Kross Double Kross Brown Ale
Kross Brewing Company

12ozer bottle bought as a single from Spirit Haus, Amherst, MA.

Popped the top of the bottle and set it down to warm a bit, next thing I know (about a minute later), there's foam coming out the neck. Poured into an imperial pint glass, took multiple attempts over ten minutes to finally fit it all into the glass. Once things settled down, the presentation was nice, with a foamy tan head that left lots of lace over a VERY cloudy reddish-brown brew. I'd like to affect the beer's rating for crappy bottling/overcarbonation (it's been sitting in my fridge for weeks, with no agitation), but there doesn't seem to be a correct category to do that. Will just say my piece here, and move along...

Yeasty, malty, effervescent aroma, but in the taste the malt gives way to an almost fruity flavor, possibly apples, and finishes up kind of sour and bitter, but not in a hops way. Mouthfeel is affected by the aftertaste, and also, where's the warming or alcohol flavor you'd at least expect a tinge of from a Belgian-style dark? Since it took so long to pour out the beer, the drinkability is somewhat limited, unless you have a huge glass and forever to wait for head settle-age.

The beer pours a hazy chestnut brown, shining with ochre highlights. A vigorous pour generates a thin, tight eggshell head, which dissipates into a broken, trailing mist. Not much lacework to speak of.
The aroma is rather sweetish, with a toasty chocolate malt and light candi sugar. Slightly phenolic, with a bit of clove and medicinal orors. Lots of fruitiness, with an estery, thinner-like feel through the nose. Hints of apple, green raisin, and some fig newton. Hops are present, very light, with a soft herbal/floral quality. Light alcohol is the special guest star.
The flavor starts with sweet chocolatey malt up front, coupled with a candi sugar sweetness. The candi sugar remains throughout, sticking to the tongue like one of those annoying burrs when you walk in a field...except it's not annoying. Moderate estery fruitiness floats in, contributing hints of green raisin, apple, date, and a hint of fig. Very light herbal hops peek through in the finish, with the ever present candi sweetness and a touch of alcohol. Some sourness comes through in the end, with spicy belgian yeast. The aftertaste is a bit cloying, with an overly sweet saccharine flavor. Medium to full bodied, with fluffy carbonation.
Easily my favorite from this brewery. It's a pretty decent belgian brown ale, with a pleasant balance of sweet and sour. Decent complexity, with enough going on to keep your interest. The aftertaste would keep me from popping another one right after. I can't do that much sugar at once.

Pours without much of a head that leaves just a little lace. Did not explode out of the bottle as some reviewers have noted. Deep brown/amber color. Nose is faintly malty. Starts with malts & hops, crisp finish that is malty and hoppy. Good carbonation and light-medium bodied - a good brown. The ABV is 5.9%.

All in all, a decent Brown Ale. This is my initial foray into this brewery's work, and I must say, I was impressed. I was, however, hoping for a bit more roastedness, or even some more depth and complexity in aroma and flavor, but still not a bad brew. The lace lingered, and the color was deep and rich. This is one worthy of a try.

Zum wohl!

Tea colored with not much head, probably due to a bad pour from the tap. Aroma is hoppy, and sweet and fruity and yeasty at the same time. Flavor is sweet hop with some yeast notes, and a bit of a tang to it. Some malt in the finish, and a lingering tea flavor. A bit watery mouthfeel, but a pleasing crisp finish.

The pour from the bottle produces a deep brown color, crowned by a planetary sized frothy and tan colored head, as it desiccates a nice concealing sheet of lace is formed. Nose has a nut like sweetness, fresh and clean, hints of caramel, sweet and rich malt start, top moderate in feel. Finish has a pleasing acidic bite, the hops spicy and pleasant to the palate, dry aftertaste and a nice representative to the style.

Now here's a beer purchased thinking I was getting a "Brown Ale", when in fact, it's a Belgian Strong "Brown Ale" style. Now there's a need to adjust one's expectations before rating. It pours a murky brown with a thin tannish head, which lasts a good long time. Lace sticks in blotches and globs. A highly yeasty clovey aroma is released upon opening the bottle. Lemon peel and hay are also in the aroma mix, as is a light alcohol fuminess. Wheat and clovey yeast flavors jump out first and stay in the lead. Toffee, lemon and lime and a light herbal quality mix and meld in the middle, while candy sugar and alcohol bring up the rear. I think they should reconsider their labeling.

Murky brown, with very little head. Nice malty and yeasty aroma. Taste was wheat like with a little bite in the aftetaste that lingered nicely. Mouthfeel was chewy and substantial. Drinkability was a bit above average...seemed to catch in the swallow a bit.

Is one of the brownest beers I have seen. Nice pillowy white head that is characteristic of all the Kross beers.
Aroma has big yeast, raspberry and strawberry, some chocolate, and a hint of raisin.
Nicely balanced flavor with big fluffy belgian yeast and some smooth milk chocolate.
Unfortunately the feel is annoyingly overcarbonated or just harsh carbonation, even with a strong pour and warm temperatures.
Overall a good brew, just lacking good feel and that special undescribable magic.

Pours a dark brown with a nice tan head that quickly fades away. A belgian flavor is flowing throught this beer. Maybe it's the yeast. Good carb levels on my bottle, so maybe they've fixed that problem. Sweet with a touch of bitter and a slight touch of fruity. A decent brew, but I wouldn't buy a six pack of it.

Pours a murky brown color, the head blows up, and is over carbonated. On the nose there is a slight herbal aroma, and caramel also. The same on the palate, sharp fizziness in the mouthfeel, caramel, herbs, toasted bread, slight fruitiness. I'm not sure what was wrong with this beer, but my stomach hurt after drinking this one.

Clearly something went wrong here. The overactive head on this beer was unfixable (even with the world's slowest pour). Carbonation problem ruins this beer before it gets started. Spicy nose, light floral hints. Hazy caramel color.

Average appearance, dark brown and murky, but way too over carbonated -- if it settled down a bit it would have been superb. Sweet herbal aroma. Creamy palate, sweet, with more herbal, touch of bitter sharpness, toasted / caramel, yeasty around the edges with aggressive raw tea-leaf flavours. Finish goes dry, with a husky tannin coating over the palate.

For a "Belgian" -style ale, this is pretty lacking in comparison to the real goods, but not a bad brew at all, infact, pretty good.