21st Anniversary Rorschach Two Double Brown Ale
Mad River Brewing Company

Big, sticky Brown Ale. Powdered cocoa, nutty, light coffee roast, vanilla, & malt. Raisins & cola. Goes down soft & easy for the ABV, but gets bigger & more viscous as it warms. Slim to no booze in the nose & taste. More of a desert btown ale. One I'd prefer to end the night with. Big beer, & executed well for double the style.

 

Had as part of Hobo Cookout #1! Massive thanks to mikesgroove for sharing his 2010 Vintage Speical 2011 for mikesgroove hand bottle edition with me. Bottle #2 of 3 (no seriously, it had '2/3' written on the bottle)! Served from bottle into a Stone nonic. Poured a deep chocolate brown with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, dark chocolate, roasted malt, and wood. The flavor was of sweet malt, slight roasted malt, caramel, dark chocolate, and wood. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was an excellent brew in all aspects. Went down very smooth and was quite enjoyable. While not the most complex beer I have ever had, this one really worked nice for the style that it is in. It dared us to tick it, so we did just that... Really glad Mike shared this one with me!

huge, huge thanks for this rarity. i have seriously been blessed with alot of really great one offs from mad river and it was time to get the ball rolling on these. this one was popped open for the inaugural hobo bbq at my house. split with the man Calton on 05/05/11.

pours out a thick, inky color, with only light shades of brown that reach around the sides of the glass. really nice big tan head pops itself up and briefly coats the sides with copious and streaking lacing.

aroma is wonderful notes of rich warm vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, rich roasted malts. nicely done and very warming. as i take the first sip it was remarkable how smooth this was, a light heat is all that would distract as warm vanilla and coffee notes quickly coat the palate and offer tons of depth and wonderful flavors. smooth caramel and a light chocolate note are fleating as bourbon and vanilla melt into a light oak like tobacco finish.

overall about as solid as it gets and a great way to end the night for sure. this thing was killer and a real treat! hel yeah cant wait to tick the rest of these.

Had this last week at Mad River Brewing Co. new tasting room (this place kicks ass now - major upgrade and overhaul with a killer hand carved wooden bar, plenty of seating and beer to go). The bartender recommended it, stating it's his new favorite beer at the moment. Served it in a snifter for $4.

A: Pours a deep brown hue that lightens up around the edges of the glass when you hold it up to the light, a thin head that lasts the entire brew, leaving a good amount of lacing in its tracks.

S: Light grain/toasted malt, earthy moss, fresh baked bread and just a hint of booze.

T: Toasted grains, sweet nutty malts, buttery (kind of salty), fresh baked bread and a very slight hint of bitter hop that is earthy and dank.

M: Medium-bodied, smooth and creamy, very mellow carbonation that is nice for the style with a lingering bitter mouthfeel from the hop that is barely noticeable, but adds a nice depth.

D: Fairly easy drinker, but I can't imagine having more than a couple in one sitting. Real nice nightcap after a night of IPA's.

On-tap at Strong Ale

A: The pour is a very dark brown color with almost no head formation.

S: Lots of nuttiness on the nose as one might expect from a brown ale. Only a moderate malt sweetness to this beer, and fairly roast and toast forward. Unfortunately, a bit acidic.

T: A decent enough nuttiness to this beer, which is really the main flavor to it. Some chocolate and perhaps even coffee, too, but quite bitter.

M: The body is medium to full with the carbonation being medium as well.

D: A little too bitter (and perhaps acidic) to me for a brown ale, and not necessarily in a hop way. More like in bitterness from the grain bill.

On tap at the Alehouse.

Pours a deep dark brown color with a small tan head.

Aromas are of roasted nuts, dark malts, and coffee beans.

Taste is full flavored, and almost more like a really robust porter than a big brown ale. Roasted nuts, dark chocolate malts, cocoa, espresso, and some brown sugary sweetness.

Mouthfeel is nice, full and smooth.

Drinkability is good. This is a nice and interesting beer, congrats on 21 years Mad River!