Andrew's Northern Brown Ale
Andrew's Brewing Co.

The appearance was a malty semi-rugged milky brown color. No lace from a quickly dissolving head. It smells like molasses coated dark bready toast. A fair amount of dark fruits too. Tastes fairly sweet through the molasses/dark fruits. The body seems fairly spot on for a mild Summer sessioner of the English brown ale style. Carbonation felt low thus allowing a fair watery ease helping me to throttle this one down my throat. It's not bad for what it is, perhaps again.

Seems underrated here, perhaps it's evolved since the last reviews. I had this on tap in a 20 oz stein, though would have preferred a nonic pint glass. While the feel was a bit thin, the taste and smell made that preferable on a summer's day that calls for lighter, summer styles. This is sessionable; I wish it were available beyond its home base.

Poured into a pint glass. There is a barely existent head on top of a murky brown body. Not looking too good here.

The aroma is sweet brown crystal malt, with some cabbage and other vegetal scents. With a quick whiff, this isn't too bad.

The taste is watery, with some malt flavor thrown in. The cabbageyness comes through here; as indicated by the aroma.

The carbonation is harsh, especially considering the wateriness of this. The body is light.

This is terrible. Unless this is your 12th beer of the night, pass.

 

Pours medium brown with a decent off white/beige head. No lace and little evidence of retention.

Toasted malt, some earth, some sweet brown bread, and a little fruit in the nose.

My complaint with this one is strength of flavor. Seems watery because it is. Toasted malt, some brown bread sweetness, some bruised apple skin to be the fruit component, some mild bitterness, a little earth. Sweetness is on the low side. But thin flavored.

Ok carbonation and medium-light in the body. A bit watery.

Just ok. Glad I got to try it, but I can do better. A fair/decent enough offering.

Thanks to my Father-In-Law for bringing this beer back from Maine on a recent visit.

A fizzy/foamy eggshell white head rises about a finger thick and then settles fairly quickly. The beer is a deep autumn amber color with brown/orange highlights. No lace

Aroma is sweet malt and with a slight medicinal edge to it.

Caramel malt up front, a touch of nuttiness. Mid palate you get some grainy flavors and then it kind of falls off the table. Flavor just ends right away…

Body is too thin and watery. Vanishes in your mouth.

Not a bad beer, but just not very exciting.

Thanks to Greg (Reagan1984) for this gem. The label is amazing - there's a super surreal photo of a Golden Retriever and black cat snuggling in front of a pleasant landscape. Served in a Darkness glass.

A - And it's a gusher - not promising for an English Brown Ale. Quick-dissolving white foam settles to a thick collar, some patchy wisps, and a few splotches of lace. Hazy cider brown body.

S - Wow - this smells bad. There's a bit of nut brown ale in the periphery, but it's overwhelmed with vomit, perfume, grain, apples, and steamed carrots.

T - Taste is actually a bit better - less off flavors, and merely just a boring English brown ale. Some nuts, toffee, cocoa, and apples. There's a mildly astringent leafy and herbal note in the finish. Not good, but not awful like the aroma.

M - Medium body, medium carbonation, dry roasty finish, and no alcohol. Somewhat chalky.

D - The smell is horrendous, but otherwise this is just a mediocre English Brown Ale. Looking forward to more offerings from Andrew's Brewing!

A - Little bit of a gusher, ugly brownish/yellow/red with kind of gross looking film-like cap on the top. Most non-sequiter bottle I've ever seen, with random golden retreiver cuddled up with a black cat in front of some mountains. Just strange.

S - Smells like wood, radishes, spicey vomit, and rotting garbage. Truly disgusting.

T - Not as bad as the smell, although I don't really see how this is much of an English Brown. If you told me it was an English Mild Bitter I'd believe you and say it was just an exceptionally boring one. Not much flavor, some sort of grassy/grainy/corn finish. Beer tastes watered down.

M - Moderate carbonation, little bit light on the body, a little watery.

O - Beer is hard to drink as you keep smelling it when you try. I'm sure the infection isn't helping on this one, but wow, bad beer. Yuck.

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Ridiculous gaseous carbonation out of the bottle. This is the first time I swear out of a slow pour of twelve ounces that ninety percent of the glass is foam. I'm talking sixteen ounce pint glass here. Giant retention head slowly fading and giving way to a pale red amber almost clear body. Big cap and stupid stickiness but this is overkill.

Bouquet is a mild roasty nut quality and malts, but there is also a smell of sour grain and cheap perfume bar soap. Not pleasing.

Taste is mostly gaseous, carbon dioxide and faint quinine tonic water. Soapy bitter, with no sense of malt or nuttiness. Slightly wet but with no grain density or feeling for a brown ale. Extremely weak in the palate on every level except this soapy like bitterness which seems to turn into a bitter tannic nut sensation on top of it.

Overall, this is not worth trying again for me, there are better browns out there.

