Brown Ale
Griffin Claw Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was served on tap at the Griffin Claw Brewing Company taproom in Birmingham, Michigan. It arrived in a house imperial pint glass, showing a deep ruby, mahogany coloring. It held a one and a half finger tall head of popcorn colored foam that left spots and cords of lacing around the glass as it departed at a slow pace. Retention was excellent, with a half finger portion of the head remaining for the entire tasting. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be lightly active. The aroma was rich and roasty-toasty, much like your standard American coffee porter. Aromatic notes included soft chocolate malts, raw barley, strawberry and dark cherry fruitiness, chalky yeast, malted milk balls, white chocolate, and soft autumn leaf spiciness. With warmth came chocolate chip cookie butters and faint PVC piping plastics. Our first impression was that, as with the nose, the malts were inclusive and roasty, but that there was also a deep presence of fruitiness to strike a unique and fun balance. As we sipped, the taste opened up with chocolate and caramel maltiness, dusty raw barley, kiwi and apple fruit juiciness, airy charcoal, and brown sugar sweetness. The middle came to a peak with soured brown malts much more akin to an English porter than an American brown, with accents of white vinegar, green pepper vegetals, corn starchiness, cherry fruitiness, and granular white sugar cloy. The ending wash gave tannic black breakfast tea, herbal hop airs, phenolic clove and plastic, mild leathers and charcoal, roasty brown and caramel malts, and blackstrap molasses. The aftertaste breathed of caramel, watered coffee malts, decent roast of brown malts, sticky toffee, salt water taffy, chocolate wafers, white sugar, dusty mustiness, thick wheat and digestive crackers, and seaweed. The body was medium, and the carbonation was light to medium. Each sip gave nice slurp and smack, and almost as nice cream and froth, with a light finishing twang and pop. The mouth was left light watered and coated, with light astringent dryness, light chalk, and no real pucker. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was its nose. Compared to the flavoring, this component of it was much more to style, and much more full of roast and depth. While this is not entirely lost through the sip, it does become a bit more watered, further marginalized by the fruitiness. The feel was decently light and easygoing, with pleasant creaminess to make up, in part, for this. This beer won’t knock your socks off, but it’s good for what it is, and for a standard house brown, and should satisfy the tastes of any person in your party who appreciates dark beer, but nothing too hoppy.