For my birthday a little over a month ago my wife got me a Beer of the Month subscription. We had received the first box a few days before, so I was able to actually open the box on my birthday and see what beers I received.

The first beer I pulled out was Nutfield Old Man Ale… which my wife thought was hilarious since she’s been going on about how I’m "old". (I’m not. Trust me.)

The Old Nutfield Brewing Company is based in New Hampshire, and the Old Man Ale is their version of an American Pale Ale. It’s 5% alcohol by volume, and I’m interested to note that their grain bill (which they list) includes wheat, and the yeast used is Ringwood.

Appearance: Very clear, golden straw colored… nice white head on top that’s thick and fizzy.

Smell: Grassy, floral hop, lightly toasted malts. That toasty character is prominent.

Taste: Light, crisp, and bitter… like an ESB. Toasted malts—light cereal—clean bitter hop, a touch of butterscotch. Biscuity… soda crackers?

Mouthfeel: Crisp, nice clean bitter bite. It’s shy of medium-bodied, but it has a nice non-watery/non-thin presence.

Overall: I want to call this an English Bitter (or ESB) rather than an American Pale Ale. (The information sheet that came with the beers also calls out the British flavor profile.) Nothing wrong with that; makes for a satisfying session beer.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of C+. On RateBeer, it scores 2.86 out of 5 and is in their 33rd percentile.