Friday Beer O'clock Selections

 

Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale – Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 11-26-2010

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This week's selection is Really Old Brown Dog Ale (Big Beer Series) from Smuttynose Brewery in New Hampshire. I had the Old Brown Dog Ale from tap a while back, and really enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this as well.

ABV: 10%

Appearance:

Poured with a deep dark brown amber color forming a brown head at about 1-2 fingers. The head dissipated quick and lacing was thin and spotty.

Aroma:

Delicious aroma from this one. Picking up rich malts, molasses and a lot of chocolate with caramel and a hint of plum.

Taste:

This is where I was taken by surprise. The flavor in this brew in BIG!! Like the aromas there is some fruit with a lot of rich malt and chocolate in abundance in the front trailing into slightly bitter mosasses and hint of coffee in the back and finish. It's all very good but I picked up some acidity the alcohol is evident and hard not to notice. BUT... in it's defense, this brew should be left to age for a while and is expected to mellow with some time.

Feel:

This has great body. Upper Medium weight with some chew and fairly smooth over all. Theres a bit of a carbonated bite that is magnified by the warm burn of the alcohol. The Alcohol also warms the gut a bit.

Drinkability:

For what it is, I thought this was a nice brew. Similar to a Port in some ways. A snifter of this on a cool night will do a lot to warm the spirit. But keep it cool and don't let it sit too long. The alcohol flavor and heat intensify as the brew warms, so drink up.

Keep in mind that it is recommended to age this for a while before opening.

Filed under  //   Ale   Old Ale   Seasonal   smuttynose  
Posted November 26, 2010 by Ed Stafford 
 

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale - Friday Beer O'Clock Selection 9-17-2010

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This weeks Beer O'Clock Selection is from a semi-local brewery - Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth NH.

Keeping up with the seasonal pumpkin stock popular for this time of year, and hoping to continuing some conversations I had on facebook and twitter about pumpkin ales I decided it would be a good idea to keep the pumpkin going this week with Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

ABV: 6.3%

Appearance

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale poured with golden orange color with copper accents forming a slightly loose head at about 2 - 3 fingers, breaking down to a dense coating across the surface and leaving sticky lacing covering the sides. There was a fair amount of carbonation activity in the hazy liquid.

Smell:

The first thing to hit the nose for me was a sweet floral perfumish malt scent followed by pumpkin and spice (nutmeg and cinnamon) with subtle bready aromas.

Taste:

Sweet malts on the front, nice pumpkin and spices in the middle with a good amount of bitter hops on the back. The finish comes together nice with bitter hops and the sweet pumpkin and spice flavors coming through together. Good balance all the way through with more hop bitterness than expected.

Feel:

Nice medium refreshing body. Smooth but with a slight carbonated bite.

Drinkability:

6.3% ABV aside, this is a drinkable brew with a nice balance of pumpkin, spice, malts and hop flavors.

Conclusion:

It's a keeper. I like this one a lot. It's not over the top sweet or over spiced, it's got a great balance and I really like the hopiness that I have not found in other pumpkin ales. The 6.3% ABV is not really noticeable, but does leave a nice warm feeling in my cheeks without interfering with the overall flavors and experience.

Have an opinion on this one? We'd love to hear it...

Filed under  //   Ale   flavored   pumpkin   smuttynose  
Posted September 17, 2010 by Ed Stafford