Brown Ale

One of the first styles of beer I ever had was Brown Ale. I got into that style through Newcastle Brown Ale. That was over twenty years ago. Now I have Ellie’s Brown American Brown Ale. This beer is a 5.5% ABV ale from Avery Brewing, brewed with hops such as Sterling, Bullion, and Cascade. This brown ale also uses Munich, C-120, Honey Malt, Cara Pils, Chocolate, and 2-Row malts along with a House Ale Strain yeast. This ale pours deep brown with a one-finger light tan head. The aroma is light, with notes of chocolate, sweetness, and a hint of brown sugar. The flavor is mild and not much. There is chocolate, sweetness, and light hops. To me, this beer has mild and mellow flavors overall. The beer finishes with a light chocolate taste. The aftertaste is malty. Ellie’s Brown boring beer. Not terrible. I give this one a D+. I don’t think there is enough flavor on this. I don’t think I would purchase this beer again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Newcastle Brown Ale has been back for a while. It was produced in Chicago, Illinois, by Lagunitas until the brewery shut down. Now it is being made for the US market in Tadcaste, England by John Smiths and is the UK recipe. This beer is owned by Heineken. It is 4.7% ABV. This beer was one of the beers that led me towards Blue Moon and eventually into craft beer. This beer pours light brown with a very light beige, two-finger head. The aroma is malty, with light nutty notes and bread. The flavor is malty, sweet, and very lightly smoky. This beer is different from the Newcastle I had so many years ago. No hop notes in this. This ale has a light mouthfeel. This beer has a light malt finish and a sweet malt aftertaste. This beer is better than I remember. My palate has changed since. This beer is not as good as some brown ales I’ve had. I think Newcastle Brown Ale is a C-. It isn’t terrible, but it’s better than I remember, and I seek out better brown ales. Please stay safe, be kind to one another, and remember to enjoy responsibly!

I love a good brown ale, London Bridges Falling Brown from Heist Brewery. This is a 5.4% ABV English-style brown ale made in Charlotte, North Carolina. I first got into craft brown ale about the time I got into craft beer, so I can say that brown ale was my gateway beer into craft beer. This ale pours a deep brown with a two-finger beige head. This beer has sweet/nutty chocolate, malts, and coffee aromas. The flavor is toffee, coffee, chocolate, sweetness (probably from the chocolate and toffee), and nutty. The flavor is heavy, as is the mouthfeel, but the mouthfeel isn’t thick stout heavy. This beer has a nice chocolaty toffee coffee finish. The toffee disappears from the aftertaste, leaving malty chocolate coffee. This is a great brown ale that gets an A. It is like a hug, and it’s not overly flavorful to the point where you can have but only one or can’t finish one. This beer is one I could go for, another or three, and I recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

This beer from Shiner, Texas, is a brown ale with chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit. This ale is brewed by Shiner beer in the Spoetzl Brewery. This beer was sent to me by KLG Public Relations. This ale is a relatively new beer from Shiner. This ale pours a deep brown color with a two-finger foamy beige head that slowly dissolves. The aroma is sweet, chocolaty, and nutty. The flavor is similar to its scent. With chocolaty sweetness, and nutty notes, it’s also salty, and there’s a bit of cherry. The mouthfeel is slightly fuller. Then this brown ale finishes with a nutty and semi-chocolaty flavor. Then you come to an aftertaste of salty, nutty chocolate flavors. This beer is interesting to me. I give Trail Ale. B-. All the flavors lean on the lighter side, and I think a brown ale shouldn’t, especially one with a nutty chocolate flavor. But that’s all I really can say negatively about this Shiner beer. I would recommend trying it. Please stay safe, be kind, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Here we have Lazy Bird Brown Ale, 5.5% ABV from Birdsong Brewing Co. This is one of their core offerings and is brewed right here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This brown ale is brewed with Two Row, Caramel 60L, Victory, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, and Red Wheat malts. It is also brewed with Columbus, Galena, Cascade, and Willamette hops. This ale pours a deep brown color with a three-and-a-half finger beige head. The head dissipates slowly leaving behind a beige bubble of lacing. The aroma is caramel, sweet, roasted malt, coffee, and tiny hop notes. The taste is sweet, caramel, with lite hoppy notes, roasted malts, and chocolate coffee. The mouthfeel is on the full side. Then it finishes with a hoppy roasted chocolate note with a hint of roasted malts. Then you get a nice caramel sweet hoppy finish. This is one of my favorite local beers. I give Birdsong Brewing Co. lazy Bird Brown Ale an A+. It is a get craft brown ale. I highly recommend this. It has all the great brown ale flavors with a lite citrus hop to it to make it interesting and tasty. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

I found a new brewery the other day while at Total Wine. This Bitchin’ Betty Brown Ale, 5.4% ABV, is from Armored Cow Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina. This brown ale has chocolate and honey malts in it. This ale pours a dark brown with a tow and a half finger beige, khaki head that slowly dissipates. The aroma is a little sweet and has an aroma of malty flavors. It has a creaminess. The taste is chocolaty and creamy with a malted backbone. There is a bit of a roasted note as well. It has a light to medium mouthfeel for a brown ale. Then this ale finishes with a creamy roasted cocoa flavor. The aftertaste is short with a chocolate malt flavor. I have had better brown ales, and I think Armored Cow Brewing Bitchin’ Betty Brown Ale is a C+. The overall flavor just slowly tickles your taste buds with a minimal flavor. It is average for a brown ale, and I might have this again, but I wouldn’t try this, but it will not be a terrible experience if you do. Please be kind, stay safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

I have had Samual Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, 5% ABV many times. I’ve even had it in London, England. It hales from Tadcaster, York, England. This beer isn’t that expensive for an imported beer either. It’s usually under five dollars. I purchased this ale from my local grocery store. This nut brown ale pours brown color with a light beige three-finger head of cream. The aroma is nut and malty, with a bit of caramel sweetness. The flavor is creamy, nutty, sweet with malty flavors. The mouthfeel is medium. This ale then finishes smooth creamy with a nice caramel nuttiness. The aftertaste is creamy sweat with a malt flavor. Every time I have this, I am pleased to be drinking it. The beer flavor is well-balanced and smooth. I say Samual Smith’s Nut Brown Ale is an A+. I highly recommend Samual Smith’s Nut Brown Ale. If you haven’t had this beer or any of Samuel Smith’s beers, then you are missing out! I could have three pints of this or more without getting tired of the flavors. It is a prime example of an English Brown Ale. Please be kind, stay safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

I bought this beer yesterday while at my local Whole Foods. This ale is Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company Comfy Armchair Brown Ale, 4.3% ABV. This beer is made down in Charleston, South Carolina. Now I am a fan of the brown ale style of beer. In my option, I think it is a good spot between a light-colored/flavor style of beer and something darker. It’s a good gateway beer for getting into dark beers, such as porters and stouts. This particular beer pours a brown color with a one-finger off-white/beige head that sticks around for a while. The aroma is nutty, malted, with sweetness. There also is some dried fruit. The flavor is malty, nutty with a bit of sweetness. It finishes with a nutty, slight raisin flavor. Then you get a bit of malty, nutty flavor in the aftertaste. This beer is good and tastes great. The flavors are on the lighter side you get in traditional English-made brown ales. Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company Comfy Armchair Brown Ale get an A. There n too much out there that is better, a few. Samual Smith’s Brown Ale comes to mind that is just a little better than this. But I’m not saying that this is a bad brown ale. It’s good, and I recommend it! Please be kind =, stay safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!