Beer Review: Voodoo Wynona's Big Brown Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.3 percent

Appearance: This was a very dark an rustic-looking brown color that had tones of both black and the dark red variety. Carbonation bubbles were only visible to my eyes when I peered in really close to the glass. Most of them seemed to congregate around the somewhat thin beige head. The lacing from the head was also a tad thin, but it had some bubbles in it and seemed to hang on the sides of the glass when it was tilted.

Smell: The aroma of this brew was very similar to coffee. There was a mocha-like scent to it. It was even a little chocolaty and had a roasty feel to it to back up the sweet notes.

Taste: I initially picked up on the chocolate/mocha/coffee profile that I noticed in the aroma. These sound dark and thick, but they surprisingly played a little light in flavor. They weren't too heavy. These flavors also acted very smooth. It seemed almost as if this was an alcoholic hot chocolate. The hop content was fairly strong, but the roastier flavors of the brew force the hops to only act as a compliment. The booziness of this did tend to creep more into the flavor as it came closer to room temperature.

Overall Rating: 

The fact that I was reminded of hot chocolate sent this one in the record books, in my eyes. This was strong enough, but also perfectly smooth. The dominant aspects that tend to ruin darker beers didn't take this brew over. The hops and alcohol content were present just enough. Such a great brown ale. One of the best I've had within the style.

Beer Review: East End Fat Gary Nut Brown

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

ABV: 3.7 percent

Appearance: East End Fat Gary pours a deep and thick looking brown. Initially, it appeared to have some weight and thickness to it.  The head was more of a lighter tan and was thick, creamy and sticky. It also caked easily to the inside of the glass. This led to some very above-average lacing as I continued on with the drink.

Smell: I was able to pick up tons of caramel malt and toffee when I first smelled this. Other notes of the malt bill that I noticed were sweet chocolate and something roasty. I was happy to find as little of a hop presence as possible as is usually the case with brown ales. I also tabbed hints of coffee, but wasn't 100 percent sure.

Taste: The toffee and caramel were the main culprits of the sweeter profile in this. The darker flavors such as the chocolate and roasted malt took over mid-way back and each sip was punctuated by the beer's nutty profile at this stage of the sip. The finish is a little more hoppy that I expected, but nowhere near making a big deal.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of my favorite Pittsburgh beers. It looks like it's thick and strong, but plays very light despite featuring many dark and sweet flavors. This isn't overly-hopped and is very sessionable. Few beers can be enjoyed in warmer seasons. This is one of them. I'd prefer minimal hop interference. Again, it wasn't a big deal for me with this one.

Monday Rant: We're Very Forgetful

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "respect your elders" at many points over the years. I've sensed over time that I've become one of the keepers/backers of such a phrase.

For whatever reason, I developed an extreme craving for brown ales over the weekend. I had one of Voodoo Brewery's Wynona's Big Brown Ales stocked in the fridge. So, I cracked it and poured it into a glass.

My God was it tasty. Not only because it was actually good, but my body needed a beer that tasted as such for whatever reason. I just craved the chocolate and toffee roastiness of a brown ale. I supplemented all of this by also making a journey to East End Brewing to snag a growler of the very sessionable Fat Gary Nut Brown. That too was satisfying.

Once in a while I grab and open up Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer of the Oxford Companion to Beer and read about the specific styles that I'm drinking or the intricacies of each one.

It was yesterday that I discovered that brown ales are one of the old British cornerstones of beer. Right up there with porter and pale ale. Then I thought to myself that with the ultra creativity we see in craft beer today, we sometimes forget the roots of such a great drink. We're sometimes like children that ignore what our grandparents tell us. Just because a certain style is old doesn't mean that they're boring and outdated!

Beer Review: Penn Nut Roll Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: Penn Brewery's Nut Roll Ale has a body that's golden brown in color. The head of the beer was white and somewhat thin. This serving was out of a growler. So, the second glass I had featured a more prominent head, but still with weak retention. There was also plenty of carbonation. The odd thing was the bubbles didn't rise towards the crown of the glass. They grouped on the side of it.

Smell: If you ever go to a family function around this time of the year and come across a nut roll you'll know exactly what I mean. It had an aroma of sweetness, yet it was roasty and nutty. There was a lot of sugar, cinnamon and toffee, but there was also a hint of caramel malt and nuts to spice things up.

Taste: A few things that I didn't pick up in the aroma were the presence of nutmeg and vanilla. Well, they came across fairly well on the tongue. These two were needed to bring this beer together. The cinnamon added some extra zing on the finish and added that winter warmer essence you look forward too in these seasonal beers. It was really close to actually tasting like a nut roll.

Overall Rating: 

I'm not so sure you can classify this brew as a winter ale, as its tastes and aromas are more in resemblance of a brown ale. Yet, it still is a good drink for the holidays. Especially for those of us that enjoy this dessert with our families. This is definitely one of those beers that falls under my "Pie Theory." Which reminds me. I really need to write a post explaining that a bit more.

Why Dogfish Head is Great For Craft Beer

While writing yesterday's beer review of Dogfish Head's Indian Brown Ale, which is a cross between an American Brown Ale, India Pale Ale and a Scottish Ale, I couldn't help but think of Dogfish owner Sam Calagione going off on a set of beer geeks on a Beer Advocate thread a few months ago.

Dogfish Head takes some heat in the court of public opinion due to the fact that it gets fairly liberal in terms of combing different styles of beer into one finalized product. In my opinion, the brewery's finest hour was the release of Noble Rot, a combination of wine and beer, as a full-bottle production this past January.

I think the thing that was closest to that type was Dogfish Head's Midas Touch, which was brewed with ingredients found in ancient bowls in the tomb of what's supposed to be King Midas. What about Raison D'Etre? It's brewed with beet sugar for God sake.

How can you criticize any craft brewer, even if you don't approve of a particular beer? Craft brewers put more heart into their final product than any of the American majors do. This post is also inspired by the comment I received on my review of Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat by founder, Keith Villa.

When I've written something about your everyday craft brewer's beer on here and they've found the post concerning them, I've received an email asking if they can send me some of their beers to try for free. It doesn't end like that when it comes to the American majors. God only knows if that was really Villa or some Public Relations intern just getting the company's two cents out there on everything that mentions Blue Moon's name.

If you're going to say something bad about any brewer, it should be the big-time American companies that continue to ram down your throats a product that has been watered-down by more and more by the year and only worries about profits and its public image. A craft brewer only worries about the product it puts on taps across his or her distribution area.

Beer Review: Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.2 percent

Appearance: Indian Brown Ale pours a dark brown with some ruby undertones elsewhere within the beer's body. The head is beige-colored and vary thin. It dissipates fairly quickly, but you will have a thin, bubbly layer on the crown of your beer for most of the drink. The beer appears to be decently carbonated. Has a very intriguing texture. Reminded me of your typical cola soft drink.

Smell: This beer smells very piney with some sweeter undertones behind that. I got hints of brown sugar, caramel and toffee. There was also a strong aroma of smoked malt.

Taste: Of the sweeter flavors, the toffee is the most dominant in the taste department. The smoked malt adds a great bit of smoked taste to this beer, which features chocolate hints as well. Really really sweet on the tongue. The only thing separating this from a can of soda or pop is the alcohol content.

Overall Rating: 

Dogfish Head is known across the land as being very liberal in terms of combining different beer styles and taking liberties with many different flavors. This beer is a fine example of exactly what the brewery tries to do. The beer is a hybrid of an American Brown, India Pale Ale and Scottish Ale. A very interesting concoction.