Brown Ale - Vanilla
West Sixth Brewing Company

Continuing their "Firkin Thursdays" tradition, nothing suits a wood cask better than Northern English Brown Ales. Its supple sweetness is met with the velvety richness of vanilla additions for more elegance and refinement.

Upon the pour, the understated head character is creamy, tightly knit and bone-white. Short in its stature, the foam retains better than half the session before folding back into the beer's body. Dark brown and hazy from its unfiltered character, the ale carries the stately appearance that's typical of traditional British cask Browns.

Bold and masculine aromas of chocolate, nuts and toffee leap right out. Background notes of cream and vanilla give its scent something akin to chocolate candy bars. Lightly hopped, the soft floral notes of English noble hops are delicate and only offers roundness to the beers scent.

In similar and predictable fashion, the ale's flavor is a consistent carry-over from its nose. Lead with chocolate and toffee, the sweet malts wrap around the tongue with nearly dessert-like satisfaction. Expecially with the silky vanilla additions, greater impressions of sweetness and creaminess is realized. Balance comes from a moderate toasted walnut-type bitterness and the broad woodish bitterness from hops.

Velvety-smooth on the mouth, the lighter rate of carbonation allows for great exploration of taste while providing a lush and weighted creaminess throughout. A slow and even fade to semi-sweet dryness and light grain and wood spice closes the beer and provides a long chocolaty aftertaste. The vanilla certainly masks any would-be alcohol warmth.

Effortless in its drinkability and quite delicious, the ale offers low offense yet still keeps me wanting more- more depth, complexity, richness, roundness, boldness and overall character.