Hub City Brown Ale
Hub City Brewing Company
- From:
- Hub City Brewing Company
- Iowa, United States
- Style:
- English Brown Ale
- ABV:
- 4.3%
- Score:
- 66
- Avg:
- 2.61 | pDev: 25.29%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 39
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Aug 20, 2012
- Added:
- Aug 20, 2008
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
66
Poor
66
Poor
Our Brown Ale is a medium-bodied beer in the traditional English style. It has a pale brown color with hints of nut and caramel. This beer has a light, clean flavor and smooth finish with just a hint of sweetness, perfect for warm summer days.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by hardy008 from Minnesota
1.83/5 rDev -29.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
1.83/5 rDev -29.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Dark orange to brown color with a very small head which vanishes quickly and leaves no lace. Smells somewhat of caramel and fruit. This is supposed to be a brown ale?
Tastes like caramel, fruit, and grain. Also somewhat watered down and unpleasant. Not much good to say here.
Light bodied, low carbonation, metallic. In general, pretty bad. Hub City needs to go back to the drawing board on this beer.
Apr 15, 2012Tastes like caramel, fruit, and grain. Also somewhat watered down and unpleasant. Not much good to say here.
Light bodied, low carbonation, metallic. In general, pretty bad. Hub City needs to go back to the drawing board on this beer.
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio
3.3/5 rDev +26.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.3/5 rDev +26.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear, copper/amber color. 1/4 inch head of an off-white color. Slight retention and poor lacing. Smells of yeast, sweet malt, slight hops, and slight citrus. Fits the style of an American Brown Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of hops, yeast, slight citrus, and a faint sweet malt background. Overall, not near the malt flavor I'm become accustomed too, but overall a drinkable beer. It just doesn't remind me of a Brown.
Apr 05, 2012
Reviewed by delmarnate from Wisconsin
1.7/5 rDev -34.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
1.7/5 rDev -34.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
Awful. I hate to pile on any brewer , but I really don't understand how this beer got distributed out of it's local area. Very chemical aroma to start, followed by an appallingly thin mouthfeel for a brown. The taste is watered down caramel and acid with a bitter aftertaste similar to stale coffee. Really bad, stay away.
Oct 30, 2011
Reviewed by Lemke10 from Wisconsin
3.4/5 rDev +30.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
3.4/5 rDev +30.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
I bought a Hub City 6-pack sampler from Woodman's in Janesville, WI for $7.79 in Spring 2011.
Pours a semi-dark brown color with a cream colored head of foam that doesn't stick around too long. There's a scent of sweet cocoa and chocolate malts as well as some hops. Taste starts off rather promising with a bold chocolate nutty flavor but quickly goes away. Some sweet carmel malts in the mix and it leaves a nice after taste on the tounge. Decent and something new to try from Iowa but that's about it.
Jul 03, 2011Pours a semi-dark brown color with a cream colored head of foam that doesn't stick around too long. There's a scent of sweet cocoa and chocolate malts as well as some hops. Taste starts off rather promising with a bold chocolate nutty flavor but quickly goes away. Some sweet carmel malts in the mix and it leaves a nice after taste on the tounge. Decent and something new to try from Iowa but that's about it.
Reviewed by biggred1 from Indiana
2.72/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
2.72/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Clear orange amber..not the color I expest from a Brown ale with a creamy tan head. Dark cherries and caramel in the aroma with some herbal hop notes. While not a bad tasting beer, Hub City Brown is not true to the style at all, this beer tastes more like an Amber or even an O-fest than a Brown ale. Caramel and a hint of fresh strawberry and floral hops. Medium light bodied. Sorry, this beer is not a Brown ale.
Jun 07, 2011
Reviewed by HuskyinPDX from Washington
3.73/5 rDev +42.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.73/5 rDev +42.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle poured into a tulip glass.
A - Reddish brown with almost no head at all. Some tan bubbles around the edges. Slight lacing left on the glass.
S - Nuts and malts, all very slight.
