Dance Card
Art History Brewing

 

 

9/27/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased 9/12/25 Beer on the Wall at store temperature for $3.98 including tax. Refrigerated upon purchase. 16 oz canned on 9/3/25. 5.6% ABV, 35 IBU American Brown Ale. Keep Refrigerated below 37 F. Brewers Notes: English, Munich & Chocolate Malts deliver a rich character of biscuit, coffee and chocolate. Brewed in Geneva, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about half the can into a shaker pint glass, yielding generous white tan creamy head which lasts several minutes before yielding generous soapy lacing and a creamy cover over the clear dark brown base with minimal carbonation. Looks sharp. 4.5

Aroma: Bold and wonderful caramel malt, fresh pumpernickel bread, toffee, fresh roast coffee. All blend very well. 4.5

Taste: Consistent with aroma, caramel, toffee, more of a rye bread and coffee playing a supporting role. Getting old school pine and citrus hops as well. Just wonderful. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Nice balance between the hops and sweet flavors consistent with my enjoyment of this style. Drinks light and easy at first, but at about the 5.6% once I settle in. Faint gentle carbonation adds slight depth to the watery light plus body, perceived sweetness adds more heft. Caramel toffee sticky finish. 4.5

Overall: This is a wonderful brown ale, perhaps my favorite. Think I found a new Fall replacement from a scarce former standby. Great full flavor, balanced, the depth of flavors work really well. Need to visit and buy more Art History now that my refrigerator has some room for beer. 4.75

Really good beer! I wish they would broaden the season it’s produced and bring it out a month earlier. It’s excellent and I look forward to this year’s batch.

Had on cask. Opaque center to the brown body, but edges are more clear with a humongous mushroom colored head with tons of bands of lacing on the glass. Smells of rich brown malts, toasted caramel, earth, tobacco, prune, raisin, orange peel and a touch of pine. Taste has earth, tobacco and dried prune starring amongst the drier yeast and signature malts, hops here are more subdued but there in the finish. Really nice texture from the cask: airy and dry yeast, heavy handed but balanced malt, velvet soft and smooth. Paired great with steak and ale pie

Love it! Will have again. But dark rich flavorful beers are my go-to. Recommended if you like balance of hops & malt.

 

 

This is my 10th from Art History and eight have been darker than pale. From that, I have to conclude they like dark malts and, to me, they brew them unusually well. In fact, I cannot think of another brewer this young (only 4 years old) that knows enough to get the most out of darker malts.

Although I can only speculate about the joke in its name, Dance Card does not disappoint. It has a voluminous head and sits in my nonic very invitingly. (No wallflower ... maybe that's the joke.) I also give Look points for good labels; and while this is middling for Art History, it is still exceptional. Smells are not easy to unpack, but my nose detects chocolate and some confection, let's call it toffee. But, I Taste cappuccino; with a finish judiciously balanced by slight bitterness from chocolate and, I speculate, hops. Lucious Feel, creamy and soft.

Like a lot of Art History's brews, I want to return to them. But so many brews and so little time. I'm an old man who has to enjoy one Art History lesson at a time. This one is good enough to repeat.

4/3/23 Will I repeated finally. I edited the above but add that this time I'm noticing more bitterness in the finish. All good. No change in score.

Canned 11/22/23; drank 12/16/23 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque dark brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a HUGE, noisy tan head; a thick curtain of tree-rung lacing remained.

Toffee, medium roast coffee bean, mild pine & faint chocolate notes in the nose.

Creamy medium mouthfeel.

Medium roast coffee bean, rye bread & milk chocolate flavors; booze heat emerged as this warmed.

Robust American brown ale vibes; too bad I missed it on cask a while back. Above average.