Brown pour with reddish tints. Frothy 3-finger head. Nice retention and lacing. Head just a little too much, though.

Bready malt and yeast dominate the nose. Getting some candied fruit as well, kind of like fruit cake - but not as bad as that implies.

Taste is very mild. A little fizzy on the hit. Very mild caramel malt. Slight burn on the back end with faint sourness. Good, but not great. Not overpoweringly sweet like some browns.

Feel is decent. Perhaps a bit thin, but only misses by a little to match the flavor.

Not a bad beer at all, but not anything to get excited about either.

Had at The Great Lost Bear in Portland on 10/24/09 lost the original review

A: This beer pours a nice deep brown with a one finger of tan sudsy head. Head retains nicely leaving sticky lacing on the glass.

S: Nose is of chocolate, toffee, roasted malts, a hint of hazlenut.

T: This a nicely blended beer! Taste starts with caramel malts and a toffee flavoring, lending it's way in to a nice roasted malt and chocolate flavoring, finish has hints of hazlenut and brown sugar in it.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, nice smooth body.

D: This is a sessionable beer. Great flavoring, well blended, easily one that I could sit with all night.

Presentation: 12oz bottle (bottles 7/18/07) in a Shaker pint

BAside: This local legend is NOT retired, but self-distributed by Andrew's. It is available at select retailers.

Poured silent, sharp & crisp, with a little snap to it. Nose is initially earthy, rocky, steely with malt, tar, old molasses, burnt caramel. As it warms it grows softer, rounder, sweeter, more like brown sugar, and *smile* traces of artisan bread like pumpernickel and even rye!. 2 finger's worth of energetic, tight, latte hued foam settles to a thin, transparent sheen and edge ring that laces in sheets. A nice burnt orange, tealike umber in hue, its unfiltered body is slightly hazy,warm, inviting, like well worn & antiquated oak.

Subtly bittersweet on the tongue, its not nearly as sweet as other English Browns I have had. This is more in the vein of the American style, less sugary, not as soft, a little rougher, sharper, bitter, which I enjoy. Semi-dry with a subtle crunch, faint traces of baking chocolate, that last slug of silty, black office coffee, burnt caramel, nuts, some orange pekoe tea, even some rockiness....a raw, rugged ale, yet stays remarkably clean. It could easily get heavily & overly bitter, but it stays even, balanced & smooth, not chalky or abrasive. I've had sweeter beers that weren't as clean or fluid.

It does grow sharper on the palate, slightly more citric & acidic, bitter, but not obnoxious, then evens outs, becoming very balanced. Its disappearing very easily, a nice, enjoyable beer. The finish is more of the same as it stays bittersweet, slightly increasing in nuttiness, finishing with a burnt sugar like feel.

A nicely complex and very unsweetened Brown Ale. This reminds me of Sebago's Boathouse, another great unsweet Maine Brown Ale. I like how it stayed raw yet was also smooth. Without question this would be a fantastic beer to pair with any nutty cheese, like a good Brie, or even a nice aged Gouda, or maybe a hearty deli sandwich on pumpernickel rye and some killer cheese, or a simple steak & potatoes.

I can see why locals seek this out. Its worth the effort. A very nice Brown Ale if you prefer the unsweetened style, and one of the best cheese paring beers I've enjoyed. Definitely recommended!

Is this retired? Found this in Camden and I swear I have seen this elsewhere. Pours a slight murky brown with very little head. A bit of caramel smell but not much else. Taste is sweet malt, some grassy hops in the background and slight smokiness. Thin mouthfeel, also quite fizzy too. Overall it's like a pale ale, maybe slightly sweeter. This has the lawn clippings taste that I found in the pale ale but it isn't offensive or anything, but was thinking it would be a bit sweeter.

The beer is a lightish ruddy brown color, a bit lighter than I'm used to for a brown ale, topped with a thin covering of misty head.
Aroma is mainly a toasty caramel maltiness, with a touch of chocolate malt. Very light apple, with a suggestion of cherry and ripe peach. A bit of hazelnut, actually more hazelnut-like than Rogue's hazelnut brown nectar. Smooth and mild, yet hearty and robust.
Flavor starts with soft caramel maltiness, bolstered with some toasted malt and a touch of chocolate. Some estery peach, apple and pear come through in the middle, and the chocolate picks up a bit. Some nuttiness, which carries through into the finish. Not much in the way of hops, just enough for balance. A mildly dry finish. Some nuttiness reappears in the aftertaste, along with a light estery peach flavor. Medium bodied, with smooth, mild carbonation.
A very nice brown ale, brewed in the english style of northern brown ales. A touch more robust and full flavored than say, newcastle or northumbrian, but still very much english. An excellent brown ale.

This brown has a few distinguishing characteristics. The lighter brown color and foamy head lead into a hoppy brew with a decent malt presence. Could use a bit more dark malt for a bit more raosted flavor IMO. Still, pretty tasty.