T - Sweet Nutty and blueberries???
D - Low carbonation.
O - Very drinkable. different than expected, but nice.
May 23, 2011A - Reddish brown with almost no head at all. Some tan bubbles around the edges. Slight lacing left on the glass.
S - Nuts and malts, all very slight.
T - Sweet Nutty and blueberries???
D - Low carbonation.
O - Very drinkable. different than expected, but nice.
Reviewed by match1112 from Illinois
3.07/5 rDev +17.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
3.07/5 rDev +17.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
poured from bottle to pint glass. appears more red than brown with little to no head, and no lacing. has a strong sweet malt smell with lots of chocolate. tastes like watered down tootsie rolls with a slightly creamy mouth feel. not a brown i would recommend.
Apr 12, 2011
Reviewed by Tballz420 from Minnesota
2.7/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
2.7/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Alright my pour was a little aggressive and im staring at a glass with 98% head. Really pillowy. Give it another ten mins to reset...
Anyways, mine has a really big head, hazy dark caramel body. Sweet brown malt nose. Pretty light on the malts for the taste, which might actually be a plus since it tastes less like a brown ale than a lot of brown ales. Thin to med, pretty soft. Eh, not horrible, but my least favorite style and pretty standard at that.
Mar 15, 2011Anyways, mine has a really big head, hazy dark caramel body. Sweet brown malt nose. Pretty light on the malts for the taste, which might actually be a plus since it tastes less like a brown ale than a lot of brown ales. Thin to med, pretty soft. Eh, not horrible, but my least favorite style and pretty standard at that.
Reviewed by emmasdad from Colorado
3.05/5 rDev +16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
3.05/5 rDev +16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Thanks to Dan for sharing this one last Friday night. The last time I reviewed a Hub City beer, the brewer contacted me and questioned my review of one of his beers. Here we go again. Poured a light amber color with a minimal amount of light beige foam on top. Bits of nuts, milk chocolate, caramel and sweet malt, but fairly disappointing.
Mar 10, 2011Reviewed by alleykatking from Indiana
2.45/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2.45/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Poured from 12oz bottle. Review from notes.
A- Pours a amberish brown color. Half finger off white head dies rather quickly. Light whisps of lacing on the sides of the glass fall back into the beer.
S- Light chocolate malts along with a toasted caramel malt give way to most of the nose. There is a light grainy scent from time to time. A dash of brown sugar in the ending and this beer is done for in the nose department. Average at best.
T- Nice caramel malts in the front of the beer with a light toasted taste to them. A light darker fruit flavor gets covered by a metallic taste from about the middle of the beer to the ending. This really killed anything from the middle on with this beer.
M- Light mouthfeel. Carbonation is alright for the beer. Metal is all I can taste and is left on the palate for awhile after each sip. No real alcohol drying on the palate. Flavors are off and no real clean taste to this beer at all.
D- This beer had potental and I would like to try a batch that isn't...well...off in flavor. I've had a couple offerings from Hub City and it looks like they either brew a good beer or else don't come close to what they were doing.
Dec 01, 2010A- Pours a amberish brown color. Half finger off white head dies rather quickly. Light whisps of lacing on the sides of the glass fall back into the beer.
S- Light chocolate malts along with a toasted caramel malt give way to most of the nose. There is a light grainy scent from time to time. A dash of brown sugar in the ending and this beer is done for in the nose department. Average at best.
T- Nice caramel malts in the front of the beer with a light toasted taste to them. A light darker fruit flavor gets covered by a metallic taste from about the middle of the beer to the ending. This really killed anything from the middle on with this beer.
M- Light mouthfeel. Carbonation is alright for the beer. Metal is all I can taste and is left on the palate for awhile after each sip. No real alcohol drying on the palate. Flavors are off and no real clean taste to this beer at all.
D- This beer had potental and I would like to try a batch that isn't...well...off in flavor. I've had a couple offerings from Hub City and it looks like they either brew a good beer or else don't come close to what they were doing.
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!