Eugene City Chai Brown

spicey nutmeg nose, thin head/almost none, super spicey, very different, vanilla, tastes like eugene, egg noggy

(Drafts: Rogue Ales Public House in Newport, OR) Ooh, what a very spicy nose. Sweet, nutmeg, allspice, clove, some hops in the background, it smells like Christmas! Spice dominates the flavor as well, though it’s also roasty with some molasses. It’s fairly bitter, but is that spice or hops causing the bitterness? Medium-to-full bodied, round and very substantial on the palate. Deep ruddy brown, kind of mahogany in color. Light tan head fades away to a sheen. Wow, this is great stuff. Wish I had more time to order another pint, but I’ve spent 45 minutes just savoring this wonderful beer.

This was an interesting selection, seemed to work well, but maybe needed a bit more tweakin on the recipe. The brown was a bit thin for the amount of chai spice in this. The spice was massive and dry and the brown ale didn’t show enough sweetness in my opinion. This beer could have been really nice if they would have used a stronger, heavier bodied brown with the spice.