John Harvards British Brown Ale

4/13/06 draught pint with SuIIy at Framingham location
Some sparse beige head is mostly left at partial cover and ring. Beer has a slight haziness to it and is a highly bronzed, clear-milk chocolate with baked hay and rust tones throughout.
Smells of soft and dry, fairly thin, toffee. Some minor fruitiness, mostly dry raspberry and cherry, with a nutty, dry date note. Not unappealing, but very weak and bogged down by water. Some light dirty, soiliness perhaps from the hops.
Upon sipping, I immediately know it’s a Newcastle clone, which is too bad, as I can’t figure out why anyone would want to imitate the world’s worst style, Sourthen London Brown. Lightly nutty dry malts, with a very faint touch of light coffee provide dry malt-like notes, as soily hops and nutty yeast add some nuance. Highly watery, with some lightly sharp fruit notes. A pinch of sweet pale malt sugar on end, as the watery flavors recede a touch. Moderate carbonation.