Nut Brown Ale
Motor City Brewing Works

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap, poured into a snifger. The aroma is grape jelly and toast that mellows towards a praline aroma. The beer is dark and oily looking with a cola color, and is topped by a light tan head that's dense, but thin and soap with a filmy surface that has a light retention and specks of lace. The beer is a medium sweet and light bitter. It's water thin and smooth with a fizzy carbonation and a light body. Flavors of dry molasses and nuts and dominant on the palate with a finish that's spicy with toast and alight coffee flavor. The dry aftertaste is clean with notes of spice and toast.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 11/19/2014. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish brown color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toast, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, light fruitiness, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/yeast ester notes; with good strength. Taste of chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toast, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, light fruitiness, and yeast/roasted earthiness. Fair amount of herbal/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toast, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, light fruitiness, and yeast/roasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice complexity, balance, and solid robustness of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/yeast ester flavors; with a good roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and lightly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish as expected of 4.2%. Overall this is a very good English brown ale style. All around good complexity, balance, and solid robustness of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/yeast ester flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.