Karl Strauss Downtown After Dark Brown
Karl Strauss Brewing Company

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From:
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
English Brown Ale
ABV:
5.3%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.38 | pDev: 14.5%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
12
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 08, 2014
Added:
Aug 26, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4 by Pennywise999 from California

May 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by OMsweetOM from California

Jan 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 19, 2012
 
Rated: 3.25 by shade13

Jul 25, 2012
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.28/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Very dark amber in the pint glass. Near brown. Pleasant foam which lasts a long time in the pitcher. Flavors of dark roast malt, caramel, and a hint of coffee grounds. Somewhat bitter from the burnt barley but not real hoppy taste. Fairly tangy and has a winey feel. For a brown ale, it does have plenty of taste. However, it's kind of a stew of flavors and none of them very winning.

From the pitcher, rather astoundingly priced at $19.50. Appropriately enough, at the downtown San Diego location.

03/13/2013 update: This seems to be the spring seasonal on tap at Columbia St location. Very dark with an odd flavor of licorice and dishwater. If only it had some sprightly carbonation.
Mar 28, 2012
Photo of Overlord
Reviewed by Overlord from California

2.51/5  rDev -25.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Had a chance to sample several Karl Strauss beers today.

Pours ... brown. Surprisingly little head. No real smell, maybe a whiff of malt. Taste is surprisingly flat, with a thin mouthfeel. Other than a hint of nuts (walnuts?) and milk chocolate to go with a basic skunk malt background, I couldn't have told you this was a brown ale.

Avoid.
Jan 31, 2008
Photo of Floydster
Reviewed by Floydster from California

2.71/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Pint from Bad Dog Ale House in El Segundo

Pretty dark for a Karl Strauss beer and has a decent sized head on it too

No smell was present and tasted a lot like some of their other beers (red Trolley, Woodie), just darker

Could drink a good amount of these, not too heavy

Not my favorite beer from this brewery
Sep 12, 2007
Photo of JayTheFinn
Reviewed by JayTheFinn from California

3.59/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had one of these babies at the Santa Barbara beer festival. Pretty tasty!

A - Deep ruby red body with a nice off-white head.
S - Slight malt scent. Not a hell of a lot in the nose though.
T - Sweet, roasty, malty. Very strong.
M - Fairly mouthfeel.
D - Very smooth flavor makes it quite drinkable.
Jul 23, 2006
Photo of SteveO1231
Reviewed by SteveO1231 from Connecticut

2.78/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Wow,

Most boring beer ever.

No flavor, no excitement. This is a great beer for macro fans to practice drinking dark beer with. I swear it's bud/coors with some brown food coloring.

Poured a dark brown, once agin no head, no carbonation.
Small malt flavor and a light nutty finish.

Not impressed with this one at all. Very watered down.

Cheers!
Oct 09, 2005
Photo of Dmann
Reviewed by Dmann from California

3.95/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
My new favorite beer from Karl Strauss. This one poured a very dark brown/reddish color with a great tan head that stuck to the glass and left great lace. The smell was very heavy on chocolate and not much else. The taste was not what I was expecting. It had a nice chocolate flavor but there was a really good coffee taste in there as well. Mouthfeel was a little thin but it helped the beer to go down easy. Try this one if you see it.
May 22, 2004
Photo of oggg
Reviewed by oggg from California

3.97/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This beer is a rich ruby, dark brown. Tiny head. There is a blatant sweet chocolate smell from this beer. The taste is all chocolate and some subtle nuttiness. Not that subtle. Minimal hop presence. This is so smooth. I wonder if there's oatmeal in this. It's like a light oatmeal stout. It's so easy. Good for newbies.
Mar 11, 2004
Photo of beerguy101
Reviewed by beerguy101 from California

3.76/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Dark brown color, medium white foamy head. Aroma is malty, nutty and sweet. Roasted malts, medium hopped. Nice nut-brown flavor. Rich smooth malt taste. Full flavor. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean. Aftertaste is malty and slightly nutty, not a lot of bitterness.
Aug 26, 2003
Karl Strauss Downtown After Dark Brown from Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 12 ratings