I’m back at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL for our monthly ABNormal Brewers club meeting. As usual, I went looking for something I haven’t had yet, and decided to go ahead and try this one.
From the brewery, “This robust, dark brown ale gets its rich flavor from seven different malts and three types of hops. The addition of hand-toasted oats and a generous portion of molasses give the Pullman Brown Ale an incredible smoothness and quaffability.”
Location: Enjoyed a pint glass, at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 6% ABV, ~ 180 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It was deep brown, and fairly cloudy, with a nice thick, tan, creamy head, which (as you can see) produced some good lacing on the glass. There was a toasty-malty aroma.
Taste & Feel: It had a light-medium body and was smooth, with a bit of crispness on the end of each sip from the carbonation. There was a light, sweet, toasty maltiness up front, followed by a decent sized burnt malt bitterness. There was even more burnt coffee-like bitterenss in the finish, lasting just a bit into the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: Due to the high amount of coffee and burnt malt like bitterness, I’d pair this with a sweet, rich, chocolate dessert like a mousse or cake. The rich sweetness should combat the bittereness a bit, leaving the palate a bit more balanced after each bite or sip.
Overall Impression: I enjoyed the flavorfulness of this beer, but thought it tipped a little too heavily on the bitterness scale, perhaps hand-toasting the oats in this batch too much, giving it coffee-like bitter flavors. I enjoyed the aroma and sweet, toasty, maltiness up front, but after several drinks, the bitterness became a bit too much. Overall, I think this beer has potential if they can cut back on the burnt malt bitterness.
My Rating: 
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