Newcastle Brown Ale

Brewed by Dunston (S&N, Heineken)
Style: Brown Ale
Gateshead,, England

A long time ago in a land far far away…

It’s been years, literally, since I last supped on a Newcastle Brown Ale from a clear bottle (Why clear?! Why?!) and I am ready to revisit this struggling classic.

After I warily popped the cap on my crystal clear bottle, I poured her equally crystal clear nut brown depths into my classic English nonic glass. A small off-white head fades quickly into bubbly globules and swirls with a surprisingly decent array of lace. As I swirl her unusually bright and clear nutty brown depths, a bouquet of lemon zest, crunchy maple and caramel brittle, shelled nuts, and melba toast burst forth with a helping cinnamon sticks on the side. No skunk to be found which always portends fortune. I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: clear bottles are the nefarious enemy of all beers. If you happen to come across a bottle of Newcastle and it is sporting a hazy body and what looks like snowflakes, avoid it like the plague. My first un-skunked quaff is light with fresh lemons and a gentle bready background. I am pleasantly surprised with how brisk her palate is. Caramel and maple brittle crunches with each quaff, a perfect pairing with the heavily toasted melba. While our palates mingle, the most vibrant of characters is her dry, nutty, lemony fresh palate that breathes life into the top of my tongue. I was expecting far less than I actually received from my bottled Newcastle Brown Ale, and I better understand now why, at one time, she was one of my favorite English brown ales.

Since I have sailed further into the unknown seas of brown ales, Newcastle has fallen much further down my list. After this most recent of reunions, I am reminded of why she hasn’t fallen completely off the horizons. While she won’t shatter any records or win any awards, she is a solid performer who has struggled valiantly to survive clear glass bottles and mass production on a world-wide scale.

Lovely body, great flavor, intense, I like how it looks, how it smells, a like even the star on the label!

Reddish pour with a white head. Malt aroma, slightly roasted, little sweet. Tastes a little better than the aroma. Easy to drink, little carbonation. An easy to find beer in small areas.

Pours brown with a small frothy head that is fast to dissipate. Not bad for what it is. Many bars have this on tap and it is a better alternative to what your average bar would have on tap. Not great but not bad. An overall good drink for what it is.

Dynamic, articulate, perceptive, couragoues, outspoken, just a few of the adjectives that inadequately describe...NEWCASTLE!

Poured a deep amber. Very little aroma. The head disappeared quickly and there was very little carbonation in general. I was hoping to find something complex in the malt – somewhat disappointing.

Draught at Cella, Helsinki, Finland. Brown colour with huge tan head. Weak caramel and malts in aroma. Roasted malts and caramel in flavour. Weak hoppy bitter finish. Smooth.

Bottle. 4.7%. Clear, brown pour with a fairly weak white head. Aroma is malt, almonds?. Taste is fairly sweet, but the finish is superb. Not the easiest to find at home, but worth a look.