Barley Johns Little Barley Bitter

Brewed by Barley Johns Brew Pub
Style: Bitter
New Brighton, Minnesota USA

Serve in English pint

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White ring on a glowing golden body. Moderate carbonation. Mostly dusty aroma with some malty directions. Very curious to have this side-by-side with their maibock, which is the sweeter of the two beers but share a lot in common, though a few shades of color apart. Moderate bitterness after a mostly plain flavor. Most disappointing was that this beer, unlike any other of Barley John’s beers, suffers from a limp, even watery palate. This was the most pedestrian beer that they were serving the day I was there, so that’s still quite a testament to their overall high standards and approach to quality beers (no "house light" beers).

Date: November 26, 2011 Mode: Draft Source: Barley Johns Brew Pub Description: Translucent golden, almost no head but had some lacing, light and malty, very smooth, great beer for the style.

Sample at Barley Johns Brew Pub. Creamy and not very bitter. Chestnut colour. Smooth and refreshing.

On tap at Barley Johns. Faint aroma. Little pale brown colour. Malty, not bitter.

On tap at the brewpub - I was in the mood for something light and malty, and this fit the bill perfectly. Pours brown with a small light tan head. Nose is nutty and lightly sweet, with a touch of floral hops. Taste is roughly the same, with a real smooth breadiness coming through. The whole thing is as easy drinking as expected, and I could probably drink an entire growler of this. Smooth and medium-bodied, with a nice carbonation level.

On tap at Barley Johns. Pours clear amber with a slim tight soapy head that leaves a noticable lacing. Aroma is light hops malt and yeast. Taste is crisp malty with a bitter hop finish. Palate is thin and crisp with a gritty dry finish. Easy drinker.

on tap at the brewery pours light amber with a medium off white head. Aroma is thin grassy malts and toffee. Flavor is light toffee and a nice clean grassy hop finish. Really good session strength beer.

On tap as part of a sampler...A darkish clear gold with a huge white head with great retention...The aroma is super light, immediately you can see this is a 3.5% beer. A touch of caramel is all you get, boring...The taste is so light you might as well be drinking water, the extremely light feel hurts as well. It tastes as if they mixed half a glass of esb with half a glass of water. Not a session beer worth trying.

On tap at the brewpub. Poured a clear gold with an amber hue and a white head that dissipated slowly to the edges and laced nicely. Aroma was full of malts with grain hay and a bit of buttery popcorn and bread. Flavor was similar with notes of grass, hay and bread with a bit of underlying sweetness.

Appearance: golden straw with a steady stream of bubbles racing from bottom to top. Nice fluffy white head. Lace already crawling up, down, and around sides of taster glass.
Nose: bread crust and toast golden brown. Citrus skins in the back; grapefruit and lemon. Melba underneath with red apple skins.
Palate: bitterness in back with un-waxed fresh citrus skins. Sweetness in middle and front. Apply crispness mingles with the gently bitter citrus skins. Lingers long on top of tongue, drying palate and instigating thirst. Apple essence in the middle. Lemon and white grapefruit are far more subdued. Honey-accented melba toast.
Final Thoughts: a bitter worthy of her English predecessors as far as I can taste. Excellent flavor with a briskness of drinkability which this style is known for.

Sample at the brewpub on 10/30/10. Pours clear gold with a thick white head. Corny aroma with some graininess and a bit of hop. Flavor of corn, dank malt and a crisp bitter finish.