Hockley Valley Dark

Brewed by Hockley Valley Brewing & Malting Company
Style: Brown Ale
Orangeville, Canada

Poured out a rocky decent sized light brown head with minimal lacing that sits on top of a very deep brown beer. The spotty lacing does continue to be produced throughout the entire time. The aroma is excellent and pretty much like they claim - very nutty, toffee, chocolate, light roast, weak molasses, and a mild cigar smell. The taste is no slouch either with a huge malt presence, toffee, roast, caramel and a well placed and properly portioned tart bitterness. Oh and when warmer near the bottom of my glass I found a mild candy licorice taste. Interesting to note is that the bitterness of the roast never once overpowers the tongue. Light medium bodied, very smooth with an immediate and perfect sweet uprising that fades into the nutty and roasted malt aftertaste. Minor bitter remnants. This is a superior beer looking down on any other I’ve had before in the style, including those with heavy flavours and usually over bittered like Rogue Nut Brown. In my book this beer makes a serious case for 10’s in aroma, taste and overall ratings. In fact, I just changed the aroma to a 10 and seriously contemplating giving this beer a 4.5+ rating. I guess that will have to wait until I get another can, if I ever do.

A rich rusty dark brown, head went fast, very light. Nose; boiled oranges, nutmeg, grass, mushroom>earth, very malty. Mouth; very mellow, creamy, roast nuts, sweet, layers of complexity. Very nice, very enjoyable. Best brown ale I’ve ever had?

473 ml can fromt the LCBO. Dark, lots of enjoyable flavors. One of my favorite local beers. I will definetly buy this again.

Poured out of the 500 mL can a really heavy dark tan head of big frothy bubbles. Everything else is a dark, opaque brown with red at the edges. The head hung around for longer than expected, remained a lacy topping throughout. Aroma is mild grassy hops (it gets grassier as it warms), sweet molasses and toasted malt. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied with pleasant spicy carbonation that’s more intense than usual. Right away I detect grape sweetness on the tongue, some honey (more as it warms), mild hoppy bitterness. Some roasted coffee beans hang around. In the aftertaste, I get a bit of tangy chocolate. I enjoy this one quite a bit. It goes the extra distance without trying to be too explosive or too showy. Good to have on a warm summer night on the patio.

A very nice, unusual-looking dark with nuances of black, dark brown and purple concentrating in different areas of the glass. Subtle, pleasant aromas of dark malt, coffee and milk chocolate. Plush, creamy palate is exceptionally smooth. Chocolate flavours abound, and evolve from a milk chocolate beginning to a dark, almost bitter chocolate finish. The type of beer you use to convert a non-beer-drinker into a beer drinker.

can. Poured deep red/brown with a creamy beige head. Aroma of roasted dark fruit with a little citrus. Smooth creamy. Medium-light body, lower carbonation. Flavour of roasted malts with a hnt of smoke, caramel notes. Finishes clean with low bitterness.

473 ml can, date stamped 120707. Dark amber brown colour with a fully diminishing fizzy and creamy beige head. Dark chocolate, lightly roasty coffee, and caramel aroma with fruity notes. Nice roasty, bready, nutty, and lightly sweet caramel flavours with a roasty, earthy, and bitter chocolate finish. Light to medium bodied, lightly chewy and firm but quaffable at the same time. This is a brown ale on the same level as Garrison Brown when Shirley Warner was brewing it. I imagine this would be mind blowing on cask, though I could also see a too tight sparkler diminishing the whole thing.

Half liter can. Pours dark and smoothly carbonated, very Britiish style NO widget, forms medium silky head. Toffe/caramel aromas emerge. Drinks very smooth and balanced, intentionally lighter body with measured notes of fruit and fleeting hints of tart/sourness. Feels great on the palate. Hops are well integrated and show only as complimenting the general balance. Very quaffable yet refined and satisfying brew, I could drink a few of these quite enjoyably. Thanks for stocking this nice handcrafted ’true to type’ beer, LCBO!<P>It’s all in your expectations.