nice thick mouthfeel, and somehow a slight aftertaste of lemon. A great beer from a great little brewery that includes foraged plants in most of their brews. A little pricey at $20/4, I’m happy to pay that to this family owned business.

 

Perkiomen Valley Brewery "Shagbark Old English Style Ale"
$20/4-pk of brown glass bottles without production codes or freshness dating on 9/24/22; sampled 10/22/22

Notes via stream of consciousness: I actually had this on tap at the brewery but I liked it so much I brought a 4-pack home. It's brewed with Hickory shagbark and molasses. The body is a hazy deep brown beneath a short head of creamy tan foam. In the nose I'm getting molasses. It's sweetish, almost a little like soy sauce, and it suggests smokiness. The flavor follows. It's sweetish, grainy, kind of like German black bread, toasty, very molasses-like, caramelish, subtly fruity with dark raisins, grassy, leafy, lightly earthy, and almost roasty and, again, there's a suggestion of a light smokiness in the background. It also hints at coffee, dark chocolate, and spice but never really goes there. It's really quite complex. A moderate to stiff bitterness balances it, allowing it to be a little sweet upfront but eventually drying in the finish with dried leaves and a swirl of dusty earthiness lingering. In the mouth it's medium bodied leaning full, and dextrinous. The carbonation is moderate and soft on the palate. The head has held up really well, although it remains short. That's a trade-off for the soft carbonation. I wish there was more lacing but what's there is just a few spots and splashes on the side that you're drinking from, and I can actually see them sliding back down into the liquid. Still, that creamy cao is quite nice. I don't know what the Hickory bark is doing to this but I do know that people make a syrup with it so it must have some specific flavor, and now that i think about it maybe that's what's making me think of smokiness. Then there's the molasses, which is pretty strong, and which would have been an ingredient in British old ales at some point in time. I think it's a really nicely done old ale with a little bit of a twist to it. Thankfully I still have one bottle left!
Review #8,333

on draft at the brewery, in a plastic cup

darker amber brown color, cream colored head. fairly rich malt flavor, just a bit of hickory flavor, more brown sugar. Fuller bodied

 

really unique and tasty, sweet, dark, and mildly hoppy. truly a delicious beer and an awesome brewery with great causes. not corporate swill! this is good.