Beer In Review: The Best Brown Ale
I've been dying to write about this one since I started reviewing beer in this blog. It is, by far, the best brown ale in existence. Yes, even better than Newcastle. It even beats out the original formula for Pete's Wicked Ale, which was the beer that got me hooked on craft brewers. I'm talking about Old Brown Dog Ale from Smuttynose Brewery. I've been drinking Old Brown Dog since 1998. I can't remember if I stumbled across it on my own or if I was introduced to it from a friend, but I remember bringing it home to my soon-to-be-wife and her loving it as well.On the pour, you get a solid head over top of a medium brown body. Sticking your nose over the glass gets you a mixed bouquet of hops and malt. All American hops are used. Cascade and Williamette, both offshoots of the British Fuggles, are grown in the Pacific Northwest. Cascade is the dominant hop, building a mild bitterness to the ale. The Williamette hops rounds off the bitterness and smooths it out. Balancing out the bitters are a solid team of barley malts: Pale Brewers, Munich, Crystal 60°L, and Chocolate. This is nothing short of delicious.
Old Brown Dog is 5.7% ABV and available throughout the northeast and as far south as Virginia. And for some reason, Wisconsin, home to the former beer capitol of the US, can get it too. Buy a 6 pack. You won't be disappointed.
Revenge of the Blithering Idiot: Since Bob's a fan of barleywine, I thought that I'd let him take a shot at the Blithering Idiot. He liked it, so it must not be as bad as I thought. I guess you have to have a taste for these things. I certainly don't.
The 2007 Connecticut Craft Brewers Festival is this Saturday. 40 breweries will be represented. And it looks like there's a 95% chance I'll be there. I'll report back here with my findings.
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DED
Labels: beer
posted by DED at 6:54 PM
7 Comments:
Nice.
I'm generally not blown awat by Smuttynose Brews. But I may have to check this one out.
Which ones have you had?
A number of them: Pale, IPA, Pumpkin, a few others.
Nothing wrong with them, but since my one and only quality beer seller also sells Dogfish Head, Otter Creek, Stone, Ommegang, Victory, etc, you can see why I pass.
Well, I like the Pale Ale and the Robust Porter. Haven't had the Pumpkin or the IPA. But IMO, Old Brown Dog is the best of their line.
As for those choices, my local liquor store carries all of those others (except for Stone). I haven't had Victory. I don't like Belgian Ales so I pass on Ommegang. I find Dogfish Head to be overboard on their hops. I do like most of Otter Creek's brews (as anyone reading this blog knows), but I found their Summer Ale lacking.
So we obviously have a difference of opinion on the relationship of Smuttynose to these other breweries. :)
Definitely a great brown ale.
If you haven't already, you may want to try Bell's Best Brown Ale (seasonal brew). I find it to be just as good and right now it's in season.
Bell's isn't available in my area. Where are they based out of?
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