Out of the 750ml bottle (that’s a lot of beer) the Jackie Brown has a dark muddy brown color that has some red highlights and cloudiness. The head was hard to control and in the end wound up at two fingers in height. It is a nice and fluffy dark cream color that leaves some great lacing. The aromas are simplistic but inviting. Great pine hop elements, some roasted malt, and the slightest hint of chocolate and caramel come through.

Given the hop presence on the nose I didn’t know what to expect when drinking this beer. First thing that comes through is the hops with a bit of bite. This is followed by malty caramel and toffee that helps to mellow things out and bring a nice sweetness to the palate. The finish is crisp with lingering elements of cocoa and pine. A good medium body with a lively carbonation is present as well.

I can certainly say that the Jackie Brown is not what I was expecting. I did not expect the hop presence; while Brown Ales can have plenty of hop elements it was still a bit surprising. The hops worked well though, and I enjoyed the interplay of the malts with the dominate hops. Certainly nice to see something different in the world of Brown Ales – this one is worth a look.

Rating

88
out of 100

The Koko Brown has one finger of cream colored head atop a brown body, complete with some ruby highlights. The beer is very opaque and noticeably carbonated quite well. The aroma is very roasted with mellowing notes of caramel and coconut. The roast seems to be an even split between the coconut and malt — a good smooth aroma, and yes the coconut is easy to pick out.

The coconut and roast elements are just as prevalent on the palate as the aroma. Initially the toasted coconut and other nut flavors (almond mostly) come through. Upfront there is also a good dose of sweetness, from both the coconut and the malt. The finish is where some floral hops start to come in, adding some bitterness, but it seems a bit disjointed with the flavors that come before. The mouth feel is a little too oily for me, lingering a bit too much — instead, I would like it to be a little more crisp.

If I hadn’t tried the CoCoNut Porter first I think that I would like this beer more. However, knowing that there is a better composed example of a toasted coconut beer out there, makes me not like the Koko Brown as much. The coconut is more pronounced in the Koko which I like, but the other flavors don’t pull together as well. If you are interested in trying a toasted coconut brown ale, this isn’t a bad one to try. Just know that there are some better options out there.

Rating

81
out of 100

The Pig’s Ear pours out a dark brown with prominent red highlighting. The off white creamy head dissipates quickly and leaves minimal lacing on the glass. The aromas consist of slightly roasted malt and caramel. There is also some sweetness that is backed up by sweet milk chocolate. No hop elements jump out, nor do any hints of alcohol.

The flavors of the Pig’s Ear start of on the sweeter side of things mixed with some nuttiness and has defined caramel and toffee notes coming through. These typical flavors for a Brown Ale are followed up by roasted malt and dark chocolates. The finish has a hint of hop bitterness which brings some complexity into play. The mouth feel is smooth and doesn’t really contain any carbonation but finishes surprisingly crisp, with no alcohol on the back-end.

I enjoyed the Pig’s Ear Brown Ale, and coming in at 4.3% ABV, I could have several. It’s a good session Brown Ale, although nothing jumped out at me as far as innovation or new takes on the style. It also wasn’t the best standard Brown Ale that I have had, but that’s okay. If you find it, and want a Brown for your beer fridge, this is a decent one to pick up.

Rating

80
out of 100

The Hazelnut Brown Nectar pours a clear, dark brown color with red accents. There’s a one finger slightly off-white head that dissipates quickly, and leaves some strings of lacing on the glass. The aromas draw you into the beer, with some sweeter malt elements, roasted hazelnut and a bit of dark roasted grain. The hazelnut, as you would expect, really stands out and combines nicely with the malt elements.

There is a lot of sweet malt upfront, with some prominent roasted notes. The hazelnut notes mix together with notes of brown sugar and toffee. The nuttiness of the hazelnut with the malt elements are a great flavor combination that beg another sip. There are some bitter hop elements as well, adding some variety to the palate and breaking up the sweetness. As it should be the nuttiness of the hazelnut steals the show throughout. The mouth feel is lightly carbonated and a little thin, but it’s smooth and pleasant.

I truly enjoyed this beer but others may find it to be too sweet for a Brown Ale. I do wish that there was a tad more bitterness to break up the sweetness but the hazelnut elements are a great twist on a traditional Brown. If you enjoy Brown Ales and want something a little different, this is certainly one to try.

Rating

90
out of 100

The Palo Santo pours out a wonderfully dark, rich and heavy black with about one inch of foamy tan head resting atop the murky body. If I hadn’t known any better, the appearance seems like a dark Stout. The aromas here are complex and simply incredible. Many of the scents are not what you expect out of a beer, but some key flavors are found in a lot of Stouts, Porters and Dark ales: vanilla, woody-earthy notes, dark chocolate, coffee and sweet malt.

