Philadelphia Pale Ale - Yards Brewing Co.

wailingwench

New Mexico

4.28/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I was suprised to see this rated so low. This beer has inspired me to look for more Pa products other than Victory and Rolling Rock. I believe a trip to Phily is in order sometime....

Eye Candy: Brilliant golden orange, cloudy with swirls, huge frothy white head that held on throughout. Gentle rising lines of carbonation. Plenty of sticky lacing and clumping. Fresh, fresh, fresh.

The Nose Knows: Floral and grapefruit hops, white grape juice/ginger ale, sour apple, fresh baked biscuity malts, doughy yeast.

Tongueland: Floral hops up front, slight caramel, sweet bread middle, finished pink grapefruit with a touch of bitter orange peel to balance. Biscuity malt background. Amazing complexity. Thick carbonation, syrupy, palate coating, exc feel.

Bender: Easily see this one on cask. Looking forward to finding this one again. Hops destroy the buds, you can't appreciate anything else after this one, thus drinkability suffers. At listed low ABV, a standout APA.

Serving type: on-tap

05-26-2005 18:18:18 | More by wailingwench

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Floral and grapefruit aroma.Hazy yellow and hop bubbles. Nice bitter lemony citrus dryness. Malt and caramel and herbal flavour there for balance. Guest tap at Independence Pub, a popular brew in this city. Well carbonated. Medium body. Competent pale.

Serving type: on-tap

05-15-2005 05:11:11 | More by northyorksammy

francisweizen

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

*New version*. Bright pale golden orange with the fluffiest white head of foam. Consistently good carbonation creates nice lacing. Aromas are all amarillo and simcoe hop goodness, with a bready, biscuity malt base to back up the show. The taste is a fresh hop explosion laced with the flavor of fresh baked rolls. The mouthfeel is creamy, and almost cask-like from the tap, and the drinkability is very very good. An awesome pale ale!

Serving type: on-tap

02-28-2005 19:06:57 | More by francisweizen

whartontallboy

New York

3/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Had this one on tap, it pours an orange-yellow with a small white head.
It smells of citrus and hops with a little bit of pine and floral scent snuck in there as well.
Things take a downturn when the beer hits your mouth. The citrus flavors, particularly grapefruit and lemon, are almost overwhelming, although gradually some grassy tastes come through as well. Somewhat sweet and hoppy with a bitter finish, more like an IPA.
The mouthfeel is thin and very clean; I think this could be refreshing on a hot day.
Drinkability: I've tried this one three times at various bars, and each time, I have only wanted one pint before remembering I don't really dig it and moving on to something else. There are some nice notes in it, but the flavor leaves me desiring a little less grapefruit and a little more of something, anything, else.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2005 21:21:33 | More by whartontallboy

Edwin

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap in my apartment (a VERY special thanks to gfb108 for that!)...

Appearance: Poured out a yellowy color with some hazy amber hints to it. A large, foamy head formed. nice, white and fluffy. Left a LOT of lacing in the glass.

Smell: A wonderful array of hops and fruit notes come out immediately. I was surprised at the amount of hoppiness that I could pick up. Very impressive.

Taste: I could not believe this wasn't an IPA. Lots of good hop flavors, mixed with some citrus notes. I was very pleased with this, as I thought I'd be let down. It is a nicely balanced, crisp hoppiness.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation and a smoothness that went down easy. The lack of carbonation could have been my lack of experience with the tap system. Not sure.

Drinkability: This is a very drinkable brew. It's got a nice, warm feel to it, and won't smack you in the face with alcohol. I had five and was fine, if not tired (Watching my Falcons get smacked by the Ravens in preseason will do that I guess).

Overall: A great keg to kick of my new tap system. I highly enjoyed this brew. Grab one if you can. Note: make sure you get a fresh case to ensure you have the "NEW" recipie.

Serving type: on-tap

08-13-2004 12:20:09 | More by Edwin

GeoffFromSJ

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Apparently, Yards re-did the recipe with Simcoe hops, or so I'm told. It has a straight bitter taste up-front which then goes into the aftertaste. The aftertaste has apple overtones. The hops are very much dominant but not overwhelming. It came with a nice head which dissipated. Your views on this tasty redesign probably will depend on your feelings about the hop variety used.

Serving type: on-tap

05-26-2004 02:31:05 | More by GeoffFromSJ

ark57

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this on tap at the City Tavern in Philadelphia. It seems to be an English style Pale Ale. The copper color has some grassy and caramel aromas. It is well balanced, but does not stand out as an exceptional brew. It was good to start the evening with, but there were better beers to come.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2004 14:13:07 | More by ark57

nomad

Kansas

3.18/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

aka Yards Queen's Head Ale...

Poured a light tawny orange, with a tiny bubbly head, little lace or stain, and showing little carbonation. Smelled of florals and bitter fruit scents, a small nuttiness, and a malt that was soft in texture and strength. Taste was of a greeny, grassy, oily hop flavor, with a very light malt in the background. Very thin and drinkable, I'd pay no attention to the numbers, as this a good session beer or a watching-football-beer to choose in Philly.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2003 18:00:30 | More by nomad

rdrummer

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is not my favorite Yards brew. I like the ESA on tap a whole lot more. This is an average pale ale. It pours a nice amber with a small off-white head. It has a little lacing, nothing great.

Its aroma is a little sour and not nearly as floral as other pale ales that I've tried. It has a hoppy flavor with a hint of fruitiness. Nothing special. It has a really nice feel in the mouth, but all-in-all, the drinkability is average. The beer was served very cold, which may have caused some of the smell and flavor to suffer, but I think it is probably still rather average.

Serving type: on-tap

10-26-2003 20:50:40 | More by rdrummer

WVbeergeek

Ohio

2.55/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appears slightly hazed copper with a mountainous frothy head, all I can say is welcom to Starbucks sir. Broad rings of thick lacing line the pint glass throughout the pour. Aroma has delicate floral hops with some mild fruit tones gracing my senses all under a mellow malt sweetness. Taste is a bit mild all of the flavors are tame except for the hops they came through creating unbalanced harshness there is some residual caramel tones in the malt profile. Mouthfeel has some syrup like textures but still a bit thin especially for a cask. Low carbonation very smooth making drinkability effortless not bad just not as good as I was hoping.

Serving type: cask

08-02-2003 00:06:41 | More by WVbeergeek

pezoids

Pennsylvania

1.9/5  rDev -49.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

I have had this beer before and enjoyed it, but there must have been something wrong with the cask this time. It must not have conditioned properly. There was hardly any carbonation or head and it tasted stale and bitter. It could have been old. I know casks don't last long once they're tapped.
Yards is one of my favorite brewers, but something went wrong here. I will have to give this one a second chance.

Serving type: cask

02-22-2003 12:37:10 | More by pezoids