Gnarl
North Peak Brewing Company

 

It's good but not great. So far I'm not that impressed with this brewery but this is the best beer I've had from them so far. I agree with the review that says it's closer to a brown ale than an amber, it kind of tastes like if you mixed a brown ale and an amber ale together. It's fairly sweet and buttery caramel flavored combined with some roasty chocolate notes. The 7% abv is fairly well hidden.

 

 

YUM!!!!!! YUM!!!!!!! Once again another Amber that is from the sweet nectar of Michigan farming fields. This one is just as much strength as Erick but just as much flavor as Rochester red. The chestnut sweetness and robustness shines through, it is a well balanced beer but one that is not afraid to give you a punch of flavor!

 

 

Tap

Pours hazy amber, white ring of a head.

Smells of biscuit malt with a hint of honey.

Flavor is of honey, biscuit, cereal grains, coppery barley, and a tinge of molasses.

Medium body, barely any carbonation.

Decent flavorful medium body ale. Rich and smooth. Borders on cloying. Closer to a brown ale really.

 

 

 

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 10/5/2017. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish copper color with a small dense cream colored head with decent retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Good appearance. Aromas of chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with light notes of toffee, molasses, roast, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, chestnuts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with light notes of toffee, molasses, roast, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of chestnuts, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light roast/dark fruit, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, chestnuts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 7%. Overall this is a very good amber ale. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, chestnuts, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Balanced chestnuts and dark/bready malts; with mild English yeast and earthy hop presence. Nothing too exciting, but a very enjoyable and well made offering for the style.

Nice red ale. Caramel and brown sugar come through. Great dark color. Small head.