Chocolate Starfish
Left Hand Brewing Company

 

On tap at the Brickstore Pub, Decatur, GA. Had several months ago, review done from notes in my phone. Served in a pint.

Appearance: Arrives a transparent brown-bodied brew with slight red overtones, capped by about one finger of lightly tanned head. Retention is good, hue is good - it's all good, nothing great.

Aroma: Toasty brown bread is dominant, wholesome, earthy, and pretty robust, with only the slightest kiss of cocoa.

Taste: Caramel and medium toffee are a little stronger here, complimenting the toasty malts and porter-like astringencies noted above in the aroma. Cocoa is again faint, which I suppose I appreciate (a beer called "Chocolate Starfish" has so many opportunities to go wrong).

Mouthfeel: Soft and smooth with a moderate amount of subtle carbonation.

Drinkability: At 6.0%, this was a fine way to end the night at Brickstore. It came on the heels of a few heavy hitters - Aventinus and Stone VE 09.09.09, to name but two I remember a few months down the road - but it more than held its own after the flavor onslaught provided by those and others. It's nothing incredible - just a nice, toasty brown ale with a few pleasant chocolate overtones. As long as it's not advertised as anything more, I'm a-ok with that.

Taco Mac Lindbergh presents an English brown ale.

Deep ruby-brown hue with a bit of lacing at the top.

I catch a big whiff of hard candy sweetness and baked goods. I still can't pinpoint which ones...maybe an iced sugar cookie? Under that, there's bread and toffee. I attribute those to the malt and yeast.

Taste is similar to the nose. It's spot-on as a brown ale with a hint of milk chocolate (no more than 40% cocoa).

Mouthfeel and drinkability lend themselves to being a session ale, but at 6%, you can debate its sessionability. It's definitely a pleasurable ale for sure.

Very easy to drink, and true to Left Hand, it's not a bad beer. I can't say there's a big chocolate brown ale category (if at all?), but I'm guessing that if there was one, Left Hand would make the cut as a solid representation of the style. That's what they do.

On tap at HopCat in Grand Rapids, MI two days ago. Review from notes taken at the bar. Poured into a clean, clear glass.

A Medium brown translucent, creamy head with lace. 4.0

S Not much smell, some dark malt but kind of weak. 2.0

T Thin tasting porter really. Kind of boring. Maybe some chocolate notes. Not impressive since it is so thin. 2.5

M Too thin for the style. 1.5

D Good but I will not seek this out again. 4.0

This came to me with a tan head that sticks to sides as I drank. It was a very dark black color and murky looking.

The aroma was a light cocoa and chocolate, taste mimicked it, being mostly sweet cocoa with slight bitter chocolate at the finish.

It had a light mouthfeel, very enjoyable IMHO, a nice dark drinkable beer.

On-tap at the Brick Store - I was told this was Left Hand's GABF submission this year (2009).

Pours a slightly hazy brown color with lighter brown highlights and a one-finger light tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of lightly toasted malts, toffee, milk chocolate, and very light spices - in that order.

Tastes very similar to how it smells. Toasted malt flavors up front with hints of milk chocolate are joined shortly by dark toffee flavors. Near the end of the sip very slight amounts of spices come out before a mildly bitter ending. As it warms small amounts of citrus hop flavors become evident.

Mouthfeel is good. It has a solid thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall this was a nicely done brown that had a lot of things going on. Worth a shot.