Durty Mud Season
Smuttynose Brewing Company

 

Exploring the Lost 40 in the back of the fridge & this bottle came to light. Bottled in June…the rest of the date I smudged with my big fat thumb I guess. Split with the wife to begin the evening.

The pour is brownish crimson if there exists such a thing, with a nose that veers from malty to piney. Interesting.

Durty is from a variety of brew I wish there were more of – I recall fondly the hoppy brown ale (or ales, if there was more than one) of my youth. This one doesn’t reach for the heavens, but kicks up dust on the average. Little pine, little malt, not much of anything impressive or offensive, like a standard Disney movie.

Not much here for me. Decent enough.

Best by 6/30/14; drank 2/3/14.

Brown, murky color.

Tan head; strong lace.

Nuts, coffee & faint citrus nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Roasted nuts, coffee & orange citrus up front; a boozy, bitter finish which is frankly unpleasant.

Barely drinkable.

**
01/11/15

On tap at Blend.

Aroma is smoke, veggie, brandy.
Appearance: Dark dark brown, white head, lasting.
Taste: veggie, rum, barley, bread

Really Tasty Brown Ale.
**

The appearance was a fairly dark brown color with an off white foamy sort of head. The head dissipates to small lump valleys here and there. The smell had a soft sweet to bitter blend of citrus to pine overcoating a rich nutty blend of roasty to sweet coffee and caramel. The taste combined nicely the bitter citrus and piney hops to the sweet and roasty flavors. There’s a rich nutty to bitter piney aftertaste leading to a dry sweet and roasty smooth finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation seemed appropriately styled for me. A nice lingering bitter roastiness rolls over my tongue. Overall, I say this was a pretty good American Brown Ale that I would have again.

 

Deep brown in color with very little penetration to light. There's a quarter inch of creamy brown head on top. Heavy lacing. The aroma is a blend of chocolate, caramel, and piney hops. I'm tasting plenty of chocolate, piney hops, and caramel. The mouth is a bit thick, creamy, and lightly chalky. I'd say this beer is exactly as advertised on the bottle.

 

 

 

Drank from a 12 fl oz/355ml bottle
Best by 06/16/16
Served in a pint glass
Thanks to my father-in-law Neil for bringing a six-pack of this to our pizza party.

Deep, dark mahogany appearance. The liquid was topped by a billowing, three-finger tall, super tight and creamy, khaki colored crown that slowly dropped to a think, lasting film. Streaky, spotty lacing trickled along the glass.

The aroma consisted of an interesting mix of punchy hops and sweet malts. Crisp, piney, West Coast-style hops were well matched by robust, dark malt notes. Bready and somewhat chocolatey. There was a strong nutty quality as well. Hint of molasses. Rich and complex. As the beer warmed, the sweet malts intensified.

The flavor was similar to the aroma except that it was perhaps a bit rougher around the edges. While the malts kept the hops in check in the nose, the pithy, leafy hops were a bit overwhelming on the palate. Rich malty notes made a brief appearance up front before the hops kicked in. Bitter, piney, rind-like, West Coast-style hops. Malty notes again appeared in the middle. Bready, chocolatey and moderately sweet. Just when I thought the hops were done, they came back again big time in the finish. Loads of pine sap and grapefruit rind. Fairly sharp and bitter. Pithy, bitter notes lingered long after the swallow.

The mouthfeel was solid. Medium-full bodied for the style. The liquid contained a fine, moderate effervescence that turned frothy and smooth on the palate.

Even though I typically do not like hoppy dark beers, I will admit that Smuttynose did a solid job on this one. Durty Mud Season Hoppy Brown Ale is a punchy, hop-forward brown ale that kept my interest from start to finish. Also, at 8.4% ABV, this was surprisingly drinkable.

 

 

 

 

From the potsdam ny iga for $3