The Yards Brewing Company, a local Philadelphia craft brewery, serves up some awesome beer from Delaware Avenue. One in particular I had the pleasure of taking a look at is their Brawler, a self-proclaimed “Pugilist Style Ale.” Categorized as an English Dark Mild Ale, the Brawler takes a seat a very modest 4.2% ABV.

Just looking at the bottle is awesome. The label looks great and fits in quite well with the Brawler name it’s attached to. This 12 oz bottle was poured into a pint glass as I observed the look. The color was a medium-brown with some slight amber/reddish hues. The head was tiny, off-white with an almost brownish tint to it. The head was gone pretty quickly leaving the semi-hazy liquid with a tiny donut-shaped ring of head.

I had to take a few different whiffs to get all the flavors out of this one. There really is a nice complexion of flavors going on. First, I was hit immediately with a smoked smell. I honestly got more of a smoked brisket type of smell, with some nutty and salty dimensions also. A bit of a caramel malt backbone tied it together, but it was definitely understated compared to the rest.

The taste was interesting. The mouthful was noticeably carbonated and medium in body. I got a slight hint of nuts with some toasted toffee flavor up front. This was nicely and quite quickly balanced by a hint of chocolate and/or caramel malt. Both the flavors were there and blended nicely. Finally, the finish was sort of smooth with a hint of prune to really throw one more level of complexion at your palate.

I’ve never had (to my recollection) a beer of this style before, but I wasn’t displeased. It was different and definitely something I’d order every now and again. I don’t think I could see myself stocking my fridge full of the Brawler, but that’s not reason to say it’s not a good beer. The beer is well crafted and uniquely complex in its flavors. I can see this being a sessionable beer as a whole, but for me, it’s a one and done.

Overall: 8.5/10