Brown Label
Town Hall Brewery

 

 

 

Pours a dark brown body, minimal head and retention. Smells primarily of whiskey, molasses, toasted malt. It's certainly a whiskey-forward beer, but there isn't much of a fusel presence. Flavour is similarly whiskey-forward, sugary, mellow roasted malt, a little bit of chocolate, quite sweet. The maple syrup is more evident in the mouthfeel versus the flavour. Body is smooth, a bit on the thinner side, lower carbonation, fair amount of whiskey with a drying finish. Overall, an interesting barrel-aged project that turned out with a hefty bourbon presence but not a whole lot else. The maple syrup is more evident on that drying finish.

 

 

 

750ML Nalgene-looking growler with a big wide Mickey’s mouth on it picked up during Barrel Aged week in February. This was the good-looking dark horse of the week, looking forward to having it again.

The pour is dark bruin (haha!) with minimal carbonation, which makes me wonder how these growlers are going to hold up compared to the old ones, which aged just like bottles. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, & a sweetness that’s likely the syrup, along with a raunchy undercurrent of funk in the nose. I like.

Brown Label is one of those Town Hall creations that keeps this place in the top echelon of breweries. Anywhere. The bourbon is up front & lends a lovely pair of pocket jacks. The ‘bruin’ bum rushes the bourbon & cuts it into manageable pieces like an funky axe murderer. Dancing in the middle, though barely noticeable beneath the gorgeous couple, is sweet syrup, raisins, prunes, caramel, lightly spiced. Drinks like summertime, with a rich, robust mouthfeel that’s more akin to a big porter than a bruin. I could have taken the entire dwarfish growler easily.

This kicks more ass than Boromir. Exquisitely balanced, gorgeously barrel-aged, maple syrup added with panache & style…well, damn, this is on the high side of excellent. I wish I’d bought more.

 

 

This is an interesting beer. Has a weird combo of lingering bitter/tart body that pops with a bourbon linger ontop of a maple sweetness. A lot going on here but not convinced that it produces a cohesive brew. Interesting indeed-but probably a beer that needs refinement.

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewpub. Served in a 10 oz. chalice.

Appearance: Color is a dark brownish amber. Moderate amount of bubbles and a small finger of tan head that settles into a thin patch.

Smell: A sweet and nicely boozy smell with some bourbon, fruit, and maple syrup. Upfront barrel presence with hints of bourbon whiskey, vanilla, oak, and wood. Belgian yeast with some hints of funk, clove, pepper, and slight cinnamon. Good sweet scent of maple syrup. Toasted malt with hints of toffee, caramel, and biscuit. Dark fruit hints of cherries, fig, raisin, and prune. A really nice aroma.

Taste: Like the smell, a nicely sweet and barrel forward taste with notes of bourbon, maple syrup, and fruit. Big upfront taste of bourbon whiskey with notes of oak, vanilla, and wood. Belgian yeast along with some notes of funk, clove, cinnamon, and pepper. Noticeable taste of the maple syrup that gets stronger as the beer warms. Toasty malt notes of biscuit, toffee, and caramel. Dark fruit undertones of cherry, raisin, fig, and prune. A really good taste.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a medium to high level of carbonation. Rich and somewhat syrupy but far from cloying. A little alcohol heat is apparent but it’s not overly hot.

Overall: A really great barrel aged Belgian style brew. Nice big barrel notes with a nice touch of maple syrup.