Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Bomber. Very weak aroma. Pretty much smells like the rest of the room ... nothing much. I guess if you strain, you can sense a slight nuttiness. Nice dark brown and lightly carbonated body with an off-white head and a nice lace. Somewhat watery but sweet mouthfeel. Considering the aroma is so weak, the flavors abound. Sweet malts, nuts, caramel help balance out the roasted coffee. The hops, although present, prefer to cower in the corner. The sweetness to start, followed by the roasted finish make for a nice balance. A very easy to drink beer. Thanks to my family for returning from Alaska with this one!

22oz - Clear dark ruby tinted brown with a massive cap of sandy brown frothyness. Patchy thick rings of sheeting lace. Aroma is roasted, nutty, coffee, caramel, and cocoa with nice touches of clean maple syrup and brown sugar. Taste is of toasted caramel and breads with inlays of peanuts and very light coffeeish hints. A bit of sweetness interludes the front and middle with a bit of red apple and malt laden starchyness. Light dry finish is kept well with very interesting little nuances of brown sugar, maple, and airy toasted stuff. Nice subtle play between the sweeter caramel and airy toastyness. Feel is about medium with a solid carbonation for a brown. Nice airy frothyness and malty creamyness to it. Finish is great. Airy, dry, complexingly subtle, and fun to behold. A pretty solid brown. One of the better ones I’ve had.

22oz bottle Bottled the fourth week of January, Sampled September 2005
I would swear that a note of cinnamon is wafting from my glass as I pour this beer. The beer is an opaque, perhaps lightly hazy, amber brown color. The head is a light brown color, but is not all that persistent. The aroma is quite fruity, and in fact does have a sweet spice note to it. As I smell deeply I get a note of roasted coffee, though the typical maltiness seems to be covered up by the spice and fruit notes. The taste is light, and perhaps lightly acidic. This is quite fruity with notes of cherry. This beer is definitely a bit disappointing, it seems a bit thin and is lacking all that malt depth that one hopes to find in a Nut Brown. Instead this is dominated by the cherry notes and a dry acidity as well.

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Looks quite nice and has a mild nutty aroma. I probably drank this a little too warm and I’m a little too full, so this beer is probably better than this. That said, its just OK, and as much as I try to convince myself that I like nut browns I just can’t do it.

Bottle. Pours dark nut brown with a small tan rocky film and lined lacing. Chocolate malt and sweet caramel fruit hop and toffee aroma. Maple malt and alcohol sweet chocolate flavor with an acidic finish. Medium bodied and spicy palate.

Brown color with darker head. Slight roasted nose. Hints of chocolate and malt, seemed heavy with acid. Finish was clean.

Lightish brown with a good bit of lacing. Too watery for a brown, not enough complexity. A little caramel, roast’n’toast, not much else. A lot like Newcastle.

Brown bear brown body with dark head. Little aroma coaxed out is of malt and nutty musk. Chocolate malt taste w. a tinge of malt and virtually no bitterness. One of the tastier, better balanced brown ales in creation. Nice roast malt and well crafted.