A lot of the flavors are present from the first touch to the palate: oak, vanilla, caramel and some alcohol heat. There are much more subtle undertones to this brew other than the alcohol; the smokey, bourbon and fruity esters play well but are muted by the alcohol. The mouth feel is full-bodied and is a definite sipping beer without being too overwhelming. Many of these “specialty beers” can come off to be very heavy and syrupy, though it’s not the case with the Palo Santo.

It’s easy to see this is not a beer you can replace with as your daily session, instead it’s one to break out for a special occasion or if you ever have trouble falling asleep. If you have the chance to get your hands on this, the Palo Santo is definitely one of the Dogfish Head beers you want to enjoy with a few of your beer geek friends.

Rating

91
out of 100

Title photo from: Flickr

It should be no surprise that this beer pours like a Brown Ale. The dark and roasted malt are apparent in the appearance. It’s a rich, deep mahogany color in body with a creamy and fluffy light brown/cream-colored head. The bright red hues of the beer really shined through in the light. The lacing was good, present but not heavy.

The nose on this follows suit with what you’d expect from a concoction of an IPA and Brown Ale. Dry and bitter hops are fully present up front, but that is quickly followed by a nice balance of dark roasted malt. Some sweet caramel malt esters come through on the back end, giving the overall nose a really pleasant scent.

The Brown Ale and dark malt dominate the mouth on this one. The body is medium and mildly carbonated. Immediately you get the bitter hops of the IPA profile but they’re suddenly dominated by the sweet roasted malt. Sticky caramel and honey come through mid-mouthful. The backbone is roasted with coffee beans overwhelmingly present. I also get a really subtle hint of chocolate bark, too.

Balanced greatly by the hops, this is a great example of combining an IPA and a Brown Ale. While the profile of the IPA is submissive to the overwhelmingly powerful profile of the Brown Ale, it still serves as a nice balance. The bitterness though, in my opinion, could be intensified a bit to add a more noticeable balance.

Overall: 8/10

The Brown Ale pours, quite surprisingly, a brown color with some hints of dark, red amber. The brew was cloudy and dark. The head on the beer was perfect; everything you could ask for, a perfect two finger head in the pint glass. The ale smelt malty and dark. Roasted nuts were dominant and present right up front. There was a small sense of bitter hops but was muted by the heavy emphasis on the malt aromas. In all honesty, it was pretty standard for a Brown Ale.

The taste was true to the aromas. It was bitter and fairly sharp. The malt flavor was very overpowering, making the hops take a back seat for this brew. Although, it was enjoyable for a Brown Ale; however, there was no lingering taste which disappointed me. I was hoping for something more to this brew. I really wanted it to hit me with that something special but unfortunately, I was left waiting.

Not being a huge fan of Brown Ales, this was a sessionable brew that was enjoyable but felt lacking. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly, but it wasn’t anything that stood out of the crowd. I am interested to give Bavaria Barbarian Brewing another attempt with one of the other brews that they offer. A valiant attempt, just not for me.

Overall: 6.5/10

The label is pretty bland and doesn’t really offer any description on the type of beer it is. You’re essentially just told it’s an “ale.” I thought the name was pretty awesome, so it became a bottle to try. This poured a really rich and dark cola-colored brown with some reddish-amber hues visible in the light. The head was tiny, which didn’t help the smell too much.

The smell was muted but there. The initial nose consisted of a nice complexion of dark fruits: grape, prune and plum extract were dominant. A nice roasted malty smell was also present towards the end but I can’t help but feel the fruits overpowered it.

The taste was surprisingly good. I never judge a beer by its color but dark beers draw suspicion from me. The beer was extremely smooth, not heavily carbonated and medium in body. The initial blast of flavor was of aged raisins and prune juice. This was finished with a toasted malt backbone and a crushed coffee bean flavor in the linger. This was really well balanced and the complexity of the flavors meshed so well with each other.

I really enjoy trying different Brown Ales, as it seems everyone has their own special take on it. Naturally, this can be said for every style of beer but I feel I’m always surprised by the flavors I get. At any rate, this is definitely not one to overlook. While it may not have the most flashy and descriptive label I’ve ever seen, there is a delicious and well-kept secret waiting inside.

Overall: 8/10

The Indian Brown Ale pours a very deep, dark brown. At first glance it is almost black, but upon closer inspection (i.e., holding to a light), it is indeed brown. A decently sized tan head is present in the glass that lingers all the way to the end. There is a great nose on this beer consisting of roasted nuts, chocolate, malt, and coffee. Being a mix of an IPA and a brown ale there is also a good hop smell coming through. Overall, a nice complex aroma.

This beer brings the best of both worlds, flavor wise. There is a good malt sweetness and roasted flavor (chocolate and coffee) as well as some caramel from the brown ale side. Also, there is a nice bitterness brought to bear thanks to the IPA side of the house. A greatly drinkable beer that could be a good session brown ale for sure.

Overall 8.3/10