Samuel Adams Brown Ale

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Brown Ale
Boston, Massachusetts USA

A: Poured with a small, tan head. What head there was dissipated quickly to a thin foam. Body is clear, but a dark brown color. S: Smells of roasted malt... maybe a slight coffee twinge in there. T: Dominating malt flavor with some roasted flavors to it. Hints of chocolate start to come through but disappear before I can identify them for sure. Short duration of flavor. M: Actually comes across as kind of thin, despite some initial oiliness... not much to the body, really. D: Easy to drink, but not a spectacular English Brown Ale. Nothing to set it apart from others of its class, but it’s still a decent beer, if slightly disappointing.

2009 Bottle - Pours dark brown with a small off white head...aroma is nutty malt, grain and burnt bread...flavour is similar, doughy malt with slight spice, heavy carbonation...finish is dry malt and clean...liked this one over all the other SA seasonals...

Poured a dark brown hue with a nice white head that had good retention and nice lacing. It did however have a slightly over-carbonated look too it. Aroma had mild fruity malt notes, mild nut notes and mild hop notes, flavor was similar and the body was light. Nice

12oz bottle into a pint glass. A decent brew that is more boring than anything. Not terrible, though.

Poured into a pint glass from a 12oz. bottle. The color is a dark brown/copper, with a dirty white head. The smell is sweet with a nutty flavor, and some hints of hops. The taste is of roasted malts, some caramel flavor, with hints of bitter hops. This beer is a nice smooth session beer. A little higher in ABV then most session beers but light in body and mouthfeel.

Bottle from Wegmans. Pours a clear dark brown color with a small off white head. Caramel dominates the aroma; subtle hints of spices also linger. Slightly thin body, quite malty, but nothing outstanding here. Light caramel and nuts; not chewy or very sweet. Easy drinking, but not too complex.

I am revisiting the Brown Ale from Samuel Adams because, even though I have quaffed it many times before, I have yet to really sit down and spend some one-on-one time with her. That is changing right now, and so I am set to put my thoughts down on paper before returning to a more leisurely relationship.

Clear brown, mahogany and burnt amber highlights glimmer faintly under a puffy khaki head. Her head fades in rocky patches until only scattered patches of khaki film lingers. What she lacks in head though she more than makes up for with an amazing scattering of lace which crackles along the sides of my glass from first quaff to last. Her nose is all about cinnamon, brown sugar, and maple crunchies while pumpernickel toast and chocolate esters permeate the air. A sliver of greenery flits through the background, and I tilt her lips to mine for a satisfactory kiss. Light with a clean mouthfeel, cinnamon, brown sugar, and maple glides like butter across my lips, over my tongue, and down my throat with purity to rival the most pristine babbling brooks. Growing less toasty, there is a background of butterscotch and caramel which leads into chocolate covered nuts. My palate starts to dry well into our passionate interplay, hinting of powdered chocolate. The greenery is just a whisper in the finish just as her nose had bespoken earlier. While the Samuel Adams Brown Ale isn’t overly complex, she makes a great session beer which melds both American and English brown ale characteristics.

The Samuel Adams Brown Ale was one of my first Samuel Adams beers. Not quite a Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale or Brooklyn Brown Ale, she is quite possibly what would happen if the two were to marry and have a child. Good stuff.

Does not have the brown sugary/ malty body that I usually like in my Brown Ales, but it does have strong characters of cinnamon and nutmeg. More like a Christmas beer, in my opinion.