Junior Brown Ale
Fillmore 13 Brewery

16 ounce prowler into pint glass, filled on 3/10/2019. Pours crystal clear deep ruby red/brown color with a small dense cream colored head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, roasted nuts, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of wood smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, roasted nuts, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of wood smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, peppery, roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, wood smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, dark fruit, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance; and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, fairly sticky, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.5%. Overall this is a delicious English brown ale. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish; nicely soft feel. Very clean and rich English malt complexity; with solid balancing earthy hop presence, and mild yeast fruitiness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example.