Thom's Best Brown
Harper's Restaurant & Brewpub

Pour is deep brown with a light head on top. Smell is roasted malts, not overly strong though.

The flavour is much of the same, a roasted malty tone...some vague hints of coffee and the vaguest hint of smoke. I thought it was decent, but more character would have helped it.

Mouthfeel and drinkability also seemed average, nothing special going on here.

The bottom line: I think Harper's has a good idea here, a smoky, roasted brown, but they allow the flavour to stay too subtle. This probably increases its appeal to Joe Beer Drinker, but I would have liked to have seen the smoke cranked up to a more aggressive level to really make the beer distinctive, as it is I think it is just a shade above average.

This is really a porter, and not a brown ale. Rather it's unlike any brown ale I've ever had, and more closely approximates a porter. It's murky dark brown with a thin, tan head and low carbonation. Grainy, roasted malts with hints of coffee and chocolate in the nose. Flavor is the same but with a bit of chalkiness and flat mouthfeel. The finish is clean, and relatively short compared to the other Harper brews. And hey, no corn taste in this one. Definitely the best of the bunch I sampled, and easily the most drinkable.

Very hazy brown with orange around the edges with no head at all. In the nose there was some madrk malt, coffe, and chocolate. As is often the case, it tasted exactly the way it smelled. There were no surprises lurking in the murky depths of my tumbler glass except for a faint smokiness. The smoke made up for the almost non-existant hopping. Pretty decent brew, but not very exciting.