Restraint
Institution Ale Company

This is a nearly perfect beer. As someone who has an extremely high bar for quality, this is one of the most universally appealing beer styles I've ever come across. Everyone gets something out of it, and if you have the palate for it, it's a beautiful creation to behold.

Pours a beautiful transparent ebony amber color. When held up to the light, you can see bubble streams all the way through the mahogany glow. Produces a nice thick layer of beige foam with excellent retention. Can art is cool, but it could stand to be a bit more creative and interesting.

Classic brown ale aromas of earthy whole wheat bread crusts, dark roast coffee and cacao nibs strike first, giving way to vanilla and maple wood. Not a syrupy maple, it comes off more like a flash of star anise with whispers of nutmeg and cardamom the finish.

This is exactly what I want a brown ale to taste like. I don't know why I like drinking delicately spiced liquid cardboard, but I do, ok? Hints of molasses and coffee in the middle, loads of cacao, and maybe even an impression of whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chips and a light drizzle of Vermont's finest.

The mouthfeel is very dry. Never syrupy at all, even after warming up and devarbonating a bit. Crisper than a Modelo Negra. Excellent pinecone hop finish.

This beer is everything. I can hardly praise it enough.

97 A

On tap at Boatyard Pub in Ventura on a cold rainy afternoon…perfect for this beer. There’s not much on the nose here but the look is great. Maybe if I let it warm up a bit I’d get something but I’m not gonna do that. I’m getting coffee, cocoa and some sweet maple. Pretty damn good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Old San Luis BBQ. Listed as Restraint Maple. Totally under marketed as this beer knocked my socks off. Totally surprised. Beautiful dark brown with a nice sweet hazelnut caramel nose. Beautifully balanced with a hefty hop bitterness playing off tasty toffee, deep maltiness. Great balanced finish. Probably the best brown ale I've had. This is what I tried for years to homebrew and here it is!

This year round offering is the only dark beer always around. Smooth feel to this. It reminds me of an inspired version Newcastle Brown. I usually leave with a growler of this one.

 

 

 

Poured from a growler into an imperial pint glass; a clear mahogany with a moderate khaki head that settled to a fine film throughout the drink and left tons of sticky lacing on the glass. Smell and taste are of caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, cocoa, toffee, and a hint of earthy, wood-like characteristics. Mouthfeel was excellent, medium carbonation and very creamy and drinkable. Overall probably the best brown ale I have ever had, the maple and wood flavors really add to its complexity.