Samuel Adams Brown Ale

Bottle. Small vanilla head that mostly diminished, poor lacing, visible carbonation, transparent, and a ruby hue. Nose was malty, caramel, sweet, roasty, nutty, and some hop presence. Flavor mimicked the nose along with it being somewhat dry tasting. Semi-tingly mouthfeel. Light body. Quaffable but not one that I’ll seek out again. Not horrible by any means, just a nice brew.

Bottle. Decent aroma with a slight malt presence. Bland look and thin head. Flavor is bitter but not well balanced. Not too smooth.

Bottle. Not a bad brown ale at all. I thought it to be very smooth and balanced. Nice caramel malt flavors, nutty and warm. Nice deep brown color with a fluffy beige head. Pretty solid all around, nothing spectacular - but very enjoyable.

Doing a side by side tasting of another brown ale (Downtown Brown) Sam Adams was signifigantly better in all catergories. The aroma was much toastier, reminded me a little of roasted nuts and definite caramel. Appearance was a clear, dirt brown color, fairly clear color with decent carbonation. Mouthfeel was very nice, not really bad or good. Flavor is a little nutty, slightly sweet with a decent bitter kick to it. Overall a nice beer that I will follow-up with again!

Beer mug, from bottle. Best by Feb ’07, sampled Nov ’06. Creamy but short off-white head, decent lacing. A clear, medium brown color. Aroma of caramel and chocolate. Body is light and thin, but quite carbonated. A predominantly malty flavor, but faint hops in the finish. Pleasant and goes down easy, but not remarkable enough to recommend beyond that.

i can see where sammy was kinda going with this...a starter brown ale that isn’t to in your face like some brown ales (ex.dogfish head indian brown) ...has a very nice look..rust brown colour...good good head...good carbonation...real simple in taste..not offensive but maybe thin in body and taste for most specialty beer drinkers.

Best by date February 2007, Sampled November 2006
Pours with a frothy, amber hued, tan colored heat that starts out two-fingers thick and even leaves some lacing on the sides of my glass. The color is an opaque, dark brown color that shows brilliantly clear, dark ruby highlights when held up to the light. The aroma is brightly malty driven up front, but oddly finishes with a faint note I associate with a cheap macro lager. Sweet caramelized malt aromatics join with a sort of sweet prune like note. There is also a sort of brown sugar coated brewed crust thing here and a toasted malt note. Despite the hearty brown ale aromas something just strikes me as thin and wan.

The taste is fairly dry, but it has a nice medium body to it that even lingers on the palate. Toasted and roasted grain notes are the most prominent part of the flavor profile. A coffee like acidity finishes this beer off with a twang that the rest of the beer can’t quite balance. The residual malt sugars (which don’t contribute much sweetness) combine with the dark malt character to evoke flavors reminiscent of chocolate. There is a slight chalkiness here that I often get from the use of dark grains as well. As it warms a soft fruitiness is noticeable; mostly contributing a berry like note.

All in all this is not a bad beer, but it does not seem nearly as well integrates as it could be. I don’t know if I am just being snippy tonight, but, despite the fact that this is a decent beer, I just don’t feel like I would want this again.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=698>Plaza Liquors, Tucson, AZ

12 oz, pours a dark, dark amber, medium foam, and a great toasted, toffee aroma. Tastes of biscuits, nuts, and some grassy skunky hops. The hop character seems a little off, but overall a nice brew.