Great Lakes Cleveland Brown Ale

I love the Fall, it has to be one of my favorite times of the year, and football season is a big part of that. And what goes better with watching football than a good beer? Nothing in my opinion, beer and football go hand and hand. The good people of Cleveland Ohio are truly blessed. While their football team may not be so hot these days, the city of Cleveland does have a brown they can be proud of. That brown would be Cleveland Brown Ale, from the Great Lakes Brewing Company. This is a delicious, malty, nutty, hoppy brown ale. This would be an American brown ale by style vrs a tradition British one such as New Castle. American brown ales have a more assertive hop character in flavor and aroma, and have a bit more roast than their British inspirations. Cleveland Brown Ale pours to a deep brown chestnut color with a nice white head, and a soft carbonation. The nose has some nice nutty malt aromas, a touch of roast, and really fragrant, piney, citric hop aromatics. The palate starts with a bit of sweet malt flavor and a touch of fruit, then leads into some nice nuttiness, and a little roast. This beer finishes with more sweet and nutty malt character, then explodes into a long, dry, citric, bitter, hop bite. Really a well done beer, and flavorful beer. Plenty of good malt and hop character in this beer. Cleveland Browns fans, don’t despair, here is one brown that will always score a touch down!!

Okay I am a huge Brown’s fan, so obviously I am a bit of a Homer on this one, but what a great beer. I’m sorry to hear it is technically no longer availible as i just got some here a few weeks ago. It speaks of a tired city that is waking up. The beer is a bit sleepy, but knows it will do well in the long run. An underdog beer you can count on.

This is a fabulous beer. It is darker in color than most brown ales, with a nice lasting tan head. The aroma shouts roasted malts, and alot of malt. But the flavor has more hops than expected. The malt is very smooth, and may have some coffee involved. The aftertaste is very sharp but not bitter. This is a great fall time beer.

No longer available since the NFL wants licensing royalties from the name. Warm, sweet flavor.

Good beer. Great companion to a Browns game - a very handy accomplice to the whole football game persona. Fairly malty, it combines well with stadium food (hot dogs, etc.).