Belgian Brown
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery

 

Pours a nice lightish brown color. Smell is light on the spiced belgian yeast aroma that I typically don't care for, making this nicer than expected for me, and a cereal like sweetness comes along too. Taste is nicely malty, somewhat sweet for a belgian, and a lighter than average yeast character. This is easily one of the more drinkable belgians for me.

Thanks to JasonMech77...
Appears a hazy, light brown, along with a light off white head that quickly fades into a mild film and collar. Spotty lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of bready yeast, caramel, light tartness, lightly toasted malt, and ripe fruit highlighted by plums, cherries, and spice.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with light tartness, over-ripened fruit, toasty malts, caramel, and nuts standing out as flavors.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, yeasty, slightly tart with a semi-dry finish.

Appearance: Medium golden color, rather hazy, witha fairly large, persistent white head, and lots of scattered, broken lace.

Aroma: Rich sweet and spicy aroma, prototypically Belgian, with notes of clove and bubble gum.

Taste: Opens with a spicy, slightly nutty note, with cloves, apple peel, bubble gum, and hints of ripe bananas. Late in the taste there is a mild, lingering herbal and medicinal note.

Mouth feel: Smooth, rich, soft, and very full.

Drinkability/notes: An interesting and quite drinkable example, very pleasant, would make an excellent session beer.

Pours with a frothy, initially three-finger thick, tan colored head. The beer is a hazy, dark, ruby amber color. The aroma picks up some definite fruity notes as soon as I pour this beer. A light tart sourness is evident in the aroma up front, it joins some fruity notes that when coupled remind me of tart plums. A sort of musty, earthy, almost woody aromatic note is here as well and helps to balance out the fruit notes. Notes of raisins and toasted malt round out the malt character. The aroma is quite interesting, not all that spicy, but rich and satisfying like a dark Belgian ale should be. As it warms some spicy notes become a bit more evident, though still subtle; I get notes of pepper and a bit of clove.

The beer is fairly well carbonated, it dances across the tongue just a bit. The finish is tart and, combined with the carbonation, gives this beer a bit of a zing. The beer is quite light on the palate, and quite easy drinking. It has a certain richness to it that makes this just a bit contemplative and certainly adds to the complexity. Notes of tart, yet sweet, plums mix with notes of raisins, hints of figs, perhaps a touch of tamarind, jam-like berry notes, and some spicy notes of clove. This is quite tasty, and I really like that this beer is only 5.5% alcohol, yet still has ample complexity and flavor notes to keep things interesting. This is a fabulously well made, lower alcohol, Belgian styled brew that I wish more American brewers could make well.

A - Cloudy brown tea color. No head to speak of, just an off white ring.

S - Very muted aroma. Banana and maybe a little touch of caramel.

T - Banana is dominant. Sweet overall.

M - Full, round mouthfeel. Mid-level carbonation.

D - OK drinkability. Very mild overall. Not their best offering.