1814 Brown Ale
Shebeen Brewing Company

Pours a brown color with copper edges and a finger of head. The nose is a touch astringent. The flavor is fairly flat but the finish is nicely dry. The body is spot on for the style.

 

 

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into a snifter.
The beer pours rich mahogany color with some garnet highlighting when held up to the light. Fluffy beige colored head foams up about 3 inches and fades slowly leaving large craters and some windowpane lattice on the glass.
Aroma is heavy on malt with some brown sugar and caramel and a little bit of chocolate, but I do get hints of earthy hops in the background.
First sip reveals an average body with fine yet tingly carbonation.
Flavor is malty as expected with some chocolate and brown sugar but also a bit of burnt coffee note that hits on the finish. This flavor lingers a bit and covers my palate. I dont get any hop profile or booze and while I find the beer very easy to drink the burnt coffee flavor does hurt a little on the enjoyment. A decent brown ale.

 

 

 

I am updating my original review with this one on Oct 3, 2015. The original review From April 2014 was more favorable, and that beer was sampled from a growler in the first batch from the brewer. It was moderately scored at 3.50.

Updated Review: The beer was poured from bomber bottle into Shebeen "can" glass. Beautiful garnet red color with 1 inch white head that fades to a skin pretty quickly.

Aroma is faint all around. Not too much going on except some grainy sweet notes and a sugary smell from the molasses.

Initial taste is sweet in the mouth. Somewhat rich, but the beer lacks any bottom or weight. Finishes with a bitter note that isn't hop-like. Reminiscent of old, cold coffee that's been sitting around all day...that kind of bitterness. The first 8 ounces or so were pretty drinkable. Then something happened mid bottle. The beer took on a rotten sweetness in the mouth that was very harsh in the finish with that aforementioned bitterness. My glass was clean and I wasn't eating anything with the beer to influence the drinking experience. The beer became cloying and tough to swallow. Sad to say the last 4-6 ounces was a drain pour.

I am finding several beers from this brewer that have been sub-par for me. I have high hopes for Shebeen, as they are close by on my rounds of local craft brewers, and I visit them regularly. Some offering are very good (Java Pig Stout, Irish Pale Ale in the can). But there's an overall inconsistency with their brews. I hope they can lock it down in the near future.