James E. Pepper 1776 American Brown Ale
Georgetown Trading Co.

 

 

July 27th, 2016 - This beer would be at home on a shelf in a historical recreation somewhere in Boston or elsewhere in New England, with its hand torn looking label and clear gesture to the Revolutionary period. It's also stiff and strong, with a huge boozy scent, heavy with sake koji, shiitake mushrooms, steak and peppercorns. This is a burly brew in the flavor too, and wallops the tongue with more beef and mushroom flavors, and 10 tons of malt sitting on my chest. Aging, I think, would benefit it. Raw, it comes out of the bottle like an angry bull.

Feb 2016 bottle ... Smooth as silk ... I can't even tell it has alcohol in it it's so smooth ..

Not sure what a fresh one taste like but after almost 5 years its perfect

 

 

-Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels 12.5%.

A: A viscose dark hersey chocolate pour slurps from the bottle with a thick viscose nature producing a dark, tawny brownish-orange tint colored head. Creamy at one half inch the head was well standing for a beer of this abv%. A very dense fury of golden-micro beads of carbonation rush within to the surface. A dark rich beautiful textured head and color gives this a dark and menacing nature in the chalice. Thin sheet lace milky coating.

S: Strong wiff of whiskey-oak and spicy caramel with some coconut cream dominate the nose. Toasted vanilla and waffle like malting has sweet vanilla and toffee with some rich chocolate. Overall a good strength while the alcohol is very well handled.

T: Huge first impression has a very deep and rich chocolate burst, that was sweet and creamy with some vanilla and a spike of whiskey-oak that demands and keeps your attention from the very first sip. Dark fruit of sugary plums and figs along with some coconut and vanilla cream. Roasty oily coffee beans add an earthy bitterness along with some buttery caramel and spicing of cinnamon. Toffee and toasted coco-almond nuttiness and a sweetness of candi-brewing syrup, burnt brown sugar and a sweet honey depth. A soft and silty smokiness of charred oak barrels round out.

M: Lots of carbonation, milky thick depth and feel with a creamy roasted malt base gives this a great all around feel.

O: Lots of strong whiskey-oak are the highlight here with an abundance of secondary spicing and sweetness that is widely varied and individually defined with a deep richness. A huge drinking experience, oily rich roastiness, silty charred notes and a huge spike of whiskey soaked oak with coconut-caramel sweetness best describes this deep rich experience.

What with Covid-19, Sheltering in place, and everything else that we're ALL going through these days I'm going to drink this 2017 beer that I've been saving .

Let me add a toast to you my beer drinking brothers and sisters...And to better days ahead ! May we all see each other on the other side of this...

22 Oz bottle May 2017

Pours a solid brown body with a small tan head that dissipated quickly. Lots of tiny carbonation bubbles noted when held up to the light.

Oak and rye whiskey jumped out at the pour. Scent was fairly prominent for a beer that's been aged 3 years. Boozy and lightly astringent.

Taste follows with some nestles milk chocolate notes that were nowhere to be found in the scent. But the rye whiskey and booze still dominates.

Slightly watery feel..but it is 3 years old.

Overall a very nice sipping beer! Don't know if the aging made a difference. But if I had a time machine I'd go back and buy a couple more of these... and put down a few different sports book bets !

 

A wonderful ale.
Specifically, I wondered how many ABAs I'd Had that were stronger than this. Answer is: two of 47. Not surprisingly, they are both highly-rated (from Dogfish and Firestone.) These are 2nd Generation masters (grew-up in the 1990s) and were so accomplished that they were bought by larger companies (Boston and Duvel respectively.)

Specifically, Georgetown is recent and is not diversified outside of its two whiskey barrel renditions. Nor does it seem to have a taproom or website presence. But, they are accomplished because Georgetown and 1776 still has matched these two masters in quality.

1776 is one of those handful of beers I have a month that I feel privileged to drink. It pours a syrupy dark brown with an attractive espresso foam. Smells are chocolate, vanilla, bourbon. Tastes are a melange of this, plus just enough alcohol kick to tell me that this is a sipper. It is dessert, also; and one to be appreciated.

 

Agree with other reviews that it’s great to have a very well done barrel aged brown ale as opposed to another barrel aged stout (not that there’s anything wrong with that)....seems like there’s less competition for what dominates and it really lets the barrel aging take center stage. The fact that the whiskey distillery drove this creation, rather than the brewery, just shouts out “unique” and “different” to me. If you appreciate a good rye (or “whiskey” if you’re not from the East Coast) find this and really, really enjoy.

November 2014 bottling. 5/5/19 drank

 

 

Pours a dark brown with a thin tan cap. Decent legs on the glass when swirled. Aroma is roasted caramel malt and bourbon. Flavor is caramel, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla and dark fruit. Feel is thin to medium bodied. Overall a fantastic brown ale.

Pours a dark burgundy with a finger of khaki foam that fizzes away pretty quickly. Aroma is toffee, plum, caramel, whiskey, char, oak, and a little yeast ester. Plum is bright, sweet and apparent. Flavor profile is caramel, toffee and plum to round out the sweet characteristics. Whiskey, char, and oak are a second thought, but linger for a long while. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a smooth, watery consistency that thins out at the finish. Overall, very sugary and sweet, but still bold.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz bottle.

