Cooper's Series Brown Ale
Mayflower Brewing Company

Dark brown but light shines through the center of the glass. Beige head leaves plenty of intricate lace.

The malt smell comes closest to a Märzen with just a touch of chalk and chocolate.

The body is a bit watery with some large bubble effervescence. Beyond that, this is a decent brown ale. Lightly sweet with cocoa overtones. I get some blackberry in the swallow and plenty of hop. This is definitely one of the most complex and tasty brown ale I've had -- the only demerit is the body.

Pretty oldschool Massachusetts craft going on here. But I got time to kill and have to drive later and this is the lowest-ABV option on tap, so...

Pours really effing dark for a brown. Dark ruby, very opaque unless held right up to a light, with a small soapy head.

Smells like the reason why a whole generation of craft dedicated itself to these relatively meek styles: bready, nutty, beery. Deceptively light and in no way simplistic. Quite good.

Tastes not quite as good as it smells, but still pretty successful in the same vein. Nutty and sharp to start things off, getting more like straight up barley in the middle, finish with some mild nut and chocolate nodes. Some sharp hops are in there, and while some really great contemporary browns pull this off well, here it seems like a halfhearted stab toward newsness, and it probably would have been better with a clearer focus on the malt. Still, it's very nicely done.