Erie Brewing Railbender Ale

Brewed by Erie Brewing Company
Style: Scottish Ale
Erie, Pennsylvania USA

On draft at Just Sports. Pour an amber/copper color with a small compact ff-white head. Aroma of floral hops, caramel, and fruit. THe flavor is caramel, fruit, somewhat boring. Ok brew.

Translucent and semi-hazed with a grapefruity orange color and orange soda bubbles rising to the top. Aged, brittle toffee takes the nose with sweet pea juice and corn husks sticking to dollar store graham crust. Expectations have considerably lowered. Caramel fornicates with toffee for a flavor laden with sweet caramel ribbons, weaving their way through dulce de leche custard. Minimal carbonation and a dusty hallertauer motif meets moth balls. Some melted maple fudge bricks appear later down the road. Peanut brittle, circus peanuts and chalky, chewy sweet pralines do little to promote the freak show circus act. Caramel courses through the finish with a cube-like saturated softness and a humming, noble hop bitterness amidst the battered maple display.

Horrible. No body. No flavor. Dull malty taste and thats about it. Dont waste your time.

Pours an orange haze with a small head. Aroma is floral and grassy, but weak. Flavor could be better balanced. Strong alcohol is obvious, but it buries a nice caramel-like sweetness with some fruit and hops. Body and mouthfeel are more syrupy than I wanted although I wouldn’t go so far as to call this an Old Ale.

Erie Brewing is on the opposite side of the great state of Pennsylvania from my hometown of Philadelphia. It’s funny how Western PA beers never make it out to Eastern PA. I had high hopes after reading the description of this Old Ale only to be let down. Thin head, golden body, skunky aroma, and burnt malt flavor. Old Ale is not the easiest style to brew so I’m hoping another style from Erie Brewing will make it out to the Philadelphia area and taste better than Railbender.

Just average. A bit of a skunky taste/aroma yet still drinkable. For 6.8% no real alcohol flavor which surprised me considering the flavor is weak/almost bland.

Bottle: This has sat at the back of my fridge for a couple months now. Kinda scary. Clear light copper color with an off white head. Aroma, assy caramel, a bit medicinal. Flavor, eww, some hops, grassy and nasty, but hops. I’m sorry I sent this out as an extra to anyone. Forgive me please. I beg you.

12/30/06: Bottle.
Orange-red-golden body. Stanky aroma of stale soap. Eick! Stale hop flavor of major yuck-age. (rating #626... my favorite little creature from Disney)!!