Gillespie Brown Ale
Twisted Manzanita Ales

Pours a clear, brown color. 1/3 inch head of an off-tan color. Good retention and great lacing. Smells of strong alcohol, sweet malt, hops, hint of roasted malt, wood, hint of liquor, and a hint of pine. Fits the style of an American Brown Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of strong alcohol, strong sweet malt, slight wood, hops, hint of liquor, hint of pine, and a hint of roasted malt. Overall, good appearance, distinct aroma and body, and great blend.

12oz bottle. Poured a clear, brown color with a small, khaki colored head of foam. Aromas of caramel, toffee and bread crust with a touch of piney hops. Sweet caramel and toffee taste with a touch of nuttiness & mild bitterness.

 

 

From a 12 ounce can, the beer is intensely dark brown. Intensely roasted...almost burnt...with a boozy background. Full and bitter...spicy, with a scorched character. Malt is underneath, but this really is more of a high alcohol, highly roasted brown ale. Forgettable.

 

 

Picked this one up as it seemed intriguing and tasty as the billing states a brown ale that is rich, toasty with chocolate maltiness. Listed as 8.3% ABV on the bottle.

Pours a deep dark brown, almost black, with virtually no head and lacing that is almost non-existent. No dates at all on the bottle so I've no idea how fresh this is, but its local so I figured it would be. Or this this just how it is? Very light carbonation. Almost flat. Unnapealing.

Smell is very caramel-forward with light malt notes, but I really can't pick up much else, and I tried.

Taste is also very caramel-forward. Malty and a little hop bitterness as well. Slightly toasty and bitter on the tongue in the tail end that lingers. Real sweet. Drinks really well, though, despite the ABV.

Not bad as a brown ale, really, but this brew was very unnapealing and very unbalanced in my opinion. Could be that this was far past the freshness date, which is always a shame.

Another beer courtesy of the founding father of the canquest, woodychandler. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a very dark brown, damn near black color, with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is sweet, some chocolate. Taste is sweet and sugary up front, alcohol, some chocolate and light coffee notes. Feels medium/light in the mouth and overall a pretty good beer.

I am in the midst of reducing my backlog and in so doing, getting The CANQuest (tm) back up to speed. Twisted Manzanita recently began distributing their CANs to Philly, but somehow, this one was not among them. Instead, this CAN was a timely score at a Total Wine & More in Virginia during a recent visit on my part to DC.

From the CAN: "Rich - Toasted - Chocolate Malt"; "Gillespie Field is an East County landmark and, here at the brewery, we get to enjoy a perfect view of their air shows each summer. When we salute those high-flying daredevils we raise a glass of this brazen blend of chocolate, caramel and wheat malts. Though the cocoa-inspired concoction has a distinct sweetness, Gillespie Brown gets its wings from its substantial hop bite. We trust the lush, long finish of this full-bodied beverage will lift your spirits as it does ours."

I CANducted a Crack! and inverted Glug, producing two fingers of dense, rocky, light-brown head with good retention. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity and garnet highlights. Nose had a definite chocolate malt presence along with a minty hoppiness, giving it a Thin Mint smell. Mouthfeel was full and creamy, more like a dollop than a draught. The taste was initially very chocolaty, quite sweet, with just a hint of smokiness. Warming, the hops began to assert themselves, creating a mintiness that hearkened to mint chocolate chip ice cream. The finish was only semi-sweet, however, with the mintiness of the hops giving it a cool, refreshing quality to offset the sweetness that had been so prevalent throughout. I CAN hardly believe that it weighs in at 8.3% ABV, which makes it a dangerous brew. I ran through the CANtents of that CAN in no time!

Pours a thin tan head on a brown body.
The aroma is chocolate milk, toast and nuts.
The taste is creamy and nutty. There's an underlying current of citrus though. Interesting.
It's fine all around.

Today’s fancy (and heavy ABV’d brew at 8.3%) American Brown Ale carries the distinction of a Gold Medal at the 2012 San Diego International Beer Festival for an American-Style Brown Ale, it’s none other than *drumroll* Twisted Manzanita Gillespie Brown!!! *cue cheesy gameshow music* In any case I am looking forward to trying a big bad [the good ‘bad’] American Brown as it is a style I’ve not had a great deal of dabbling in (the disappointingly dry and bland Brooklyn Brown Ale being the only other US made American Brown Ale).

Poured from a 355ml can into a nonic pint.

A: Nice seal brown hazy body with a tan cappuccino foam 2cm head that fragments well with lacing around the edge of the glass... looks sticky, which usually means sugary too, as long as it isn’t boring as Brooklyn’s Brown I’ll be a happy man. 8/10.

S: HUUUUUGE CARAMEL BASE! So huge I had to write in ALL-CAPS! beneath all this sugar-laden caramel are some earthy/nutty notes and the teensiest-tiniest hint of milk chocolate. Others have suggested heady booze notes but I’m not finding that at all. Time to get my Insulin ready for the tasting part. 8/10.

T: Oh right... there’s the booze... more straight Vodka spirit than anything else, but it is noticeable with a slight burn and the feel of it hitting my blood stream. Apart from that the caramel malt less flavourful than expected but the nutty note is there along with some roasted malt. Finish is slightly astringent with that ethanol burn. You get the feeling that if they could pull back on the ABV there is a decent brew to be found in there. 6/10.

M: Medium bodied with a light but fizzy carbonation. The alcoholic astringency is distracting the mouthfeel somewhat though. 6/10.

D: This is one of those “gee I’m glad I tried it but I won’t be getting it again” type of beers, good-not-great, but it’s that shot of Vodka taste that really drags it down, and if you want to get an idea of what I mean take your favourite brew, pour a shot of Vodka in it and tell me what you think... yeah I thought so. I did however like the amped up caramel-ness of Gillespie Brown... damn this would have been nice at 5% ABV. 6/10.

Food match: What goes with caramel-flavoured Vodka? Kotlety with stolichny salad and a borscht soup starter, mmm... vkusnyy!

 

Good flavor but not a heavy beer

Poured from a can into a pint glass, after cleaning off an uncommonly large amount of dirt around the mouth. The can's very colorful, but looks a bit like it's from a new small brewery. Not quite sure what to expect.

A: Normal brown ale color. Small head, but decent lacing.

S: Not much there. A little boozy. Faint dark malt.

T: Warm and boozy. A bit raisiny, chocolatey and slightly hoppy. Mostly boozy, but it all melds together quite well. The can talks up the hops, but for me they are pleasantly unintrusive. The after-effect on the tongue is much more tingly than bitter. Maybe a hint of oak.

M: Smooth, medium body, small bubbles. Encourages drinking more.

Basically, this is Palo Santo Marron Lite, which works for me. Not as thick, woody, or fruity as Palo Santo, but the nice warm booze plays the same role. About a drink and a half worth of alcohol, as opposed to Palo Santo's two and a half, so easier to have if you don't want to start a real buzz. As an expression of what's possible for smell and taste, Palo Santo sets the bar too high for this to reach. As something to drink, this can be enjoyed in more situations. Not particularly expensive, either. I'll be happy to have this again.

 

pretty damn gross and malty

Poured from a 12OZ can into a pint glass.
Aroma- has a thick malty aroma
Appearance- Danny near black with a small light brown head.
Taste- more like a porter, really malty and flavorful
Palate- heavy bodied brew with a slick feel has light carbonation.
Overall- I really like this. It's more of a porter than a brown ale. So what it's awesome.