Draft sample at brewpub on cask. Poureed hazy dark brown hue with average rocky off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasted malt aroma. Flavor was moderate toasted balanced with an average bitter finish of moderate duration. Medium smooth body. Good brew.

<i>On cask.</i><br />Pours a hazy dark copper brown with an indestructible tan head of tightly packed bubbles. Aroma reveals a distinct American hop presence and a fair doses of malt. Flavor is hop up front and well-balanced by sweet malt, accompanied by a lightly dry grain flavor. Certainly on the bitter side for a brown ale, so it’s appropriate that they have dubbed this an "American brown ale" to distinguish it from its more traditional English counterpart. Still, this American experiment does not stray too far from its original roots and it works better than I thought it would based on its commercial description and its liberal (for a brown) use of hops. Good stuff.

<i>Cask sampler at Broad Ripple.</i> Well, their porter seemed more like a stout, and this semelleed more like a porter. Go fig. So a mellow roasty porter smell from a creamy thick head. First thing I taste is a good velvety cask mouthfeel. Deep mahogany brown color. Seems to be stronger than the 4.7% abv listed.

On Tap: I liked this the best of my two brews (passing through in car, driving, and girlfriend getting impatient otherwise would have had more). A well balanced hop-malt flavor and aroma. But the flavor almost had a APA flavor to it. Loved the malt flavoring here.

From cask at the brewpub. Soapy citrus aroma. Dark red appearance, no head. Flavor is somewhat fruity (kind of British pale ale) and a little soapy, little spicy. Finish is sour, no carbonation (too little even considering it is from the cask). I wonder if I got a bad pint, because I’ve had it before (2 years ago maybe) and I remember it as being better.