Try?
Have you ever had one of those beers so good that you couldn’t stop yourself from sipping on it, but at the same time you dreaded seeing the bottom of your glass? I sure have, and the most recent example is Yazoo Pale Ale from the Yazoo Brewing Company of Nashville, Tennessee. That shouldn’t surprise, though, since Yazoo always impresses me with their wonderful beers.
Pale ales are often overlooked these days-everybody wants to drink IPA-but they certainly have their place in the beer world, and I enjoy their balance of drinkability and flavor. Yazoo Pale Ale has an interesting malt profile that balances off the hops, one a bit different from most examples of the style.
From the label:
A new version of an American classic. Our pale ale bursts with citrus and herbal hop aroma and flavor, featuring the newly discovered Amarillo hop variety – along with generous Perle and Cascade hops. Made with English Pale, Munich, Vienna, and Crystal malts, this beer gives a great malty body with a cleansing hop finish.
Yazoo Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 5.8% by volume with 47 IBUs. It was selling for $8.99 a six-pack in Nashville when I visited. There is a field on the label for a “Bottled on Date”, however the other Yazoo beers I bought along with this one were stamped and all bottled recently, so the beer seems to move well.
Yazoo Pale Ale pours to a dark amber color with a thick head of rocky foam and a really and truly tantalizing nose of fresh toasty malt and lemony citrus. I could just smell this beer forever! I want to taste it though so I take a sip and get more of that luscious really toasty malt up front with perhaps just a hint of caramel thrown in for good measure.
Don’t forget the hops! They emerge quickly with a citric vengeance, once again lemony to me and the beer finishes with a grassy herbal hop aroma and long dry bitterness. Very nicely balanced beer here between hop and malt and I have to say, I didn’t want to see the bottom of my glass on this one. The grain bill with the addition Munich and Vienna malts makes this one a bit different, but very interesting indeed.
For me, this is really a perfect beer, and one I will definitely buy again the next time I am in Nashville.
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
