Grandma
The North Brewery

 

This is a very interesting beer!!! Had a dark brown look as would be expected from a brown ale. The main aroma has a pineapple or grapefruit scent... there was debate among those in my family who tried this. The taste also had that pineapple/grapefruit flavor on top of a malty taste consistent with the brown ale base. Nicely carbonated and not to thin... And a nice head. A couple of days ago I had a brown ale that was very one dimensional but this one is very multidimensional!

Listed as 8% Indian Brown Ale on the wall at the brewery.
Poured from growler into shaker pint. Lively carb giving a modest 1/4" head that's sedate and almost nitro-y to be honest. Looks like a creamy beer, not-quite-opaque dark brown with red-brick at the edges. As I drink it down, the head remains an 1/8th inch of tight white, and the lacing is a soapy/nitro-y wall right near the beer that slides off the glass eventually, nothing sticking past an inch above the beer at any time. Super-nice-looking strong brown ale.
Nose is odd. A spark of piney hop, mixed with a lesser bit of paint thinner, and a sweet rye bread mustiness or something. Hmm. Almost like it, but then it's scaring me.
Taste is a danky, piney hop together with a diluted but creamy malt mix of chocolate and bland roast. The hops are like a creamy white-chocolate thin mint that just cancels the taste of any roasty or caramely malts getting through. Very much saved by the smooth, creamy feel, which is a big plus. Nowhere is the 8% detectable. Smooth, easy drinker.
Overall, this is an odd mix for me. I dig the creaminess. It's like a hoppy scotch ale or something, but I really wish the darker malts were able to come through, for it to be a "brown" that I'd enjoy again. People who dig "black ipas" should like this as a muted, creamy take on the style.