AleSmith Nut Brown Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

355 ml can, as AleSmith Nut Brown English-Style Brown Ale, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 5.0%. Deep brown colour, moderate beige head. Aroma of brown malts, brown bread and prunes. Good mouthfeel for its strength. The flavour has the same elements as the aroma, also some caramel. Low bitterness.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Taps opaque chocolate brown with a thin but acceptable light tan head. Aroma features, toasted malt, caramel, cinnamon, clove and woody hop tones. Flavor echoes the aroma, not quite as intensely, but fairly well, though the spices vanish into the background; the hop note is a little stronger. Mouthfeel presents decent body and lively fizz. Draft beer, not people!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

A deep bright ruby-brown colored beer with a big frothy textured light tan head rising above. Thick fluffs of film and long lying cap/ringlet. Some spiciness and sweet malt in the nose. Caramel and a nuttiness roasted character in the taste. Moderate body. Very well done.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

On tap at 10 East -

With the recent flood of SD brewers at 10 East, I finally had a chance to try their Brown Ale and it wasn't a disappointment. A sweet raisin bread like aroma with a touch of dark chocolate and fruit juice. A surprise find of roasty notes in the flavor dept, with an ample malt backbone. Kinda like a mini-porter. A good gate-way beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Yet another style that Alesmith is at or near the top for. Nice roasted malt, cocoa nutty caramel aroma. Light, smooth body. Flavor much the same. Semi-sweet with restrained hops. Great beer for a brown ale.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled in San Diego in June. A nice beer, but not to the standard that AleSmith is famous for. Still one of the best Brown Ales that you will find. A very nice beer with a nice aroma. Taste is very nice, but nothing to be impressed by.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Poured a dark amber color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of caramel malts, chocolate and roasted malts. Taste of much of the same, with nuts, and a light hoppiness in the finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Put a keg of this beauty in my kegerator yesterday and it is a wonderful brew. A deep, dark chestnut brown pour with a creamy off white head. Enticing malty nose redolent with nuttiness with ever so slight chocolate notes. Full bodied regardless of the low abv. Flavor is up there with some of the best browns. Crisp and clean finish makes this an excellent session.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Had a pint of this at the San Diego Brewing Company, while hanging out with Richard and his family, my fiance' and her folks, and some friends from the homebrew club.

I really should know the Alesmith line of beers better than I do. After all, they are one of the best small breweries in the U.S., and they are only 10 miles or so away from me. But while I know their bottled beers fairly well, they have a line of draught-only beers that I rarely see around town. Compound all that with the fact that I generaly don't routinely get Brown Ales (at least, not until quite recently), and this is one beer that might as well come from another planet... :)

And while I wouldn't say that this beer has an "out of this world" taste, it is a very nice example of the American Brown Ale. Reminds me of Dogfish Head's Indian Brown Ale, or maybe Lost Coast's Downtown Brown, in the fact that it's much more assertive than many of the style. Nice roasty maltiness, with enough hops to matter (especially in the finish), but not so much that they would throw the beer off-kilter. Solid enough to be worth-while, but not so much so that it becomes laborious finishing it.

A rarely-seen Alesmith beer that is well-worth checking out.
//TB

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Dark brown color. Medium head. Aroma is nutty and slightly sweet. A medium bodied nut brown ale. Malts are nutty and slightly sweet. Hops are slightly spicy. Well balanced. Smooth full flavor. Very nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.