Raspberry Brown Dog
Northampton Brewery

Enjoyed this on tap at the Northampton Brewery. I had just quaffed some Old Brown Dog the night before so I was curious to see what the addition of raspberries would accomplish. Well, they definitely added aroma, slightly tweaked the color to a subtle red-brown. And they definitely added to the taste, but in a tasty yet weird "sour ale" (a la raspberry Flanders or homebrewed lambic) wort of way. The body of OBD definitely kept this beer from becoming a lambic want-to-be and in fact, tamed some of the raspberry flavor -- in a good way: way too many raspberry beers tend to be cloying. In short, I guess I would have to recommend this as an above average brew and an interesting experience, but after one pint I was ready for a different style.

Sampled at the Connecticut River Brewfest 2004.

This was a clear brown ale with a good foamy head.

The aroma was of light raspberries over hops... a good balance, not overpoweringly fruity. I hate fruit beers that smell more like juice than beer.

The taste was of raspberries with a medium malt finish, and a lingering berry taste.

Mouthfeel was a bit watery. Not sure I could drink a lot of these either... I would get sick of the berry taste after a while.

This was on during the stop of the latest BA Bus tour. Pale Irish setter red in color, no head. I thought the aroma was on the malty side, and revealed none of the raspeberries used in this one. Medium bodies, the taste was dominated by raspberries in good way, and left some tartness in the finish. The Brown dog was the base of this beer, the raspberries added some light fruitiness to this one.