 

Fantastic barrel aged beer, fantastic complex taste of vanilla and raisins

 

 

Pours a dark brown color. 1/3 inch head of an off-tan color. Decent retention and good lacing. Smells of strong sweet malt, wood, yeast, and alcohol. Fits the style of an American Brown Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of strong sweet malt, wood, alcohol, yeast, hint of liquor, and a hint of spicy hops. Overall, great blend, strong body, simplistic, and weak appearance.

 

 

On tap and fresh at the source (Beltway Brewing). Big, boozy brown ale. Really nice vanilla, oak, and whiskey flavors. Nice spicy notes from the rye barrels. I wonder whether any stores in my area carry this? I'll keep an eye out for this one.

 

 

Vintage '15.

This beer does not get enough street cred; it smells, tastes and looks like the best out there for BA browns. (Note: 3 years was turning; 2 years is perfect for cellaring).

A: Rich, brown malt with the best subtle fine tan carbonation that lasts forever. Maybe deserves a 5?
S: Caramel and whisky for days. Rich malt with no off-aromas
T: Whiskey tones up front holding on tight through a medium-depth brown. nuff said.
F: The fineness of the carbonation cannot be overstated. Sharpness from the whiskey but overall pleasurable.
O: At 2 years this is up there with the best BA browns on planet earth. Go for it.

Bomber (bottled Dec 2016) into snifter on 6/19/17.

Dark brown-black body with a hint of red and a surprising amount of larger particulate already (not something I like seeing not too long after bottling date). Fine bubbly off-white head that recedes to the outer ring of the beer glass, foamless spots in the center. Smells of rich malts, chocolate, oakey rye whiskey, vanilla. Taste includes all the above but with much more toffee. Mouthfeel is pretty nice - decent carbonation for the sytle. I enjoy this brown ale aged in the oak barrel. It's refreshing to have a tasty brown ale instead of a full on stout with the barrel-aged twist.

 

 

I'm honestly by shocked by some of these reviews that say this beer is "smooth," or that there's little barrel character. Considering I've been cellaring this for over a year, this is one of the most barrel-forward beers I've had, and the rye whiskey smell hit me as soon as my nose was even close to the glass. The flavor too starts with whiskey, and only after does your palate acclimate and begin to pick up notes of vanilla, nutty, brown malts, toffee, licorice, earthy wood, a bit of char. It starts off hot from the booze content, hints at sweetness towards the middle, and finishes with a dry, slightly tannic and oaky bitterness. It's more the whiskey barrel than the malts that follow you into the aftertaste, and lingers hotly enough that this beer is a definite sipper. It's quite strong, more so than many beers of this abv have been for me. It's not super thick in body, but the carbonation definitely lets it fill your mouth nicely, and guarantees each sip of this will be a powerhouse.
Overall, this is a beer for people who like whiskey. If you don't, don't even bother. A bit too intense for me to fairly call great, but it's in the upper echelons of what I'd call a good barrel-aged beer.

Excellent Brown Ale. Clear, moderate brown in color - minimal head on the pour from the bottle. Great aroma. Slightly nutty, hints of date or raisin, with a subtle rye whiskey odor. Mouthfeel is satifying - weightier than most Brown Ales. The alcohol content gives it a nice boozy, rye whiskey barrel taste - exactly what you'd hope for. slightly sweet, but not syrupy. Easy to drink.

 

Poured from a bomber dated 2015. So roughly 2 years old. 10.4% ABV. 1.5 inch tan head with thin, creamy bubbles. Aroma has toffee, heavy chocolate, raisins, and bourbon. Smells sweet, like a rich chocolate cake. Bourbon, more chocolate, candied sugar, sweet dark fruit, earth, rye spice, and a bit of bitterness underlying all the sweetness. A pleasant alcohol burns begins at the back of the throat early on. The rye whisky really comes through strong in this beer and is balanced by a decadent malt base to make for an unexpectedly wonderful beer.

Pours dark brown with moderate head that leaves a trace of lacing. Plenty of rye spice on the nose, accompanied by significant bready yeast, caramel, and gummy sweetness. Good rye notes on the flavor profile, but not much barrel character; I wonder how long it's actually aged.

Dark brown pour with a tan head. Whiskey, oak, caramel, chocolate, toffee, nuts, and a hint of rye in the nose. Taste does well to capitalize on what makes a good brown ale, and then adds the whiskey barrel elements seamlessly. The malts and barrel seem destined for each other. Feel is the right amount of boozy, warm, smooth, and surprisingly clean.

Bottled 12/15, enjoyed 2/17, a year later. Pours dark, almost black although I'm seeing light through the edges of the glass. Head is slight, half a finger and moon-scape bubbly.

Aroma is raisins, coffee, chocolate, and a little woody whiskey in the b.g. More stout than brown ale. Taste is the malt ale I expected, with malts, vanilla, candied Barleywine-style sugar. Also tangled up in there is coffee, and the rye whiskey from the barrel is coming through now.

Boozy without being "hot", the 10.2% is pretty well hidden. Smoke and wood the silent partners here that make this unique and worthwhile. I'm even a Belgian spice as it warms. Toffee, or is that the rye? Someone's calling it "nutty." I'll go with that.

This is complex, the sweetness of the whiskey makes it drink close to spirits. Not exactly what I expected. Quite a thing.