Maple Nut Brown Ale
Kingdom Brewing

Poured into a nonic pint glass, the appearance was a ruddy brown color with a nice finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated moderately. Mild rings of lace. The aroma takes some crisp nutty malts lightly dosed with some caramel and toffee. Maple seems barely there. The flavor yields to the sweetness of the nuts initially. And then the caramel and toffee portions balance a little bit. Nutty aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. Maple syrup barely makes any waves on my tongue, no stickiness. Good carbonation. ABV feels right. Overall, good as a brown ale, but the maple seems barely there. Maybe again.

being such a fanboy of anything maple, i wanted a lot more out of this one. never heard of it before, and after drinking it, i am shocked its so strong. its light and thin, even for a brown, absurdly sugary, but not boozy in any way at all, a real shocker to see the abv on it. just a lighter medium shade of brown with a decent little head. it smells sweet, but not necessarily real maple, could be brown sugar or something, even that corn syrup fakey maple, the real thing is not obvious. the grain has some nice cocoa notes, which compliments the maple flavor, whichever one it really is, super well. sweet in the taste for sure, almost too much after even a small pour, but the alcohol remains well hidden. not much body here and average carbonation. i have not had much beer from these guys, so hard to judge the complete picture, but this one feels a little cheap to me, a far fry from the best maple beers vermont has to offer, but i still like it, just more of a guilty pleasure kind of thing. less authentic than i had hoped, at least the taste, i know nothing of the process...

 

APPEARANCE:
Highly carbonated and rich density served in a Short Tulip Glass. Murky, brown and bordering on barleywine consistency.

AROMA:
Sight scent of maple without the aroma that a beer with this ABV typically has. Smells like a rich, dense brown ale with some notes of nut.

TASTE:
Rich, warm mouthfeel that doesn't hit too heavy with the maple and gives your palette a hint of earthy, organic nuts. Sweet but very balanced and surprisingly light for the ABV. A maple sap beer that has considerably different makeup and taste than most beers blended with maple syrup.

Overall a great earthy beer that hits all of the right flavor notes but is distinctly different than most maple beer you will have. Pairs incredibly well with traditional Vermont white cheddar cheese.