Pawtucket, Rhode Island, now has two breweries. You might not think that’s very exciting, but I sure do, since this is the city where I was born. The first Pawtucket-brewed beer I ever sampled was from Foolproof Brewing, and that was back in 2014. Tonight, I’m sipping a Pawtucket Pail Ale from the Bucket Brewery, founded in 2012.

The Bucket Brewery was, as many craft breweries are, a joint venture of several homebrewers. It’s located in the old Lorraine Mills, reminiscent of the late great Emerald Isle Brew Works which was also based in as mill complex albeit in West Warwick, RI. Old mills abound in New England, and lots of breweries have popped up in them over the years.

Here’s what the brewery says about Pawtucket Pail Ale:

A well balanced, complex American pale ale with a rich, malty body lending notes of caramel, with hints of stone fruits and tangerine in the aroma.

Pawtucket Pail Ale has an alcohol content of 5.5% by volume and was running $9.99 a six-pack at Liquor Warehouse in Warwick where I bought it. And hey, you just have to love the “Pail Ale” wordplay from a brewery named bucket…..

Bucket Brewery Pawtucket Pail Ale pours to a brilliant reddish amber color with a thick head formation of creamy foam and a soft fruity nose of citrus and apples. A thick layer of Brussels Lace forms on the sides of my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom. Taking a sip, I get a firm caramel maltiness just right for the style with more of the citrus fruit that the nose promised along with hints of ripe red apples and an impressively bitter, quite herbal grassy aromatic hop finish.

All in all, this is a very tasty American Pale Ale with a hint of British heritage from the hops. It’s well balanced between malt and hop with some extra emphasis on the hops, and I very much enjoyed it. What would my grandfather, who lived to the ripe old age of 94 enjoying beer and living in Pawtucket, have thought of Pawtucket Pail Ale? I know he would have approved, and I do too.

Update 11/5/2015: It seems a few corrections are in order. Pawtucket now has three (count 'em!) breweries with the addition of Crooked Current. Crooked Current now occupies the space in Lorraine Mills once owned by Bucket Brewery, which is now relocated to 545 Pawtucket Mills.

Things change so fast in the beer world today it's hard to keep up, but thanks due to the fine folks in Rhode Island Craft Beer for correcting me!

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