Bourbon Brown (Barrel Aged)
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Darkest hazel with generous red and gold highlights in the bottom third of the pint glass. The slim cap of tan froth lasted but a minute and left no more than vestiges of watery lace on the opposite side of the glass. A passable brown ale look.

If I didn't know the style, I might not have able to tell by the aroma alone. The nose consisted of faint hints of dark malt, dark fruit and bourbon. I wish that all were more prominent, especially that last one.

Unfortunately, Bourbon Brown didn't keep pace with the most recent handful of offerings from my local Rock Bottom. The biggest problem, I believe, was a simple shortage of malt. I'm no brewer, but I don't believe that most styles can overcome that handicap. American brown ales certainly can't. Where was the chocolate? Where were the nuts? Where were the chocolate-covered nuts?

The dominant members of the flavor profile were weak dark malt and tart and tangy fruit. This isn't entirely fair, but I was reminded of a Munich dunkel lager mixed with lemon juice. Sour was much more prominent than bitter and sweet was nowhere to be found. More malt would have filled the beer out nicely and would have allowed for some amount of flavor linger.

After the last bourbon beer at this brewpub, the outstanding (Woodford Reserve) Bourbon Barrel Porter, I was expecting my favorite liquor to be oozing from every mouthful. In fact, the bourbon character here was minimal at best. Strangely enough, it was ever so slightly more noticeable when I drank the final half of the pint with my lunch. While I did feel that the beer was slightly woody, I fear that the power of suggestion was at work more than my tasting acumen.

The mouthfeel started out too light and too fizzy... and finished up too light and appropriately carbonated. Brown ales aren't stouts, they aren't even porters; I'm aware of that fact. They do have to reach a certain threshold with me though and BB (BA) didn't.

I feel fortunate to have a brewpub like Rock Bottom within a few minutes of my house. The beer, almost without fail, is either good or very good. However, there are bound to be those offerings that, for whatever reason, don't hit me the right way. Bourbon Brown (Barrel Aged) was just such a beer.