Name – Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale
Country – United States
Type – American Pale Ale

I pride myself on holding close ties to the place from which I came.  The culture, the sports, the people, they all keep my heart running and dug in to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Much of my family still resides there and I take every opportunity I can to catch a plane to Philly International Airport.  Flying in going by the skyline and the powerful Delaware River I know I’m home.

And besides the great time I spend with loved ones and the soft pretzels and the cheesesteaks there is always one thing that I look forward to on these hallowed grounds, the beer.  Oh the beer in Philly is something to love.  There are more breweries in the Philly area than Tiger Woods mistresses (and I hear there were a lot of those).  Beer is part of the culture that is Philadelphia.

Breweries like Victory, Stoudts, Yuengling and Flying Fish call Philadelphia their home market but they are all not in the actual city.  While there are not nearly as many breweries in the city as there used to be the ones that are there are making it a point to be known.  And that is where today’s beer comes from.

Yards might just be the biggest and most popular of the city breweries that includes Nodding Head, Dock Street, Manayunk and Philadelphia Brewing.  Their line of beers can be found all through out the city and the surrounding areas and they hold ties to the city to which they brew for.

I’m drinking Philadelphia Pale Ale for this one.  If that name does just say it all about this brewing city then I don’t know what does.  I admit I’ve had this beer before and fell in love with it.  And I was brought home a couple bottles by my friend Amie on a recent trip up to the City of Brotherly Love.  And I knew it was finally time to document this baby right here.

The cap is popped and it pours an extremely clear golden color into my pint glass.  There is a pretty good sized white head that sits atop the beer and does dissipate rather quickly.  But is does leave a good amount of lacing around the glass as it goes.

The nose is big and bold in pine and citrus hops.  I get a bit of a bready quality in there as well some malts to sort of balance things out.

The first sip is just full of a lot of hop flavor.  It follows up with some grainy tastes and malt for backbone.  Then a nice bitter finish.

While yes I am a sucker for beers brewed int he Philly area I have to say that this is one of my favorite pale ales I have ever had.  I said that the first time I had this and I still say it again almost 2 years later.

While it is quite hoppy it has a nice balance to it.  And at 4.3% ABV it is very easy to drink and could be your session beer of choice if you wish to go down that path.

It takes a lot courage to name your beer after an entire city, especially one the size of Philadelphia.  But I think Yards knew what they had here and took the chance.  To me it paid off.  This is beer for everyone.  It is what I would love to imagine every hard working person in Philly can come home to and have after work.  Now I just need to figure out how I can make that happen for me down here in Florida.

Grade – A-