TrimTab Pillar to Post — The Brown Ale Nobody Saw Coming

The Review

TrimTab is known for expressive IPAs, experimental stouts, and fruited sours. The Pillar to Post Rye Brown Ale is none of those things, and somehow it’s one of the best beers they make.

It pours a deep, clear mahogany with ruby highlights and a cream-colored head. The nose is toasty and slightly spicy — the rye makes itself known immediately, adding a dry, peppery character that most brown ales lack entirely. On the palate: biscuit malt, a hint of caramel, the rye spice cutting through and keeping everything from going too sweet, and a clean, dry finish with a gentle hop note that ties it together.

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This was one of TrimTab’s original flagship beers alongside the IPA, which tells you something about what brewmaster Will Crenshaw was trying to do at launch — not just make another IPA brewery, but establish range. The Pillar to Post doesn’t get the press the IPAs do. It doesn’t benefit from the sour beer zeitgeist. It’s just a very good brown ale that rye makes significantly more interesting.

Order it on a cold February evening in the tasting gallery. It’s the right call every time.

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