Alexander Keiths Nova Scotia Style Brown Ale

Brewed by Oland Brewery (AB-InBev)
Style: Brown Ale
Halifax, Canada

Serve in Dimpled mug

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Sign of the Whale, DC tap ($6): I wanted a different beer, but they gave me this beer for happy hour prices, so I was happy. In any case, it pours a brown color with a cream colored head. Aroma is of nutty malts, but it is not very powerful. Taste is somewhat metallic. A bunch of caramel and molasses in the taste. The taste is, however, pretty thin. Not a very good brown ale. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.

I’m not exactly sure what a Nova Scotia "style" brown ale is suppose to be, nor am I familiar with many Canadian craft breweries but all in all, this was one horrifically unbalanced beer. Right out of the bottle it appeared welcoming and brown with amber highlights and a nice inch of off-white foam. There was however a distinct medicinal aroma that was quite herby, a bit grassy with some notes of hay. No distinct hop aroma and no roasted aromas, yet a sweet powdered sugariness was very apparent. It tasted like it smelled, overly sweet with adjunct sweetness, tastes of either malto-dextrin or lactose sugar in its sweetness. Very little to no bitterness was present to balance the overwhelming sweet flavor. Other expected flavors for the style of a brown ale were either covered up or missing. ZERO hop aroma and flavor were present. I personally brew with Cascade hops all the time and could not pick up even a trace of it in this beer. The sweetness is definitely artificial and leaves a slickness on the tongue (diacetyl?). I paid $7 for a bottle of this and dumped 80% of it. yup, that bad.

"Bottle into chilled pilsner glass. dark brown w/ tan head...creamy/sweet with a bitter caramel/toffee effect....nutty, but another one that drinks like a cola...fairly decent, but feels mass produced " I agree with all of this..... It’s like a real root-beer to me........

Bottle. Brown pour with thin off white head. Very sweet aroma, caramel, honey and cinnamon. Very sweet flavour, more caramel and honey. No hop in the aroma and very little in the finish. I would not call this balanced.

Bottle at Sander’s place in NYC. Pours clear brown with a soft, foamy head. Dark sugar, caramel and toast in the nose. Pretty sweet flavor, caramel sugar, sweet bread, faint leaves. Medium bodied with light to average carbonation. Sweet, almost syrupy finish, more caramel, sweet toast, mild ripe fruits, and faint brown sugar. The sweetness is a bit cloying but the beer’s still drinkable.

Bottle into chilled pilsner glass. dark brown w/ tan head...creamy/sweet with a bitter caramel/toffee effect....nutty, but another one that drinks like a cola...fairly decent, but feels mass produced

Aroma is a sweet pale malt. Taste is slightly nutty with some sweet caramel malt. Overall pretty unimpressive.

Pour from a 12 oz bottle. Clear brown brew with small head. Smoll of malts, a little toasted malt, maybe a int of herbal hops. Taste is a little sweet at the start progressing to a substantially sweet finish. Malt, honey, and in the finsih caramel and toffee. Nice nuttiness throughout. Palat is thin to medium but sticky at the end. Interesting brew but one that just does not come together for me.

Good clearish russet colour with a short lived off-white head. Aromas of molasses and chocolate powder. Cool and chocolately with subtle mouthfeel, becoming creamy and sweet on the finish like jersey caramel. Not uncomplex, but straight-forward and charming.

bottle - Pours clear dark amber with a light tan head and a mild caramel malt aroma. It tastes of sweet, lightly toasted caramel malt with minimal hops. This medium bodied brew is overly sweet and drinkable but underwhelming.

This bottle was courtesy of Stykzone. Poured a dark red that looked brown from the side of the glass with a foamy brown head and sticky lacing. Nose of roasted caramel malts. Light in body. Flavor is chocolate and nuts. Hops show up in the finish but not much.