Do you believe in the little man, small towns and big flavor? If you do, then you’re one of us, according to Hampton, Georgia’s Jailhouse Brewing. Jailhouse is, of course, one of my favorite breweries here in Georgia, and definitely makes for a very interesting brewery tour indeed. The brewery takes its name from the fact that it is located in an old jailhouse, and that theme inspires the names of all of their beers.
I like their beers so much, in fact, that I am going to add another line to the “Jailhouse Creed” that opened this little treatise: Do you believe in sharing? I certainly do, and that’s why I recently picked up a few bottles of Jailhouse Misdemeanor Ale, an amber ale by style. One of these was for me, the other I sent to acclaimed Youtube beer reviewer Tom the Beer Whisperer Mulvihill. Tom’s videos are full of enthusiasm and knowledge, and display his uncanny palate. Most impressive is his extensive knowledge of different hop varieties and their flavor profiles. You can see his video review of this beer by clicking on his image above.
Toward that end, Tom and I thought it might be fun to conduct a joint review, mine written, and his by video. You can see his review embedded here, and I hope that you enjoy; two reviews for the price of one!
More on the beer from the Jailhouse website:
Misdemeanor is built on robust flavors but with practiced restraint. It is a medium-bodied amber ale with a balanced caramel sweetness and a heft of biscuit overtones. Balanced with a combination of earthy hop varieties from the Willamette Valley.
Malt
- Domestic 2-row, Crystal, Biscuit.
Hops - Liberty and Willamette
O.G. - 13°P | ABV - 5.5% | IBU - 23
The 22-ounce bottles that I purchased were from a batch packaged on February 6th, 2013. I paid a reasonable $5.99 each for them. What do I think of the beer?
Jailhouse Misdemeanor Ale pours to a deep amber color with a thick creamy head formation and a soft malt and fruit nose. Taking a sip, the beer has luscious caramel malt underneath with hints of apple and pear, then a tea-like herbal hop aroma in the finish. The beer is balanced, but not overly bitter, a tasty drinkable amber ale in my opinion. I very much enjoy the balance here of chewy caramel malt underneath.
In this day of uber and megabrews walloping you with oodles of hops and malt (not to mention alcohol), it’s nice to be able to sip a nicely balanced brew of moderate strength on a warm summer evening. That’s exactly how I enjoyed Jailhouse Misdemeanor Ale, and I certainly enjoyed it and think you will, too. If you see it, buy it. After all, to miss out on Jailhouse Misdemeanor Ale would be downright criminal.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft