Old Boy Ale - Parallel 49 Brewing Company

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours a dark copper with a finger width of white head.

Smell - Nutty aromas, chocolate malts, slight leafy/musty hops.

Taste - Hit with the chocolate malts, then with the leafy/musty hops and a touch of dark fruits.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with light-to-moderate carbonation.

Overall - A decent ESB by Parallel 49. The chocolate malts are a different take on the style. Could use a better balance of hops and malts, as I find it is more malt-heavy. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that this seems better suited for the English Brown classification.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 05:41:37 | More by leaddog

schopenhauerale

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%

05-01-2013 00:01:02 | More by schopenhauerale

Coastal_Brew

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%

03-24-2013 22:11:34 | More by Coastal_Brew

Tolosa

3/5  rDev -16.9%

02-19-2013 04:38:30 | More by Tolosa

smekermann

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%

02-13-2013 03:15:22 | More by smekermann

CookstLiquor

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 355ml bottle. Pours a brown-orange colour with a thin head. The nose is all about cereal malt notes with hints of chocolate and coffee. The mouthfeel is pretty soft and smooth. On the palate there are chocolate, grain and cracker notes with a slight bitterness on the finish.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 19:01:58 | More by CookstLiquor

thefullpython

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

11-27-2012 10:21:57 | More by thefullpython

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - clear deep brown, finger of head slowly settled at a half finger covering, no significant lacing
S - very nutty with some caramel and light dark fruity notes
T - big cashew and almond nuttiness, mild notes of caramel and brown sugar
M - biggish body and very creamy, finishes full
O - this is definitely better characterized as an english/nut brown rather than ESB, and in that light it makes a rich malty treat

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 02:01:14 | More by joemcgrath27

zduerr

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

11-20-2012 18:10:35 | More by zduerr

chickenm

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%

11-14-2012 06:06:19 | More by chickenm

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle poured into pint glass 3/11/12

A clear dark amber with lots of bubbles of all sizes but just a short lived finger of foam that leaves a couple random patches of lace

S nutty milk chocolate with a little fruit, cherry and plum perhaps, some earthy herbal hops and a little dark bread, interesting take on a bitter, more of an English Brown in my eyes

T some more nutty toffee but a little less of everything else, again its missing the hops I think of when drinking a bitter

M medium bodied, decent carbonation and a earthy aftertaste, not much for a bitter kick

O decent brew but not the best out of my mixed pack, I drank a few of these with no issues but wasn't as impressed as I was by some of their other offerings

I wouldn't turn one down but I wouldn't go looking for it either, another decent beer that won't leave an engraving in my memory

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 05:34:22 | More by wordemupg

Imrite

4/5  rDev +10.8%

10-21-2012 00:12:12 | More by Imrite

cletetron

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

10-04-2012 23:46:55 | More by cletetron

bumchilly25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -3%

09-29-2012 05:55:37 | More by bumchilly25

ericj551

British Columbia (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Old Boy pours a bright, deep red brown with a decent head. That aroma is dark toffee and chocolate malt, with a hint of caramel sweetness and just a vague, almost smokey astringent note. The dark malt character is a bit more restrained in the flavor, with more toffee and a hint of dark fruit. Earthy hops are present but take a back seat to the malt. I would think of this more as a brown ale than an ESB, but what ever you call it is is delicious. Very drinkable yet packed with flavor.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 05:12:03 | More by ericj551

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

341ml, corporately embossed bottle, another single from my craft six-pack from a heretofore unfathomable Whyte Ave booze purveyor. A Mr. Peanut parody, obviously involving a pint glass, holds the fort on the actual label.

This beer pours a clear, dark ruby amber tint, with two fingers of tight foamy, somewhat creamy beige head, which renders a decent string of broad webbed lace around the glass as it eases its way out of existence.

It smells of biscuity caramel malt, some further toffee nougat, a subtle oily nuttiness, and soft earthy, leafy hops. The taste is lightly toasted bready caramel malt, some mild crackery biscuit notes, further indistinct bar-top nuts, a slight twinge of bittersweet chocolate, and more forest floor, somewhat herbaceous hops.

The bubbles are fairly restrained in their ardor, the body a solid medium weight, and rather smooth by any measure. It finishes on the sweet side, the dark bread, toffee, and roasted biscuits basically lording it over those punk-ass, underachieving hops.

A decent enough ale, with a hell of a lot more to recommend it as an English Brown Ale, than the current ESB designation, a style otherwise close to my heart and/or palate. Anyways, approach this as the former, and you will be adequately, if not pleasantly, satisfied.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 03:53:05 | More by biboergosum

fizzyted

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -16.9%

09-04-2012 04:49:16 | More by fizzyted

FondueVoodoo

British Columbia (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: A clear rudy brown with active streams of carbonation that pored with a thin finger of creamy head, that left just a scant lacy scattering of tiny bubbles.

S: Hints of toffee malts followed by minerals, fairly mild on the smell while cool, but developed as it warmed.

T: a flush of bitters that quickly followed up by notes of pleasant malty brown ale, then to be followed again by more bitters. The tug of war between bitters & malts are complex and intriguing, and the warmer the brew gets the better it tastes.

M: Light to medium mouth feel, very mild carbonation.

O: Easy drinking brew that would go great with pub fare & sports. Much better warmed a bit, be sure to be patient when tring it the first time.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 02:04:59 | More by FondueVoodoo

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was the mystery beer in the mixed 12 pack and I found it quite complex once it warmed up.It is on the dark brown side in colour and tastes like a cross between a Brown Ale and an ESB. The hops are English and the beer reminds me of Blood Alley from Russell. Good beer that explores the malty side.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2012 23:54:41 | More by canucklehead