The Brown Tradition
Mirror Twin Brewing

Straddling the fence between American Brown Ale, English Brown Ale and autumn cuisine, the talents at Mirror Twin borrow the sweet, deep and malty demeanor of those dark ales from across the pond and link them with the savory and fruity additions of local apple butter for the most curious of fall beer.

Dark brown and casting a swirling tarnish froth, the beer's moderate carbonation casts a frothy demeanor upon the eye. Breaming with toffee, chocolate, coffee, caramel and toast, the nose is biscuity sweet while embracing the apple, cinnamon, allspice and savory richness of the bold apple butter addition.

Malty sweet to taste, the caramel and toffees flavors saturate the tongue, but its flavor develops into a toasty, peppery, and bittersweet taste of fruit pastries and apple pie as the finish looms. Meanwhile a kiss of buttery goodness and a light citrus twist mingle on the middle palate and trail into a malty sweet and savory boldness.

Semisweet and with a pleasanty spiced, drying texture, the beer's savory grain upstart achieves a rounded, rich but non-cloying finish at the same time. The sheer curiosity of the apple butter brings caution, but Mirror Twin pulled this off quite well.