Smoked Maple Brown
Northbound Brewpub

obviously i am a maple guy, but this beer should be getting some love. they apparently smoke the maple syrup in house, and it has an amazing flavor, and i think the base beer is a perfect platform to feature this special ingredient in. its weird nobody talks about these guys, they do cool food and make beer that is inventive and way ahead on the quality curve. wheres the love?! this is a medium bodied and medium chocolate tasting brown ale, sort of english in grain complexion, although i taste no yeast. there is a molasses hint, and the maple shows more smoke than syrup flavor, but both are there, and it bestows a nice complexity onto an otherwise well done but generic brown. just a bit of sugars in it, very vermont, with the smoke also being on the subtle side, bready on the low end and relatively layered. i could always take more maple, but thats me, and this is a really neat homespun sort of brew. it was my first time in here and i was really pretty pleased with and inspired by all the beer they are making. this should not be as underground as it is, great stuff, cool use of house smoked maple syrup, what more can i ask for?!