Chestnut Brown Ale
Eddie McStiff's Restaurant, Brew Pub & Bar

 

Granted they are working under a mighty handicap in Utah with a crazy 4.0 cap, as dormant homebrewer I can only wonder how they can do what they do out west. Easy enough to jack up the grainbill & hops to hide a mistake, talk about working without a net:

Mahogany colored with a lively tanhead that held up well, great lacing.

Smell: Light maltiness with some nutiness

Taste: Malty & nutiness & slight bitterness tht doesn't seemhops induced

MF: Either more hops to hide ABV or or more more malt (breaking the law, breaking the law!) Slightly undercarbonated

I'd love to try this at the source. But not a bad effort..

22oz bomber acquired in Boulder, CO.
Very dark brown, topped with a full plume of ivory head. Beautifully clear, shining a reddish garnet when held to light. Excellent lacing. Fruity and chocolatey in the nose, red macintosh apple, with a hint of floral hops. The flavor starts soft, mild malt touched with caramel and roastiness up front. Some cocoa, kinda grainy, with a soft carbonation easing things along. Light bodied. Some mild apple fruitiness. Fairly clean otherwise. Grainy malt with a shade of cocoa into the finish, some mild, non-agressive floral hops adding some flavor, but not much bitterness. Dryish. Some minerally, hard water qualities in the finish and aftertaste.
More my idea of a american take of an english dark mild, but the line can get kinda fuzzy when it comes to lower alcohol brown ale. Not exactly bursting with flavor, but that's not always what I want. Most times I just want something that tastes good without overwhelming my palate like a barley wine. The 22oz serving is perfect. Easy drinking and quite enjoyable, I'm glad I picked this up.

On-tap at the brewpub: Dark ruddy brown with a dark mahagony edging, thin fizzy ivory cap that escaped quickly, no lacing qualities. Aroma has barely a trace of sweetness mixed with some drying nut tones and slight roast. Taste is plain, mostly sweet, a bit peppery and herbal at the front but fades off quickly leaving an empty sweetness of toffee and slight roast and nutty/grainyness to flatten out to a dryish finish. Feel is thin, close to watery, smoothly clean and quickly crisp upfront but drps off far to fast. A barely there/slightly above average brown.

Had it on tap at Fiddlers Elbow in Salt Lake City(Sugar House).

Color was a dark bowrn. Had a nutty and malty smell. Good finger width of head. This ale was nutty and toasty with a delicate balance of hop dryness. I almost always get this beer at Fiddlers Elbow. Very good.

Had on tap at the brewery in Moab, UT.

Clear, dark walnut forming a thin rim of beige bubbles with absent retention or lacing. Aroma is nice...sweet, nutty with toffee and butterscotch, caramel, and amber malts. Mouthfeel is smooth, initially bright, with a lightly dry finish. Taste begins with pleasing herbal hops, followed by earthy amber malts, a nutty and earthen finish, and a light body. A nice brew.