Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Milton, Delaware USA

Serve in Dimpled mug

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At the brewpub in Rehobeth. Dark and dense with a small head. Good balance between hops and the sweetness of the brown sugar. Slight taste of alcohol lets you know there is some substance here.

Bottle - Roasted malty woody nose with hints of espresso. Very dark but clear brown, with a minimal brown head. Tastes much like its aroma, but I don’t get any much in the way of hops or bitterness. A nice desert beer, great for the coffee drinker.

Tap. Pours clear brown with average, creamy beige head; decent retention and good lacing. Aroma is toasted and caramel malt, figs, grassy hops, and faint oak. Flavor is sweet malt forward with some dark fruit esters and faint hops; sweet finish. Medium body, carbonation, and warmth.

Tap in the Ginger Man, NYC. My one strong beer of the evening as a concession to it being a school night! Pretty serious stuff this. A very dark brown colour with a reasonable white head. Taste is very complex, lots of malt with toast, rye bread, bit of caramel sweetness, some booze, and a drier bitterness on the finish. Did have a slightly weird note on the nose, not sure what it was but didn’t quite smell right. Overall very good though, and unusual.

A - Pours a dark brown with a thin finger of frothy khaki colored head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some good lace. S - Aroma is a mix of brown sugar, caramelized and bready malts, piney and citrus hops, coffee, and a bit of chocolate and dark fruit. T - Starts off with sweet brown sugar, caramelized malts, and some citrus hops and light bitterness. Through the middle, some biscuit and bready malt comes through with some pine hops and a bit more bitterness. The finish adds some sweet dark fruit with some brown sugar, caramelized malts, citrus hops, coffee, and chocolate. M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet, dry, and lightly bitter finish. D - Very drinkable. Really nice hybrid style beer. There are a lot of flavors that come together and balance really nicely.

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown, almost black with a 2 finger off white head. Very dark,, almost as dark as an average stout. Mild carbonation with a malty light alcohol aroma. Wonderful flavor with hints of chocolate and coffee, full bodied... not bitter and well balanced. Nice crisp short finish. Nice malt finishes medium sweet with a touch of complexity lingers, but still a very smooth brown ale. Dogfish takes everything that they do seriously, don’t they? If tasting brown ales, make sure this one makes your list.

It is a nice beer, but kind of lacks a heavier body (too mild). Also, lacks more evident chocolate notes.

Aroma is malts, a good hoppiness and a nuttiness. The flavor is dark grains, coffee, and an undercurrent of hops in the finish.

Originally reviewed: 11/6/09. Bottled on 09/09/09. Poured into my pint glass. Pours a ruby-tinted deep brown with a thin tan head on top. Little retention. Leaves some spotty lace on the glass. Scents of toffee, toasted bread, almonds, and light alcohol waft out. This smells very inviting. The mouth is a tad thin. I’ve had this a few times and have noticed this same characteristic. Could stand a bit more carbonation zip. Sweet flavors of toffee, caramel, toasted nuts, and brown sugar are present. There’s a slight alcohol burn on the finish that is slightly annoying, but it dissipates quickly. Not sure I would call this an Indian brown as there is little-to-no hop presence. Just an all-around good sweet brown.

Perfect brown ale for sipping on day round. Easy to drink. Tastes of coffee and chocolate. Nice hop undertones and malty flavors.

Poured from 12oz bottle dated 1/12/12 into Nonic pint glass. Aroma: malt, chocolate, hops, roasty, coffee, a bit nutty, dark fruits Appearance: Fairly clear but a deep rich brown. 1 finger of frothy milk chocolate brown head that faded in a minute or so. Laces glass well. Taste: mild sweet, medium sour, mild bitter. Palate: medium body and creamy slick texture. lively carbonation. very tame finish that is hardy bitter and slightly sour Overall: This beer isn’t what I expected it to be but I am impressed. I thought it was going to be more hoppy from the description but actually ended up being maltier than expected. Almost a bit like a hoppy porter with the chocolate and coffee aromas. I will pick this up again next time I’m in the distribution area.