Weekly Beer Focus - Brown Ales: 11/5 - 11/14

Beer and Spirits
21

Leave it to brown ales to cause a fight.

Crazy that there are 3 people born on Oct 21 participating on the beer forum.

After my first two, i think I am going to go with Sam Smiths Nut Brown since that is what I normally think of when it comes to browns. The first two beers I had were very different, especially the bear republic.

Still looking for the nautical brown.

Jason

22

Sprecher Pub Brown Ale - Nose is of roasted grains leaning on a pumpernickel bread type of smell. The palate is on the light side for a brown ale with more roasted grain/barley flavor. Not much in the way of malt or caramel as might be expected. nice enough quaff but nothing to search out unless you like that leaning on barley flavor.

Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale - On drought at Beachwood. This was pleasant but light for a brown ale. Not much stood out but it was balanced and drinkable. Bland to my palate for the type.

23

I’ll be in Missoula MT tomorrow so I am sure I will be drinking some of this. Had many times. Not a bad session brown.

Jason

24

I had the Samuel Smith Nut brown Ale last night. YUM! Classic Sam Smith profile, there is something unique that I taste in each SS offering. Yeast, malt, not sure, but I like it.

This was lighter is style than the Avery and He’Brew, but unlike the Smuttynose and Pete’s - it was jamming with flavor. Really good stuff.

25

Going to a bar tonight that does a pretty good job of rotating craft taps; hopefully there’s a brown to be had.

26

Tonight, for the first time believe it or not:

Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale: not a fan out of the gate. Lighter bodied than what I usually like in a darker ale and a bit bitter (but not hops). With air and time it improved considerably. Will try again in the future but not having a Grafstrom/Racer 5 beermance any time soon.

27

I agree with you on the Moosedrool Chris, and don’t see the sometimes fanatical love for this one. It is perfectly serviceable but completely innocuous, I enjoy it but sure don’t seek it out. Similar to Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown.

Sam Smith’s Nut Brown, on the other hand… I have a very close relationship with that beer. Mmmmmm… one of my most frequently consumed beers, hands down.

28

Scott, when you’re back in MI next, grab some of the Short’s Bellaire Brown (year-round). Brown isn’t my favorite style, but when I want one this is the one I tend to go to. Really well balanced.

Short’s made a limited bottle run of Good Humans last year that was a dry hopped imperial brown which I quite enjoyed. Think DFH Indian Brown amped up quite a bit.

Also, Dark Horse has been bottling the Boffo Brown for a little while now. I don’t like it as much as the Short’s, but it’s still entirely solid.

29

Hey Mike! I’ll be in MI for Thanksgiving and then am driving straight to Traverse City for some winery tours. Short’s Brewing is on our tour list. Their Cup a Joe coffee cream stout is awesome, and they release it the day we get to TC! WOO HOO! I’ll try the Bellaire Brown as well.

30

Funny you should mention it but I also had the Downtown Brown last week with the same impression. Was nice on special at a bar the had an ok selection. But I hit the Red Seal Ale after that which was very spicy on tap which I haven’t noticed from the bottle.

31

Very cool! Short’s does a great job with most of their stuff. Don’t want to hijack the thread asking which wineries you’re going to stop at - send me an email or PM or something [basic-smile.gif] Was just up there in August and had some good stuff.

Oh, and stop at Right Brain Brewing in TC, too. They never brew more than one batch of any beer, so there’s no telling what will be on tap, but they’re VERY adventurous with their brews and usually have 6-12 things on tap. Fun little place.

32

I noticed that place in my TC research…I’ll definitely check it out!

33

Good call on Right Brain… Great little place, Ive had some of the best barleywines ever there! And Short’s Bellaire Brown is one of the finest session browns available!!

34

Had this to finish out the week. Good but again not really what I think of with a brown ale. For the price I would go with something else.

Jason

35

Two English classics.

Newcastle Brown Ale - Another one that I drank gallons of long before I was into craft brews. This and Bass were mainstays of mine in my 20’s and lead to many a drunken evening. I honestly wasn’t expecting much with their seemingly mass produced penetration of the the market these days and was pleasantly surprised.
Toasted malts and barley aromas. Caramel and malt with a touch of sweet flavoring. Very light on the palate for the type and probably a bit thin towards the finish. Not stellar but will do in a pinch.

Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale - I keep expecting to like this more with other Berserkers loving it and the fact that I dig the other products from the house a lot. This is nicely made but comes up a bit simple and bland for me which is what I remember from giving it a go a few months back. Solid, but I don’t reach for it when in the store.
Nicely integrated toasty malts. Even across the palate and in balance. Rich but not heavy. Pleasant but doesn’t pull me back to the glass.

36

This is another one I don’t get. Up there with fat tire is an overrated beer. Pass!

37

I am not a big Newcastle guy either.

I have one left, the Mikkeller Jackie Brown, but won’t get to it till Wednesday.

38

I’ll take Fat Tire over New Castle by a country mile, not that I think Fat Tire is anything special.

39

That’s just because you don’t have sentimental value attached to it like it seems Cris has. We used to get a keg of Newcastle every weekend in college, so it brings back good memories of drunken stupors. My wife still drinks the stuff religiously, but I have to say while it used to seem really good back in 1990 it is fairly thin and tasteless now.

40

Well In don’t think any of us are going to be drinking much of either anytime soon but I’ll take Newc over Fat Tire any day. No contest. At least is tastes like a brown ale in my book. Fat Tire just tastes like a maltier version of a mass production American Lager to me.


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