Downtown Bourbon Brown
Griffin Claw Brewing Company

 

 

The pour is a clear, medium colored brown. However in the glass it turns into an opaque darker brown liquid, a little lighter than a coke. A finger and a half of head fizzles quickly away into an island of lacing right in the middle, light tan colored. Aroma reminds you, lest you forget, that this beer was housed in bourbon barrels for some time. Up front is bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Some caramel and toffee scents hide behind those behemoths up front, but are not shrouded completely. Taste is a different animal altogether. Espresso smacks the tongue immediately upon entry and I’m wondering how it was hidden in the aroma. caramel, vanilla, and oak replace the espresso for the middle. The bourbon barrels show up to dominate the finish with some spicy notes and drying effect. Mouthfeel is slightly thinner than medium but not offputting for a brown. Overall I feel a lot of different things about this; I’m impressed by the creativity, a little overwhelmed by the bourbon, love the initial espresso hit, and would love to see what these guys can do with a stout or strong ale. It’s a good beer, not great, but I’m definitely not disappointed either.

 

Griffin Claw Downtown Bourbon Brown, 9% ABV. Pours dark brown with one finger of tan head that left no lacing. Nose is bourbon and moleasses. Taste is coffee, bourbon, moleasses, slightly sweet, light bitterness, and something tangy. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

Pours a reddish brown color with a Miami tan head that lasts quite a while. Aroma of bourbon, caramel and brown sugar. Tastes of sweet coffee, salted caramel and maple syrup. Good mouth feel.

 

 

 

the can says 9.0% abv , which differs substantially from the 5.5% reported here as of the date of this review - perhaps it changed. as a 5.5% i had given it a lower "feel" score because it felt rougher than it should, but re-tasting it while expecting a 9% makes much more sense. smells just like a bourbon and coke, but goes down a lot smoother, considering the higher-than-average alcohol content. well balanced overall. brown yes, but comes with little to no head from a swift pour.

Can at home. Lightly reddish murky brown color, slightly cloudy, foamy off white head. Really nice sweetly brown ale coffee, mocha, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon nicely incorporated, body, lightly body: very pleasantly balanced, flavor wise it has a good body, medium carbonation.

16 oz can dated 1/17/18 from mr superspak :-)

Poured into plain glass globe snifter.

Pours a sun tea color forming into a muddy beige-brown and an off-white head of 2 fingers.

Aroma is light honey, molasses, shades of bourbon/oak, light nutty malts, and spicy espresso.

A surprising amount of hop spoilage comes rushing forward, something I don't particularly expect in a bourbon coffee brown ale (I thought I was safe to age it). Some dusty, stiff brown woody malts, followed by iced tea, slight old oak, faint bourbon sweetness, perhaps some shades of maple, and another wave of hop spoilage.

Feel coats the mouth with an almost woody dryness, with some slight pleasant alcohol heat. Moderate buzzing carbonation.

Overall I guess this was one to be enjoyed fresh - but considering it was bourbon barrel aged and it's a brown ale, coffee, espresso, etc, I was not expecting palatable hop spoilage. Word to the wise. I'm sure this beer is damn fine fresh though.

 

one of the highlights of a fun little session yesterday, this is a cool can of beer. a barrel aged brown ale with espresso beans, i cannot believe the alcohol is as low as it is listed here, this has a booziness to it, and really is driven by the bourbon barrel, i would have thought this was up north of 8% abv from smelling and drinking it, wow. i think because the base beer is so light, the barrel and the bourbon are really exposed, allowed to flavor this more than they would be in a bigger beer, which accounts for some of the alcohol character in here even though its not that strong. lots of vanilla and cocoa, with the coffee strong and sturdy in the finish, dry cocoa powder and brewed coffee together, not all the way fresh this tastes on the back end of its useful life, but the rest of the elements are pretty great in here, including a really nice molasses and maple complexion in the middle from the malt, and a natural chocolate taste too. there is an interesting complexity to this with all of the wood and whiskey character along with the coffee and the sweet grain, i dont want to drink a ton of this, but its a really enjoyable sipper. i have been stoked on the handful of griffin claw beers i have had so far...

Pours a clear dark brown with a long-lived, one-finger head.

The smell is bourbon, brown sugar, and caramel.

The taste is lots of bourbon, sweet brown sugar, with a slightly bitter, oaky finish.

The mouthfeel is slightly thin and medium carbonation.

Overall this is very enjoyable.

This review is from a pint can that came in at 6.5% ABV. After having another bourbon barrel-aged brown last night, Clown Shoes' The Path of the Angel, the difference is night and day, but it's hard to say which I prefer. Griffin Claw's offering is much lighter, with the head and lacing you'd expect from a nice brown ale. Nice nutty almond, roasted malts, yeast rolls, and very light citrus providing some balance. Thanks to the bourbon barrel, it drinks much heavier and boozier than a typical ale in this ABV range, which for me is enjoyable. Full-bodied and smooth, with a hint of spice on the finish.