Lewes Castle Brown Ale
Harvey's Brewery

 

500 ml bottle, as Harvey's Lewes Castle Brown, from Seven Cellars. ABV is 4.8%. Hops are Fuggle and Progress. Very dark brown colour, small beige head. Aroma of medium roast malts, liquorice and mild coffee, a hint of blackcurrants. The flavour is distinctly malty and medium sweet, notes of caramel and liquorice, fruity hints of blackcurrants and prunes, moderate bittering hops. Very enjoyable to drink.

On cack in England, this is the perfect English Brown.

 

 

 

 

Hand Pulled Market Porter

A_Beautiful dark brown bordering on black. Excellent coffee colored head with staying power

S_coffee predominates with roasted grain and a slight hint of prune.

T_Roasted malt hits up front followed by a mild sweetness with hints of chocolate and coffee. Nice bitter kick in the aftertaste with a slight bit of alcohol

M_Slightly thick mouthfeel with a tight carbonation. Despite the initial sweetness the finish is dry on the tongue.

O_Very nice brown ale with some interesting characteristics. Glad I had this on cask.

 

 

 

500 mL brown bottle poured into a pint glass tumbler.

Picked this up directly from the brewery store in Lewes.

A: very dark brown, almost akin to a porter but more of a coffee-colour than a black. Head depends on how quickly you pour. Pour slowly and carefully the first time and got virtually none; second bottle (a few days later) did a sloppier pour and got a 1-inch head.

S: malty, caramelly, but there's a little something savory in there too. It's almost a slight soy sauce scent, which sounds weird but it's not a bad thing, actually!

T: good--not great or outstanding, but definitely solid.

M: bit fizzier than expected for a bottled brown ale--this a a notch less fizzy than Mann's brown ale (which is almost like a cola) but more fizzy than any other bottled brown I've had.

O: I'd never turn one of these down. It's good. Not outstanding, but good.

Had this awhile ago at the Brick Store Pub, and I'm reviewing from notes. As usual, served properly by the publicans, which is a rarity and a delight in these parts. A gorgeous pour, showing dark brown with ruby highlights, and a thick, creamy, tan head. Smells nutty with hazlenuts, and slightly roasty, with a backdrop of some minerality. The taste is very nice. Earthy and creamy with a slightly coppery backnote and some nice peppery and herbal bitterness that lasts through to the nutty finish, Nicely balanced and a little more assertive than some in the style while still staying within the parameter of what you'd expect from an English Brown. Very creamy, nutty, and moreish in the mouth. Really delicious, and a nice example of an ale that's meant to be casked.

Cask at the Brick Store.

Pours a slightly hazy chestnut brown color with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of muted toasted malts with solid amounts of darker roast. Also present are hints of earthy hops and sweeter oats.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though more robust. Smooth malt flavors kick things off, equal amounts of toasted and roasted malts. Joining in shortly thereafter are moderate amounts of cocoa powder. The flavor profile dries up midway through the sip with the addition of slightly leafy hops and a soft nuttiness, carrying through to a mildly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with soft carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I didn't find anything about this beer particularly above average but it was a nice and simple beer that benefitted from cask conditioning. Worth a shot if you see it around.

On cask at Max's today.

The beer pours a fairly dark brown color with fairly good head retention and considerable lacing. On the nose, I really don't get much. At most there's something of a burnt toast, roasty maltiness, but it's pretty faint. On the palate.... wow, this is really pretty good. I'm usually not a huge fan of brown ales, but this one of the better one's I've had in some time. There is considerable chocolate, light sherry, dry cider and a hint of vanilla. In combination, it's really pretty nice. Mouthfeel is fairly light, as one would expect in a 4.8% abv. beer. Still, the beer delivers plenty of flavor and is not at all watery. Drinkability is exceptional. Obviously, the low alcohol helps, but this beer has plenty flavor as well, and is just very enjoyable to drink.

Pretty nice...

This must be a relatively new beer in Harvey's range, picked up at Harvey's Brewery Shop last month. The beer label suggests this is an award-winner: "2006 International Dark Beer Competition, Class 3 Smallpack Bronze". 500ml brown bottle, freshness info. being scratched, hence unreadable. Served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: dark reddish brown in colour, the tan head comes fluffy in texture but sustains well; moderate and constant fizziness.
S: sweet nutty and malt-syrupy notes mainly, underlined by light touches of toffee and a tinge of perfumy ripe red grapes & black plums... Harvey's hallmark yeastiness and tea-ish hops are muted but still noticeable, but a rather unnecessary metallic edge also hides at the back.
T: creamy-textured brown-sugary malts, marinated longan-fruits, and toffee gradually yield to a soothing aftertaste of lightly chewy, herbal bitterness (rather understated, true to Harvey's style). The yeasty element and sour-sweet fruity-maltiness as in Harvey's Best Bitter are also present here. The texture turns from lubricating (even oily) to lightly dry in the aftertaste, while the malty body remains intact all the way through.
M&D: silky smooth throughout, w/o any fizzy interruption; medium-bodied, balanced b/w sweetness, sourness, and a healthy dose of bitter hops. This is a solid, easy-drinking brown ale well worth a try, albeit not comparable to more complex offerings such as my favourite Black Sheep's Rigglewelter.