Big Beaver Brown Ale
Illinois Brewing Company

 

 

My fiance picked up a growler of this for me when she was back in Bloomington visiting some old college friends. That's why I'm marrying her...she buys me beer (she knows the way to my heart).

A - Big three finger loose tan head over a dark brown purplish brew. The head reduces quickly to about half a finger, leaving a brown collar and a very large amount of creamy lace on the glass..

S - Whoa....way off base. This smells funky, mouldy. I smell mushrooms and, I swear to God....dog shit. I'm not trying to be mean, but I really can pick up some hints of dogie poop. Their lines must be bad or something....surely it isn't supposed to smell like this.

T - Ok, much better than the smell. Lightly malty with some weird toast and mushroom flavors and a big out of place citrus hop note. As I work my way through the glass, I'm actually starting to like the earthy mushroomy nuances. Weird, but not so bad.

M - Medium bodied with a low level of carbonation. Slightly acidic with a sourish neutral finish.

D - This is about the worst smelling beer ever, but if you can drink it without breathing through your nose, it's not terrible.

Beer was pretty good so I had a couple. First one she poured was quite foamy so I asked for another one instead of waiting for it. Had a good dark appearance, but not too dark and went down exceptionally smooth. I had the first one gone in three drinks and didn't know it so I had to order another. Smell was off a bit but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

Served at IBC. Still fruity after all these beers. All the beers I tried there had some estery aftertaste that may have been part of the package when brewing in the summer. Still, this went down very well and finished pretty smoothly. Huh-huh. They've got a big brown beaver. Huh-huh.