Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale (2009-)

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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2009 bottle. Pours a dark brownish-amber color with a good sized head on top. A thin layer sticks around and sheds some lacing. Toffee, molasses, caramel, dark fruit, and tobacco all show in the aroma. The flavors mostly follow with wood, smoke, brown sugar, caramel, vanilla as well as some dark fruit. Raisins and dates come to mind. The smokey tobacco picks up steam the warmer this gets and stands out. Very smooth going down with practically no alcohol sting or out of place flavors. If Smuttynose was going for some sort of Old Ale/Barleywine hybrid I think they nailed it. Solid stuff.

Bottle pours brown with a creamy off white head. Aroma is very sweet brown sugar, toast. with a nice cocoa and dark fruit note,. Flavor has much the same, lots of that sweet brown sugar, woody, and cocoa with a nice balance of dark fruits, a barleywine like sweet fruit note. Medium to medium full body and a soft carbonation. Nice beer.

2010 Batch Pours a dark reddish brown color with a fluffy tan head that displays moderate retention and lace. Smells of brown sugar and caramel up front, dark dried fruits and a touch of oak and ethanol round out the aroma nicely. Taste is bready, caramel, and brown sugar up front. A bit of raisins, hot alcohol, and a touch of oxidation follow. Long lingering sugary sweetness and alcohol burn in the finish. Medium body and carbonation level with a sweet sticky mouthfeel. This is a great brew that I’ve had many times in the past. If the alcohol were a bit less present this would be world class.

Dark amber/brown color; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of toasted malt, caramel, & some toffee; Flavor of slight roasted sweet malt, caramel/toffee, syrup, chocolate, and some dark fruit; Fairly well balanced; Decent overall.

How do I reach these KEEEEEDS. This beer is awful. Dont fall for the cute dog or the decent ratings its not good. tastes like straight rock candy. Thats the only flavor overly sweet rock candy. Not an old ale at all but maybe somewhat of a barleywine.

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 2010. Pours almost opaque hazy dark reddish brown color, with a nice 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lasts. Some nice thin spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of huge caramel, raisin, molasses, biscuit, toasted malt, banana, pepper, toffee, vanilla, leather, oak, and light chocolate. Nice and well balanced aromas, with good strength and complexity. Taste of huge caramel, molasses, raisin, prune, chocolate, toffee, biscuit, toasted bread, leather, oak, and herbal hops. Lingering notes of caramel, molasses, dark fruit, toffee, chocolate, biscuit, toast, leather, and light herbal on the finish for a while. Fantastic flavor balance and complexity; with no cloying sweetness at all. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very creamy, slick, and thick mouthfeel that is fantastic. Alcohol is extremely well hidden for being 10% with only a very slight warming after the finish. Overall this is an absolutely fantastic Old Ale! Incredible flavor balance and complexity; and very smooth to sip on for such a big beer.

This one was from the 2010 series. It pours a cloudy darker brown with a half-inch of silky beige head that slowly diminishes and leaves a nice lacing in its wake. The aroma smells like a bottle conditioned strong ale with a good pronouncement of malts, dark fruit, and some hints of hops. While the malts are the chief ingredient, there is also a more noted alcohol flavoring with some sharp hops toward the end. Altogether, not bad.

Bottle/22oz - Pours a dark brown in color with a ruby cast if held to the light. Small light tan head that faded to a thin rim around the beer, but produced some minor lacing on the glass. Aroma is oaky with plenty of bourbon/vanilla and caramel. Flavor is slightly sweet to begin with lots more of the vanilla and caramel. Mildly hoppy; a flavor that really does not appear until the end. Some evidence of the alcohol, both in the warming that the beer produces and in the flavor profile... could be hidden better. Very enjoyable...

Pours a very murky brown like coffee left in the pot too long. smells of sweet desert. Tastes of vanilla, caramel, toffee, some earthiness and is pretty lively on the palate. enjoyable.

Pours light brown with a small tan head. Aroma is chocolate, cofffe/espresso and roast. Taste is sweet with slight coffee bitters. Smooth and borderline creamy. Nice brown ale