Big Boss Bad Penny Brown Ale

Brewed by Big Boss Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Raleigh, North Carolina USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Shaker

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On tap at Tyler’s in Durham. Darker amber-brown in colorwith a small off-white head. Caramel and butterscotch aroma, maybe a very slight nuttiness. Caramel malt on the flavor with a bit of toast and a little butter/diacetyl note. Smooth mouthfeel with average carbonation. This beer is fine I guess, but I’ve had far better in the style.

Pours a deep, nearly opaque reddish-chestnut brown, with a foamy off-white head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is light and sweet, with notes of brown sugar, milk chocolate, and a mild graininess coming through. The flavor is likewise light and sweet, but not overly so. The same brown sugar and milk chocolate are again found, but a dull, earthy, musty hop character also seems apparent. The body is a bit thin, but this is overall a nice, well-constructed brown.

Bottle. Aroma is chocolate, roasty, caramal, and some fruit. Color is dark brown, thin tan head. Sweetness and hops come through on the taste, well-balanced and smooth. Medium body, soft carbonation, roasty finish. Overall solid brown ale that I would pick up again.

It seems to me that this brown ale is a classic approach - nothing awkward, just normal. Bottle-poured, the color is a pleasing brown with a minimal head. The taste is mildly bitter, the body is light. I suspect this beer tastes far better on draft. Still, I am grateful for the gift bottle from Brian Bearden...no bad beers yet!

On tap at a restaurant in Charlotte. Pours a brown almost ruby color with a medium tight head that leaves some lace. The aroma is a bit faint but once you get your nose in there it’s really good too. There are notes of chocolate and a nice mild roastiness with some fruity hops. The flavor is very chocolaty with some fruity hop zing and nice notes of hazelnut and coco powder. Enjoyable on all accounts.

Draught @ Mellow Mushroom in Raleigh: This one poured an opaque brown with a small tan head. It left a little bit of lacing. The aroma is a bit lighter. Some caramel, roastiness and earthiness. The taste is good. Faint caramel malt sweetness in the background. Some roastiness. Hints of chocolate and nuttiness. Not bad.

Toasted, slightly caramel aroma. Great label, mostly clear darkish brown. Chalky coffee, a bit grassy, some creosote. Bipolar - sometimes a little too acid, sometimes seems a little too flat. Loses carbonation. An even choco-coffee finish with some hay. Thanks to LuckyDog for bringing this back from NC.

Draft at Flying Saucer Raleigh. Pours a coppery brown with thin head. Nose is sweet toffee and read. Some light English hops as well. On taste, more biscuity notes to go with the toffee of the crystal malts. Quite standard North English Bown Ale. Quite good.

Poured from the bottle to a dark brown with hints of red, a medium-thick tan head that lingered to mid glass and decent lacing. A roasted-nut and malty caramel nose hit me as soon as I opened the bottle, and carried thru the taste. Mouthfeel was medium-bodied, with a pleasant sweetness and just a tinge of hoppy tingle. Finish was long and smooth. This was beer was better than I was expeting from a previously unknown brewer in NC.

(Sample Date: 7/12/2009 Source:Other) Fantastic bottle art. Roasty dark sugar aroma. Mostly clear dark amber brown. Flavor is roasty with dark caramelized sugars and light residual grassy hop bitterness. Solid American brown.