Schlafly Pale Ale

12oz bottle poured into a typical pint glass. 4.4% abv.

Bottle says, "Schlafly Pale Ale is a rich, amber-colored, medium-bodies, British style ale with a smooth, mild hop character." We'll see about all of that.

This was one of the first "real beers" that I enjoyed after I turned 21, and I haven't gone back to it much in the last 6-7 years. Pours a pretty typical light, pale/amber color. Aggressive pour in a clean glass gives you a finger and a half head, dissipates into a pretty decent soapy ring after a minute or two. Smell is biscuity malt, maybe a touch of toffee, and a touch of hops. Although this is a pale, malt dominates the nose.

First taste is a bit thin and a little astringent. Roll it around the tongue a bit and you get a light malt sweetness at first, and the hops come in with a typical bitter finish.....much more so than what you pick up in the smell. There are tiny signs of the stuff like the biscuit and toffee you smell up front, but not enough for me to be one of those douches who lists 45 different flavors just because that's the cool thing to do. There really isn't much going on here, so I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass about what isn't there.

As usual, you can get a little bit more sweetness as it warms up a bit, but the focal point here is a bitter finish, as I said before, almost astringent. Light and bubbly on the tongue. Not "heavy" by any means.

I don't know if it's because I had this on tap nearly all my past experiences with it, or just that I've had a ton more beer in the meantime.....but I'm a but underwhelmed. Honestly, it tastes like it may even be a bit off.....partly skunky perhaps like it's been sitting in the sun. So maybe that's it? But in the meantime, while this isn't awful, I'd opt for Boulevard, Bass, Sam Adams Boston Lager, over this guy if I were to be faced with any of those choices for a basic pale ale.

Verdict: 5.5/10