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Beer Reviews

Antler Ale

Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse
Gaylord, MI
USA
http://www.bigbuck.com

Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5.0%

Rings’s Rating:
   (Drinkable, but flawed)


Comments:
I reviewed a bit of Big Buck’s background in my review of their Big Buck Beer some time ago.

Their beers are by and large “training wheel” brews—nothing too extreme, in an effort to attract “mainstream” beer drinkers and their food was an ode to the carnivore who liked his protein cooked thoroughly.

I stopped by their flagship location on a recent trip to Mackinac Island and was pleased to discover that original brewer and manager Scott Graham was back at the helm. A large figure in the Michigan beer scene, Graham has also served numerous roles as a brewer, distributor, and leader. Since 2007, he’s also served as Executive Director of the Michigan Brewers’ Guild.
They only had a half dozen brews on tap—down from their usual dozen or so—but each was much improved from recent experiences.

Antler Ale is their amber brew. Pouring light red in color, it was relatively flat, with a mildly bitter bite on the front of the palate balance with a lightly malted body and lingering dry finish. There’s certainly nothing fancy about it and it would’ve been better had it not unfortunately marred just a bit by mild DMS.

Reviewed by Rings on August 20, 2012.

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