Smuttynose Old Brown Dog

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Shaker

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Aroma was somewhat bland with a mild bready-matly scent, not quite what I expected. Tasted a bit light for a brown, but had a roasted characteristic that was very nice. The on tap version I had was a little too carbonated, but in bottles I have never had that problem.

Rich, malty nose. I almost smell chocolate notes. Tawny body, pleasant head. The first impression of taste somehow reminds me of a Rodenbach Red Ale. Indeed, this Brown is just as much a red ale. Finish is Tootsie Roll-flavored malt with just a touch of hop bitterness. Alcohol content says 5.7%, which is hard to believe, given the smooth, tasty character of the beer and, more importantly, the style of brown ale. This increased alcohol seems to be a trend. A very fine Brown Ale. I’m really beginning to like this brewery. Great stuff.

UPDATED: APR 1, 2007 Hey now, this is good stuff. Well balanced bitterness with malty chocolate flavours. Not as much body as I’d like, but keep in mind this is an American variation of a classic style, and it works quite well. RERATE 2007: Lots of burnt caramel and whisky malts detected, but also a lot of musk and a sticky, oily palate. Needs more dog?

cask conditioned. Slight fruit aroma, out of place on a brown. Nice earthy, chocolately, malty taste with a very bitter punch at the finish.

CASK- would love to try it on bottle. I found that it was quite light, which is much different than everone else’s rating. Still a pretty decent beer, with some nice flavors, sweet, and a hop presence.

Just enough subtle hops to keep this brown from being too sweet, which bugs me about other browns. Nice balanced beer, probably my favorite brown ale. Next time I’m in Portland I’m going to make a point to hit up this brewery!

mine has dust on the bottle and says bottled in july. is that bad? yep, this ol dog is elderly, but a nice roasted orange brown color with a light haze. the head was with me so briefly that i couldn’t even discribe it and i would be unable to pick it out of a police line-up. the aroma kinda has that sodden log-jam smell after a flood, which i likewise attribute to age, (the beers age, not mine) but i’ve had a few better bottles and know it’s supposed to be a rich malty, carrot cake caramel smell. some apple sweetness and at least medium-bodied, it’s still a good drink, just wish i’d have gotten to it sooner.

This beer was nothing special. Mediocre is a good description. Strong malt taste, sweet.

This is a beautiful beer with a rich amber color and high in malt flavor. Infact, even the bitterness has a hard time getting out from behind the malt. Nevertheless, this is a pleasant brown enjoyed in smaller quantities. Cheers!

Just an average brown. Sweet, toffeeish, and generally malty flavor with a bit more hop aroma than you might expect. Red-amber color with little head. Average body. Fairly good, but certainly not great.