Upside Brown
BareWolf Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset Grille, Allston, MA draft a week ago, full notes taken on phone. Always exciting to see new local breweries represented on draft.

A- Brown hue with a deep mahogany tone as the brew pours from the draft to a pint glass. A single finger nutty cap rises up with a foamy consistency and pretty good retention. Rare spots of lace stick to the glass and this could certainly be from the glass itself.

S- Rich malts set the pace in the aroma. Caramel, toast, nuts and a bit of roast richness malts as well as a hint of toffee. Overall strong aromas without suggesting much sweetness. Clean yeast backing with slight earthy hops. Oatmeal chip cookie comes to mind.

T- Brown malts with slight chocolate chip feel from the darker grains. Toffee, caramel, medium sweets, nuts, toast and cocoa powder from a big but balanced grain profile. Just a hint of dark fruits from yeast and earthiness from the hops to provide balance.

MF- Medium body with a fluffy and silky, smooth texture. Slight bittersweet ending and a moderately high level of carbonation. Light toasty bitterness.

Believe it or not it is kind of hard to find many local brown ales around these parts anymore. This one is high quality with great depth of malt flavor from the grains and a clean ferment to allow those to truly shine.

From the brewer:
Huge additions of roasted, toasted & caramel malts with bright, clean American hops.

Brown color where light passes along the edge. Smallish head. Good lattice lace.

First smell is of darker malts: chocolate and deeply roasted crystal. There's a strong bready aspect (like rye or pumpernickel) with a light sweetness.

The flavor is rich as is the body. This could be a lighter Porter. Solid malt base but the hop balance is stronger than most Browns. Chocolate malt flavor without making the beer too chocolatey, if you know what I mean. Relatively dry. Definitely one of the best tasting Browns I've ever had.