Walcott
Austin Street Brewery

 

Pours a ruddy brown with red tinged edges. Nice tight, foamy, creamy head that lasts for a bit before fading. Aroma of chocolate, malt - a bit of char. Lovely to drink - has a medium, creamy mouthfeel and subtle hints of chocolate and a hint of well mannered hops. Subtle smokiness that doesn't overwhelm but accents. I really enjoyed this beer and found it to also be refreshing for a brown ale. Nicely done.

Poured from a 16 oz can dated BB 3/25/2025, into the test glass
A - Ruddy brown color, beatiful loose knit macha froth, fantastic lacing.
S - Milk chocolat, hint of smoke, eathy hops.
T - Follows the nose well, add a bit of char, and nice earthy hops
M - Medium in body, runs up to the edge of sweet, then retreats. finish is succinct
O - A very good brown ale, the smoked element is deftly applied

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a rich, chocolate brown with a gigantic beige head that lasts several minutes before morphing into a layer of soapy bubbles with some cling but not much. Very clear. It's a looker.

The smell is malt- driven - caramel hits me first, then a very mild and earthy smokiness. Just a hint of sweetness. Not much in the hops department which seems consistent with the style. Pretty laid back aroma.

The initial taste is indeed a bit sweet with caramel and very light coffee and chocolate, but with further sips the smoke emerges nicely but never dominates, fairly restrained and I think that is a good thing because there's some acridity building in as well. There is enough sweetness and dark bread malt to hold that in check.

The feel is medium bordering heavy, nicely carbonated. A little bit of chalkiness post-sip.

I think this beer is well-made and is squarely within the characteristics for the style. It would have been easy to pound this with the smoked malt, but I appreciate the restraint creating a nice balance. I expected much more smoke and I am glad that is not the case.

Looks great, with a satisfyingly thick head. Smells malty with only a little smoke at the end. Taste is almost all malt, a perfectly good brown ale, but the smoke is barely there.

 

This is a smoked brown ale

An easy pour from a 16-oz. can produced a fat finger of creamy khaki foam that slowly turns rocky, long retention and swatches of lacing. Deep dark brown, opaque with reddish-brown highlights.

Malty smell of caramel and roasted flavor with a hint of wood smoke. Faint baked apple and pear with herbal hops.

Full taste, semi-sweet with mild bitterness. Roasted character is in the lead by an inch with a nice balance of sweet malt and smoke. The smoke flavor is a bit acrid, burnt white pepper, herbs and grass. Hop flavor is hidden as well as the alcohol. Towards the semi-dry finish, bakers chocolate and black coffee appear with some baked dark rye bread.
Mild smoke and spice linger during the aftertaste.

Medium bodied with lasting carbonation, smooth from a big and balanced malt bill. Session-able and true to style. Not as heavy on coffee as many examples. A favorite style of mine done right.

 

 

Pint can - no canning date - poured into a traditional tulip pint glass at 46F.

Pours a deep, semi-clear mahogany brown, sitting nearly black in the glass, with clear,mahogany edges, and brilliant ruby highlights when held to the light. Toppes with two fingers of beige foam, that eventually recedes to an immense fluffy collar, leaving substantial lacing behind.

Nose: Warm, surprisingly roasty malt, with some deep nutry undertones, and just a whisper of smoke. Lots of dry stout-like aromas of light roast coffee, cacao bean, molasses, dark bread, cinnamon, vanilla, and very faint, woody hops. The smoked malt is quite subtle, perhaps even a bit too subtle, considering this is advertised as a smoked beer. Fairly simple, straightforward, and pleasant aroma.

Palate: The ale opens up with substantial roast roast character, akin to many stouts I've had. The roast is actually quite dark, and the smoke adds some more charry roast as well. The smoothness, if you will, isn't so much like that of wood smoke, or even a rauchbier, but translates more as just a fairly stout roast. Flavours of coffee, dark chocolate, toasted dark bread, molasses, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, toasted oak, Brazil nut, and malted barley all come together, with very little sweetness at all, placing the flavour prodile squarely between that of a brown ale, and a dry stout. The finish is dry, woody, and only mildly bitter - not from hops, but rather an ashen, roasty bitterness, which becomes more apparent late in the finish, where that real ashyl, bitter smoke note shows up, and lingers, setting up a slightly acrid aftertaste.

Mouthfeel/Body: At 5.7% ABV, the beer is fairly light-bodied - perhaps even a bit lighter than one would imagine. There's no chewy softness, of malt sweetness contributing to the body of the beer. Effervescence ia actually quite lively, even for the relatively lower ABV, furthering the light delivery, and giving it a real crisp, easy drinkability. Could easily drink this one on a hot summer day, as it drinks lighter and crisper than many widely available pale ales.

Overall: This is a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable brown ale, with a good handful of positive attributes. It's flavourful, though not terribly complex - it's light and crisp, without sacrificing anything for it - and it has a rather interesting flavour profile that isn't found in most beers of this style. The malt is certainly smoked, there's no question about that. However, I feel like the smoke could have been executed in a different manner, giving the beer a bolder, smokier flavour, without necessarily having the acrid ashen finish that this has. Nevertheless, it is a nice touch, and the bold roastiness of the beer lends some attributes similar to those of a stout, without the stout body and feel - for better or worse. A nicely brewed, interesting brown ale that is certainly worth trying, especially if found at the price that I obtained it for, myself.

 

 

A: Pours a deep brown color with 2 fingers of head that slowly fades down to a nice cap that leaves good lacing

S: Toasted malt, light smoke, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, and a touch of fruitiness

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with the toasted malt and light smoke and then picks up some caramel and bitter molasses. Some earthy and floral hops in there as well. Finishes with lingering smoke and light bitterness

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth

O: A solid brown ale that has a good amount of smoke and some bitterness to balance it out. Definitely not your standard brown ale

Poured from a 16 oz can into a tulip glass.

Pours a dark Amber brown color with 3 fingers of effervescent khaki head. The head leaves a good amount of sticky cobweb lacing before settling into a thin layer of foam.

The aroma brings notes of smoked malts, dark chocolate, raisin bread, and hops.

The flavor follows the nose: Smokey, with some chocolate and raisin bread. Lots of cereal grains with a finish of piney hops.

The feel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Very soft and smooth. Exceptionally dry.

Overall, a pretty good brown ale that's both flavorful and highly drinkable.